The name 'Old Joe's Kaia' has a lot of significance for many different reasons and just as we often ponder the origin of names, we are frequently questioned about our guesthouse's name.The first part of the name 'Old Joe' refers to a supervisor of a road-building team who was involved in construction in 1927. When a rock with a very peculiar shape was excavated and made to stand up straight it was named after Joe, mainly because of its pot belly. The statue stood near the entrance of the guesthouse for many years and is responsible for the second part of the name 'Kaia' - the home of Old Joe, where 'kaia' means home in several native languages. In 1984 the owners at the time named the guesthouse appropriately 'Old Joe's Kaia'. In 2000, when the road was upgraded to become the N4, the statue was moved 7 kms from the guesthouse towards the Johannesburg direction (West).
The second part of the name, i.e. 'Kaia' has been very controversial, as many people believe it has a negative connotation of an inferior home. When we moved down to Old Joe's Kaia three years ago we were determined to upgrade the guesthouse as well as the name. However, it did not take us long to realise just how well-known the name really is worldwide. Our website tracker soon confirmed this with 78% of all search engine enquiries using the full phrase 'Old Joe's Kaia'. We have now reconciled ourselves with a name which implies a dwelling which is humble, loved and taken care of...
