Snow update: 7am Thursday 22 July 2021
Beautiful snow covered Hogsback!!!!!
Road update
Please note that the 2 km stretch of road in town has just had the tar ripped up and is very slippery, and becoming a mud bath. Please drive cautiously in Hogsback 🙏🏻
Snow is always a joyous occasion in Hogsback. Whenever it snows, all the surrounding towns inhabitants stream to our little village and there is a definite snow vibe all around. Snow angels make their appearance and wonky snowman pop up everywhere, even on bonnets of cars.
A Hogsback snow fact is that it has snowed in Hogsback every month of the year (over the years), except for February. Yes we have had snow on New Years Eve and even during our Spring Festival!
This is the time of the year that the #snowhunters appear as from nowhere. They are relentless in their efforts to experience snow. They will phone random villagers at 5 am in the morning, asking “is it snowing yet?”. We also get phone calls in February already enquiring: “When will it be snowing as I want to make a booking for then”. We then gently suggest that we actually don’t have any control over the weather, but when the #snowfamily insists on us diverging snow secrets, we pick a random date somewhere in July, when (voice lowered to a secretive level) it will DEFINITELY snow. That of course is not a good idea either as we then have to deal with the fallout of IT DID NOT SNOW!!!
One of the big “culprits” for creating wonderful tourism opportunities for our little village is SnowReport, an online snow news agent that always includes us in….. snow reports. Thank you guys, we appreciate any snow-vibes and snow flakes you can channel our way!
So the big question, this week is..... is it going to snow?
Last week we were ready and waiting, we had the woodpiles stacked high. We had the gluhwine ready. The pancake mix was in the fridge. Our most reliable weather forecaster yr.no had a few little snowflakes and sub-zero temperatures and then what happened…. no snow. Ag no.
So this week, this week…. it is going to snow. Even if we have to make our own snow.
Just click on the pictures below to get a snow update
Snow accommodation
If you have not booked a snow-place to stay yet, there is NO MORE ACCOMMODATION AVAILABLE!! You will have to become a daytime-snowhunter.
You can try your luck by sending a message to all the establishments by completing the central reservation form and hope for a cancellation somewhere! BUT don’t get your hopes up.
There might still be place left in the warm dormitories at Hobbiton for a fun family outing! They charge R200 per person and have 7, 2-bed rooms as well as dorms available. Plus you ,can do adventure activities in the snow (zipline etc)….
Is it snowing yet?
This question is normally asked in the same way that little kiddies ask:” Are we there yet?” And like parents everywhere (and the same for us during snowhunting time), we patiently answer…. almost.
So, unless we feel it, unless we hear it, unless we say so, assume it is not yet snowing! We promise to let you know THE MOMENT the first flake falls. We will do this via live broadcasts and posts on our Facebook page. So make sure that you like our Facebook page so long, and set it to receive notifications .
We cannot, and will not respond to individual questions, as we also want to enjoy the snow, and roll around in it, and taste it and throw it! But for those who won’t be able to make it up here, we will post lots of photos, videos and more.
So keep your eyes on our social media. We also ask that you tag your snow photos with #visithogsback and #hogsbacksnow so that we can feature you as well!! You can also post it to our Hogsback Beautiful Hogsback Group
The downside of snow
If you thought that snow is just snowflakes and angels, unfortunately it does have a down side.
It is really really cold. In this difficult time there are many of our community members who are very cold and hungry. So we are asking that you reward our little village for providing a superb snow venue by bringing up blankets and tinned food for our at risk community members. All donations can be dropped off on the way at Jikani, our outreach centre in the main road.
Talking about the main road. Our terrible roads have just been graded and are smooth as a snowman’s bum. We are very worried that with snow and increased visitors that it will be very slippery and extremely dangerous. So please take care, be courteous and considerate to locals and other snowhunters alike. Don’t just park where you want and drive really slowly.
The other downside of snow is that the heavy snow usually result in branches breaking and falling on the electricity lines, which then result in NO ELECTRICITY!
The sub zero temperatures can freeze the water in our pipes, so there may or may not be water apart from the fact that we are water restricted at the moment and need the snow! So, make sure that you shower beforehand! We don’t want smelly snowhunters, ne.
Hogsback Snowman and Raffle
Hogsback’s very own real live snowman will be making his appearance if it snows. He has washed his snowman suite and is ready for some snow action. Look out for him!!
He will be doing live reporting from the scene of the fallen snowflakes and will be encouraging you to make a donation towards our Hobbiton Bridging fund and stand a chance to win a Hogsback stay!! So keep your eyes and ears open and be ready to donate!!!!