a day ago
Correct call makes for a winter-wonderland experience in Nieu Bethesda
We had already planned and booked our midwinter break for the end of July, in the hope of experiencing some decent snow, when Facebook was suddenly abuzz with forecasts of 30cm of snow.
Mrs Guru gave me that puppy dog look and subtly suggested a night or two in Nieu Bethesda, one of her favourite small towns.
Besides, she said, there was still so much she wanted to see in Nieu Bethesda, and the people were so friendly there.
As all husbands know, a happy wife is a happy life, so I was not going to upset her and gave her the go-ahead to book, after consulting with an ex-colleague on his views as to the chances of snow.
We left home on Sunday morning, warm clothes packed, a flask of coffee and some snacks for the road. I don't know why I always get so hungry on road trips.
Heading north towards Graaff-Reinet, we saw some amazing cumulus-type clouds, which just had cold heavy air written all over them.
I took this as a sure sign of moisture and cold, the main ingredients needed for snow.
After relating this to Mrs Guru, she asked if I was trying to convince myself or her that the models were right.
At that stage, I was not overly concerned, as seeing those beautiful cloud formations made the trip worthwhile, even if we did not see any snow.
Stopping every 10 minutes to take photos, turned a three-hour trip into an almost five-hour trip.
After a nice cosy supper and a few glasses of wine, it was off to bed to dream about waking up to a winter wonderland.
During the night, we heard heavy rain and on our previous visit, a long-time resident and farmer told me that it does not snow when it rains in that area. Disappointment started to set in.
The next morning, I was woken up by a very excited Mrs Guru shouting, 'It's snowing, come look.'
Sure enough, the snow was falling but was melting as it hit the ground. It did, however, settle on our vehicle and the surrounding plants.
Off to the local Village Inn and after a hearty breakfast, the owner told us that the snow was laying thick on her father's farm, just outside town.
We did not delay and in 4x4 mode it was on the road, taking it extremely slowly.
The further we went, the heavier the snowfall became, turning the countryside into the winter wonderland we had hoped to experience.
We were so excited we were speechless. Once again stopping every few metres to take reels and reels of photos.
When we got to the farm, we did not venture further up the mountain as it did not look too safe.
There was no way I was going to get stuck in the middle of nowhere in those temperatures.
Besides, we only had two litres of Old Brown Sherry in the car, and we would not survive the cold on that.
So, we took the 8km trek back to the village and encountered a bunch of 'Crazy Daisies' (as I christened them) along the way en route to the farm/guest house.
They were part of a group on the 100km Nieu-Bethesda Camino, walking about 23km a day.
That is gruelling by any standard, but in the snow, well either very brave or crazy comes to my mind. I take my hat off to them.
Then approaching the village, we noted that the snow on the side of the road started to get slushy as it was starting to melt.
An hour later, looking back to the once snow-covered mountains around the village, there was hardly any sign of significant snow.
While on our jaunt I was able to build a snow angle (snowman) and get to pelt Mrs Guru with a grapefruit-sized snowball. We were like children.
Another tick off our proverbial bucket list. We have been lucky to have experienced snow, our recent trip to Founders Lodge with an awesome two game drives and enjoying fish and chips on the beach at Paternoster. All in the space of just more than a year.
My advice to anyone who wants to have a snow experience is that you must be there before the snow begins.
Most of these events only last a few hours at best, so if you want to travel after the snow has fallen, it will be too late.
It's like fishing or playing Lotto. You cannot catch a fish without a line in the water or win the Lotto without a ticket.
Watch the forecast and then take the chance. We were unlucky two years ago, but this time around it was well worth it.
This week in history:
1965 Heavy stock losses in the Cradock and Maclear regions.
Dam Levels
69% slightly down from previous weeks 69.46%. Impofu down to 51.93%
Weather Safety Tips:
Once again, we read about another vehicle washed away on a low water bridge resulting in numerous fatalities. Avoid low water bridges were there is fast running water in times of flooding.
