Southern Hemi Skiing

Australia

There is something definitely weird about skiing in the Southern Hemisphere. It's winter, there's snow, but oh yeah it's August! Still we had to experience it while we were here. And it was a little less weird coming from Joburg where at least it is also winter as opposed to coming straight from the dog days of summer in NJ as we had in the past.

Argentina

 
Vince and I had skied below the equator before in Australia and Patagonia in Argentina. We had always figured if we ever skied in Africa it would probably be North Africa in the Atlas Mountains, and we may still ski there someday, but while in Rome ...

South Africa

South Africa's one and only real ski resort is Tiffindell in the Drakensberg Mountains on the border of Lesotho. There are other places that get snow where you can ski in South Africa, but Tiffindell is as close to what we would call a ski resort in the west. Lifts, equipment rental, an assortment of accommodations, restaurants and the all important après ski establishments. All in a self-contained ski village. Actually it reminded me a little of a miniature Smugglers' Notch, Vermont where we have a ski condo.

Like driving to Smuggs from NJ, getting to Tiffindell was a bit of a chore. It is a nine hour drive from Joburg through the veld of the Free State. You can fly to the capital of the Free State, Bloemfontein, but you would still have to rent a car for another four hour drive to Rhodes and the recommended one hour shuttle up a steep unpaved incline to the resort. We opted to skip the flight, rental car, and shuttle and just drive the whole thing from Joburg in a rented 4 X 4. We love to road trip so we can stop and explore.

We left at the crack of dawn. It was pretty much highway all the way until we got to Barkly East which had the last gas station and ATM before Tiffindell. We stocked up at both. Once we got to Rhodes, the gateway to Tiffindell, the road turned unpaved and narrow and the final leg was a harrowing, switchback-filled, guardrail-less, 45 degree climb up what was really a glorified goat path. My 4-wheeling fool of a husband thought it was a blast but I was glad we had at least left plenty of time to do it in broad daylight.

Tiffindell just reopened this year after four years of being closed for a complete overhaul by new management. I wish them well. The staff were really nice, the food was good and the accommodations were quite comfortable. Nearby Rhodes is apparently a trout fly-fishing destination too. (If they read this, they could use an airstrip with regular shuttles from Cape Town and Joburg. Just sayin'.)

I guess the last ski frontier for us in the Southern Hemisphere is the all-snow-all-the-time continent of Antarctica. There are some expeditions I am considering that include cross-country skiing but there are no downhill resorts there. Yet.