The winning pumpkin grew for 114 days and weighed a whopping 1221 kg!

Western Cape, South Africa (30 March 2026) – The fiercely contended Heidelberg Giant Pumpkin Festival took place on Saturday, and South Africa has a new record holder!

When Piet Lotz from Riversdale rolled into the festival this year with two humongous pumpkins trailing behind, he was chasing gold. Last year, he took first place and claimed the Southern Hemisphere record for his mega gourd.

This year, he held onto the title and made national history with the biggest pumpkin South Africa has ever seen, weighing a whopping 1221 kilograms! At 114 days old, Piet says it took good soil, good seed, and loads of love to grow his monster ‘kin.

This isn’t the first time Lotz has claimed gold for his big pumpkins. He has won the title many times over in years past, and now has his eyes set on beating the world record currently held by the Paton brothers in the UK, with their massive pumpkin, which weighed just 75 kg more than Lotz’ national gold-taking gourd.

Heidelberg Giant Pumpkin Festival’s second runner-up for 2026 is John Booysen, with an impressive growth of 816 kg and Pieter Conradie took third place, holding a solid weight of 793 kg.

“A big thank you as well to every person who entered and took part. We know it takes hard work, dedication and a lot of effort… and yes, those pumpkins definitely need regular chats!” shared the festival. “But without our stars — the pumpkins — the festival wouldn’t have been the same. In our eyes, every participant and pumpkin grower is a winner!”

Sources: Linked above.

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Or catch an episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque or our Weekly Top 5 below. The videos here are always changing, updated with the latest episodes from these two shows. Both are part of Good Things TV, created to bring South Africans balance at a time when the news can feel overwhelmingly negative. Our goal is simple: to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in our country – and to leave you feeling a little more proudly South African. 

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The newly declared Wilderness Nature Reserve protects Southern Africa’s rarest raptor, as well as the critically endangered Breede River Redfin, and a vital water catchment.

Wilderness, Western Cape (08 August 2025) – Another win for the Western Cape! A new nature reserve has been declared near Heidelberg, protecting over 643 hectares of land under the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act.

Around 615 hectares of the new Wilderness Nature Reserve have been designated as a Priority Biodiversity Area. The land forms an ecological corridor to the neighbouring Boosmansbos Wilderness Area, which is part of a recognised World Heritage Site that falls within SA’s mighty Cape Floral Kingdom.

The new reserve is a safe space for many different species and habitats. Like the Breede River Redfin, which are thought to be relics of an ancient lineage of fish that survived climate and other changes by retreating into cold mountain streams. Or the Black Harrier, Southern Africa’s rarest raptor that needs an undisturbed habitat to nest and hunt.

Beyond the creatures that call the stretch of land home, the newly protected area also supports vital water systems. It forms part of the upper catchment of the Duivenhoks Dam, a water source for communities that live further downstream.

The Western Cape’s Provincial Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, celebrates the conservation win:

“This new nature reserve is a win not just for biodiversity, but for the people who rely on the ecosystem services it provides. Our commitment to expanding protected areas is essential in the face of biodiversity loss and climate change. The declaration of Wilderness Nature Reserve strengthens our efforts to connect and protect biodiversity across the Western Cape.”

The win was a joint effort. CapeNature and landowners teamed up to make the declaration official in July, and CapeNature will manage the Wilderness Nature Reserve going forward. One more piece in the puzzle of keeping SA’s natural spaces safe.

Sources: Cape Nature & Two Oceans Aquarium (linked above)

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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In 2017, Johan Scott turned a petty theft into something powerful. A single stolen vegetable led to a garden that would feed a community… and now, in 2025, his story is making waves once more.

Heidelberg, South Africa (21 June 2025) – Sometimes, the internet gives an old story new life. That’s exactly what’s happening right now.

A 2017 story about Johan Scott, a retired policeman from Heidelberg, South Africa, is suddenly going viral again. It’s doing the rounds on Facebook, being shared by pages and people who may not know the full background… but it’s hitting home regardless.

And it’s no surprise why.

It all started with a single stolen cauliflower.

Most people would’ve been annoyed. Maybe even angry. But Johan saw it differently. The missing vegetable made him pause. It made him realise that someone nearby must have been hungry… hungry enough to help themselves.

So instead of putting up a fence or a camera, Johan planted more.

More vegetables. More hope. More kindness.

“It makes my heart happy when I see people eating my vegetables,” he told us in 2017. “That is why I planted this… because the people are hungry, they need this.”

Johan turned the pavement outside his home into a thriving little garden filled with beans, tomatoes, eggplants and beetroot. And told his community they were welcome to help themselves. No charge. No catch. Just food and dignity, freely given.

It was one of the very first stories we shared about growing food for the community… and it’s stuck with us (and South Africa) ever since. Unfortunately, we don’t have a new update on Johan or how his garden is doing in 2025. But what we can tell you is this: his story planted something far bigger than he may have imagined.

Since that viral moment in 2017, we’ve written dozens of stories about ordinary South Africans doing extraordinary things… all by planting vegetables on pavements, in parks, outside schools, or even in wheelbarrows. We’ve seen community champions grow free food gardens in townships, business owners create veggie stands for anyone in need and kids start planting for their neighbours. And in every single one of those stories, the idea is the same: people are hungry… and we can help.

There’s something deeply powerful about these simple gestures, and it’s not because they solve hunger overnight but because they remind us that compassion doesn’t need permission. You don’t need a big budget or a fancy plan. Sometimes all it takes is some seeds, a bit of soil and the will to share.

Desmond Tutu said it best, “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

So if you’re seeing Johan’s story again and wondering if kindness still exists, yes, it does. It’s growing all around us. One veggie patch at a time.

PS… this story may be the seed you needed to start your own “good things garden”!

Sources: Good Things Guy 

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Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

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