Robert Forsyth was born and educated in Zimbabwe. He studied at
the Theological College in South Africa and later at Christ for the Nations
theological university in the USA. He began his entrepreneurial
career in 1981 with the founding of Audio Word (Pty) Ltd, a company involved in
adult education through the medium of audio cassette.
In 1993 he
moved into the hospitality industry and built the Carnivore restaurant at
Muldersdrift, in partnership with a Kenyan group. At the same time
he developed the Misty Hills Country Hotel, Conference Centre & Spa, as
well as Kedar Heritage Lodge, Conference Centre & Spa on the historic farm
of Paul Kruger near Sun City, situated on a private game
conservancy. All these establishments, Misty Hills, Kedar and Carnivore
restaurant have, and continue to receive prestigious awards.
Robert Forsyth was the first recipient of the Green Heart Award, in
2012, which acknowledges his many “greening” credentials – planting of
indigenous trees, rehabilitation of degraded wetland areas, a pygmy hippo
breeding programme and the founding of a registered botanical garden at Misty
Hills. He received the President Paul Kruger Trust award in 2011,
in recognition of the work he has done in preserving the President Kruger home,
farm and historical memorabilia. Although he is not a Rotarian, in February
2016, he was made a Paul Harris Fellow by Rustenburg Rotary - the highest award
that Rotary International can bestow, “in
appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance
of better understanding and friendly relations among people of the world”.
Robert Forsyth has a keen interest in philosophy and human potential,
and has one of the largest Anglo Boer War militaria/ memorabilia collections in
the world. This collection is on view to the public at Kedar Heritage Lodge and
the Paul Kruger Country House Museum at Boekenhoutfontein, near Rustenburg, in
the North-West Province.
Robert Forsyth is a fellow of the Institute of Directors in southern
Africa and the UK, and serves on the boards of several companies.
He is the author of a book entitled The Philosophy of Success. He
is married to Adele Forsyth, a Chartered Accountant, and they have two
children, Sarah and Robert Jnr.
