The cold front that swept through the Western Cape this week didn’t only bring much-needed downpours, it also brought some snowfall in the high-lying areas of the province.
Local photographer, Kevin Sawyer, jumped at the opportunity to document the snowfall at Matroosberg Nature Reserve, known for their snow-capped peaks. He also managed to capture some pretty epic images from his 12 hour jaunt on the mountain.
Sawyer says the call of the cold beckoned him.
“I have been in snow before so it is not unusual to me. It is incredible knowing the snow is only 2 hours from home. This is often an experience we would travel overseas to enjoy,” he said.
He watched the weather carefully and knew he had a good chance of finding snow when temperatures dropped to -10°C in the evening and rose to a mere 2°C in the day.
On June 6, Sawyer packed his car with camera gear, food and coffee then set off to Matroosberg Nature Reserve at 6am to catch the snow.
“The reserve officials suggested we let out our tyres to at least 1.5 bar if we were going do the 4×4 trail. A few kilometres into the reserve the roads were less of a road and more of boulder hopping and rock sliding vertical climbs up the mountain. We pushed on and were eventually surrounded by snowy mountains with nobody else in sight. The car temperature reading blinked at 2°C continuously and our excitement increased with every metre gained. After two hours of crawling up the mountain in 4WD low range we were welcomed by incredible 360° panorama views of snow-covered mountains,” Sawyer recalls.
“We made it back to Cape Town by 6pm to call it a solid 12 hour adventure day that has definitely set the tone for this winters’ missions.”
Pictures: Kevin Sawyer