ALETMARI Pretorius, a farmer’s wife from Glen Rock in the Molteno district, was ready with her camera when her husband, Louwie and his father, Eben, both climbed over the dam wall to sit on the frozen dam recently.
“When I read the temperature on our thermometer, I realised that Louwie would definitely take the chance to stand on the frozen dam again. However, I was quite surprised when my father-in-law also climbed up this time,” Aletmari said.
“Louwie has also taken the ‘big step’ in the past to stand on the frozen dam for photos, but he always ensured that the night temperatures were cold enough, before he took this risk.”
Even furrows with water were frozen. His Facebook page also shows photos where he tries to walk on a frozen mountain stream. However, he knows his story, because when the surface began to crack, he immediately crawled back to where the ice was still solid.
On Thursday, July 15, a minimum temperature of -16°C was recorded at Glen Rock. Temperatures of -19°C have been recorded in previous winters.
In the high-lying farms in the Molteno district, frozen mountain furrows, water holes and fountain dams are common in winter. Some stay frozen for a few days.
Icy weather was also forecast for the following week in the Molteno Mountains, with heavy snowfalls.
The very cold weather is good, because there are apple farmers in the Molteno district who are grateful for this cold, because it holds the promise of a very good harvest.
