Category: this is south africa

OK. That’s slightly underwhelming.

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After the floods in Stellenbosch (looks like we made it out of there just in time), and the continuous rainfall over the weekend (and quite a bit on either side of it), I was expecting some dramatic upturn in the dam levels.

After all, we have had a total of 148mm of rain in 72 hours (Friday 8am – Monday 8am), and everything around this particular corner of the continent is fully saturated. Damp. Soggy.

And the dams? UP – obviously – by a whole…

0.1%

[sad trombone]

Oh.

That’s not to be sniffed at (although I did very much sniff at it when I saw it), being almost 900 million litres or basically 1 day’s supply to the Mother City. But it is a little underwhelming*.

Thankfully, it’s not the true result of the weekend’s downpours.

A lot of the rain didn’t fall directly into the dams, and so it will take its time to get there. Next week’s reading should hopefully reflect the effects of the recent weather a little better.

Because honestly, why did we have to endure the pain of that weekend for absolutely no gain whatsoever?

.

* this sentence was sponsored by Understatements SA (Pty) Ltd.
Your go-to organisation for disappointing commentary.

5 weeks on

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5 (and a bit) weeks on from this day:

When numerous local records were broken for heat all over the Western Cape. And we find ourselves in Cape Town probably with temperatures pretty much as low as they’re going to get during the day this year.

100mm rain over the last three days – that was only up to 8am this morning, which is when the local figures are collated – and there has been PLENTY more today. (I can still hear it battering down now.)

The wind at Simonstown apparently gusted up to 104kph this afternoon: just short of hurricane strength. It’s been a bit of a wild day, and I’m almost glad that I chose gym over a run.

I know that the seasons change, and that the weather changes with them, but you generally do expect the highs and lows to be six months apart, not six weeks.

Thankfully, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (25oC) are looking actually rather nice, which is great for football, washing, and biology field trips: all of which will be happening on those days.

And we really shouldn’t complain. We need the rain.

I’ll pop a quick post up tomorrow with some updated dam level and rainfall info, for anyone interested. And then a post about invasive plants or something slightly less mundane than the weather.

T&Cs apply.

Barn

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The weekend away was superb. Thanks for asking.

Lots of fresh air, lots of football, lots of friendship, lots of amazing food and drink.

A lot of fun.

The views… Wow.

Like something off a movie set.

And I even managed a couple of morning runs, including one past this barn, which I couldn’t resist stopping and shooting.

OK. Nothing hugely special.

Just full of character, and surely with many, many stories to tell…

Quite a bit of rain

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With Cape Town allegedly desperate for rain (except we’re only comparing the dam levels this year with those from last year which followed the wettest winter on record), Cape Town is going to get some rain.

Quite a bit of rain.

Time to light the fire, grab some red wine, slow cook a beef casserole and hide under a duvet.

Not all at the same time, obviously. Incredibly foolish idea. Mess everywhere.

But it is probably best to just check that your gutters are all clear in tomorrow’s balmy 19oC before Friday hits.

This isn’t the first big storm of the season: it’s not even a proper cold front. But actually, the lack of wind (8kph SW) does mean that once the rain arrives, it’s not going to go away very quickly, and thus will keep falling on the same bit of South Africa (Cape Town) all day.

Edit: It is. Forecast updated. Wet and windy.

Don’t say that you weren’t warned.

Here we go again

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Heading into the interior of the Cape for a few days away with friends.

We have a standard joke in our family that every advert for a Western Cape weekend getaway is advertised as “just 2 hours out of Cape Town”, whether it’s 30 minutes or 4 hours drive, but it does seem that this one really is almost exactly that. Presumably, that’s the sweet spot between being too close to the city and travelling too far from the city, so it looks like the nail has been firmly hit on the head here.

Fine work by the organisers (it wasn’t me).

Limited plans, then: just a weekend of relaxation, good food, good company and maybe one or two beers.
And probably – almost certainly – plenty (or more) football.

Previous trips have been nothing short of excellent, and honestly, I’m sure this one will be no exception, so look out for photos and news on here. I’m told that there is an internet there, but you know me and my blogging – you’ll be covered on here no matter what.