From a single letter to eight decades of hospitality, education and community

When Bill Carte proposed to his beloved Ruth Blyth, he did so in a letter: “Ruth, my darling, I plea as never before: Put your trust in me, marry me and be my mate in building a home and farm second-to-none in South Africa.”

In October 1941, the newlyweds arrived in the majestic Drakensberg mountains and settled at The Cavern, having been employed by Judge Thrash, who owned the land, to manage it as a cattle ranch.

When ranching proved unsuccessful, they saw a different future, recognising the valley’s greater potential as a guesthouse and were drawn by the chance to build a life with their own hands in a valley that demanded continuous effort. After borrowing from an uncle, they purchased the farm from Judge Thrash.

Tucked deep in a remote valley with limited access, they had little choice but to build using only what the land itself provided. Bill quarried sandstone from the hillsides, occasionally using small charges of blasting powder to free the slabs, then hauled them down with an ox-drawn sleigh. Timber was selected with care from the surrounding slopes and milled on site for framing, roofing and structural beams. Every door, window frame and roof support was shaped and finished by hand.

In this way, the earliest buildings of The Cavern slowly took form through months of careful, determined effort.

At The Cavern, Ruth’s work made daily life possible, running the guesthouse while managing the practical demands of a remote mountain setting. She cooked on coal stoves using the farm’s own produce, tended livestock, maintained the water supply and the household, all while raising their four children, Rosalind, David, Peter and Anthony.

When Bill was diagnosed with cancer, the demands of their life in the mountains grew even greater. Medical care required long and arduous journeys, and Ruth took on an ever-increasing share of responsibility for the property, carrying forward the life they had built together.

After Bill’s passing in 1954, just 13 years into their marriage, she continued alone, sustaining the home and the guesthouse he had helped create. Storms washed out roads, vehicles faltered and the buildings demanded constant attention – yet she persevered.

Over the decades that followed, she rebuilt where necessary, guided the property with care, raised their children and upheld the vision that Bill had begun.

Ruth remained on the property until her passing in 1998, preserving the foundation of their shared life and ensuring the values and labour of Bill’s years would continue to shape the generations that followed.

The Cavern remains the family’s original home, having grown steadily over more than 80 years while preserving the simple, hand-built character of its early days.

Megan Bedingham, who now manages The Cavern with her husband Hilton, reflects: “My grandparents built this place one decision at a time. Every path, every room reflects how they worked with the land.”

Conservation of the surrounding terrain remains central to the family’s work, guiding a form of tourism that honours both the place and its history.

The third generation continues the same practical, hands-on approach. They clear invasive plants, repair trails, restore areas damaged by storms, and maintain structures-built decades earlier.

In all they do, they uphold Bill’s guiding principle: “Our work is to create beauty, to make the land more fertile, to make our living, and to leave the world better than when we first came into it.”

The Carte family’s care extends far beyond The Cavern into the surrounding community through the Royal Drakensberg Education Trust. The trust began simply as a way to provide the Carte children with access to education in a remote valley. Over time, it grew to support children across the local AmaZizi community, creating opportunities that were otherwise scarce.

The Royal Drakensberg Primary School opened in 2007 in a converted sandstone barn at the entrance to The Cavern. It serves children from 4 years old through Grade 4 in a setting that encourages curiosity and builds confidence. Young learners are guided gently, encouraged to explore, ask questions and discover what they can achieve.

The trust also reaches the youngest children in the valley. The Khanyisela Project supports 20 preschool centres across the greater AmaZizi district, offering teacher training, learning resources, daily meals and early literacy guidance. BabyBoost works with mothers, grandmothers and other caregivers during the first thousand days of a child’s life, teaching responsive methods of talking, reading, playing and bonding with infants and toddlers.

Through these initiatives, children find the support they need to grow, learn and embrace the opportunities before them. They mirror Ruth’s own determination and sense of responsibility. Her choice to remain in the mountains, raise her children as a widow, and sustain The Cavern set a pattern of dedication that continues to guide the family’s engagement with the community. The schools and programmes occupy the very landscape she shaped, and the children who benefit from them grow up within the very same valley she chose not to leave.

The family’s presence is visible across every part of the land, from the footpaths that follow lines cut by generations to the gardens and grounds shaped by decades of attention. Guests return year after year, drawn not only by the mountains but by the warmth and constancy of welcome that have earned The Cavern its reputation as “The Resort of Many Happy Returns”.

Ruth’s commitment, inspired by a single letter, set in motion everything that followed. The Cavern and the Royal Drakensberg Education Trust stand as living proof of that choice, with respect for heritage and hospitality, stewardship of the land and a living influence on the community Ruth once called home – carrying forward the values and spirit she established for generations to come.