Tiffindell to be revamped for summer
2012-08-08 18:16
Johannesburg - The owner of South Africa's only ski Resort, Tiffindell, plans to turn it into a summer attraction for now.
Local businessman Lew Campbell bought Tiffendell Ski Resort at an auction for R5.5m in July. He was expected to move onto the 101ha, Eastern Cape resort property, near Barkly East in the southern Drakensberg, in September.
Campbell, who wanted to return Tiffindell to its former glory, intended employing local residents to do so. He wanted visitors to come there for fishing, nature walks and hiking in summer.
The resort had been closed for over two years and would require a fair amount of money to renovate. Situated along the Ben McDhui peak, the resort included chalets able to accommodate about 142
people, with the main lodge area featuring a lounge, restaurant,
kitchen, bar, a shop, ski hire facilities.
Previously, the
101ha resort operated a ski school, found at the ski service and
snowboard centre with a beginners slope, main slope and gully slope
accessed via a pull lift, while the property's main slopes are serviced
by a ski lift.
He expected to have the resort up and running in a limited capacity by next winter, and fully operational by 2014.
"The process of buying Tiffindell has been a pleasure from start to finish.
"The auctioneers facilitated the transaction quickly and seamlessly, and as a lifelong skier I am truly excited to have the opportunity to develop a skier’s paradise in South Africa," he said.
Campbell, who ran the Ferndale-based Ski Instruction Centre called The Ski Deck, had been training skiers and snowboarders, selling ski equipment and skiing holidays to South Africans since 1983.
He said at its peak, Tiffindell was the equal of many a European ski resort and he was determined to return it to "those lofty heights".
Can't wait until then to get your snow-boots on? Check out these snow-hunting spots dotted around South Africa.
