IN PICTURES | Iced tea anyone? Big freeze brings winter wonderland to SA

As temperatures dipped below zero throughout the country, one tourism establishment in the southern Drakensberg of KwaZulu-Natal was delighted to awaken to a winter wonderland.

Madie Botha, who runs the Silver Streams estate in the Bushmen's Nek area, near Underberg, said temperatures were -8°C on Wednesday night. 

“We are right next to the Ngwangwane River which had frozen in the night and these beautiful icicles that formed on the bench and trees around it. It's just a magical sight,” she said. 

She shared the pictures online and jokingly asked whether anyone wanted “iced tea”.

Botha said they had very cold temperatures last week, between -3°C and -8°C at night, while day temperatures were around 11°C and 15°C. 

“We haven't had snow on the mountains since the beginning of June and there really isn't snow predicted in this cold front at the moment. But we are busy and the guests are making the most of this cold weather.”

Bitterly cold conditions also swept into the interior of the country, with reports of snow falling briefly in Kimberley in the Northern Cape on Thursday morning.

The SA Weather Service (SAWS) issued a yellow level 3 warning for snow leading to possible loss of livestock and crops over the high-lying areas of the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape, the southern interior of Namakwa and the southern Free State.

Johannesburg started the day at 0°C with a high of 8° forecast. Kimberley had a low of -4°C and can expect a high of 10°C on Thursday.

There were also reports of snow blocking roads in the Eastern Cape.

SAWS issued warnings for disruptive rain along the coast and adjacent interior between Plettenberg Bay and Fish River and localised flooding.

A yellow level 2 warning was issued for waves of between 5m and 7m resulting in difficulty in navigation at sea between Saldanha Bay and Plettenberg Bay.

And in Sutherland in the Northern Cape, footage was shared of a person “ice skating” on the frozen streets.

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