Event information
Lalela is the Nguni word for listening. Therefore the listening in the name of the retreat centre refers to deep listening. Lalela offers opportunities for mindful sitting, walking, swimming, meditating, gardening, dancing, writing or singing.
The venue was established by couple Maia and Neil in 2017. The couple has hosted visitors for individual stays and a number of retreats and workshops on meditation, yoga, dance, permaculture and writing. In 2020 the couple started an ongoing project, Conversations with the Land, which invites artists of all kinds, thinkers and healers to spend time at Lalela and create work with the land.
Lalela is nestled within a 115 hectare conservancy in the Naauwpoort valley of the Magaliesberg Mountains teaming with wildlife ranging from waterbuck, impala, kudu, zebra to baboons, vervet monkeys and bush babies. The Hex River runs through the land and there are three signed walking trails for exploring the ridge, forest and river.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic Maia and Neil have shifted away from regular group retreats to offering occasional ones with specific thematic objectives. They continue to offer self-catering accommodation as well as specialized self-retreats as they explore ways to support their intention of listening to the land and sharing this with others.
