Tourism Grading Council of
South Africa
Wonderlings
B&B
Rooi
Els
Western Cape, South Africa
Koos & Jenny at
home
About us . .
.
"We're just
two ordinary people, awestruck at the beauty of our unique surroundings.
We love
people, we love this place and we love sharing the wonder
of it all."
Born in Johannesburg, South
Africa, Jenny spent her childhood in a
variety of Central African
countries, where her father combined his
medical and flying
skills to work as a missionary doctor.
Initially qualified as a Medical
Technologist, in 1983 she completed a BA
degree in Psychology
through the University of South Africa. Her interest
in
Psychology led her to work as a voluntary counsellor at the Radio 702
Crisis Centre for three and a half years.
Jenny completed her
tertiary education at the University of the
Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg, obtaining an MSc degree in 1985,
followed by a PhD
in 1994. During this time she worked with Koos at Wits
University
Medical School, mainly doing research into kidney
transplantation.
In 1995, Jenny became Assistant Director and Head
of Immunology at
the National Centre for Occupational Health in
Johannesburg. Her work
there involved diagnosis and research into
work-related diseases of the
immune system e.g. asthma, and skin
diseases.
Jenny
She continues to pursue a
number of interests, including photography. She has been actively involved
in conservation, with a special interest in encouraging people in
the area to find ways of living in
harmony with our "fellow
citizens", the baboons!
Koos
Koos was born and educated in
Pretoria. In 1956 he
completed a BSc degree in mathematics and
chemistry at the
University of Pretoria, followed by an MSc in
chemistry. In
1960 he joined the Atomic Energy Board and was sent
to
Oxford University to study the biochemical effects of
radiation.
Here he spent 4 years completing his D Phil in
Biochemistry,
as a member of St. Catherine's College. He returned
to South
Africa, and in 1970 joined the Department of
Surgery,
University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where
he
set up an Immunology Laboratory. For the next 28 years he
directed immunological aspects of a research programme,
searching for way to reduce the rejection of transplanted
kidneys and livers.
His laboratory also conducted
sophisticated crossmatching tests, enabling the selection of the most
compatible patients for available kidneys. These were then
transplanted by a team of surgeons at the
Johannesburg
Hospital.
Koos is a keen sportsman, having played rugby at University
and later concentrating on tennis. He still
plays regularly, as a
member of the Kleinmond Tennis Club, where he was the Men's Veterans -
Singles club champion for 2 years.
Since coming to Rooi Els, he
has taken a particular interest in the unique flora of the area and loves
creating miracles in our beautiful fynbos
garden!
In 1998, Koos and Jenny left
their busy professional lives (some thought they had taken leave of their
senses) and retired to the safety and peaceful tranquility of
Rooi Els. Here they spent the next year
building their dream
home.
Loathe to forfeit the pleasure and stimulation of interacting
with interesting people, they designed the
upstairs guest suites,
where like-minded visitors could come to stay and share in the magic of
Rooi Els.
They have an ever-present sense of awe at their unique and
exquisite surroundings, so decided to
name their B&B
'Wonderlings'
- a place where guests could
come and wonder at pristine, unspoilt
nature around
them.
Koos and Jenny have a combined total of 3
children.
Peet, an engineer
in Pretoria, is married to Madeleine. They have two children, Monique and
Francois.
Candice is an
attorney who is married to Hermann. They have two gorgeous girls and are
presently
living in Dubai.
Sandra
is a qualified homeopath. She
has a practise in Stellenbosch where she lives with her partner,
Johan, and our newest grandchild, Alexander.