Our Farm Dam

This is my new "best place to swim", our farm dam. This dam is on the farm where our dairy is. I have managed the dairy for 8 years. Now we have a manager and I just provide some input. So this work perfectly- I can combine a swimming session with a visit to the dairy.

I am a slow swimmer and have never learned to "turn" in the swimming pool. My focus is on open water swimming and I realized that I need to practice in the type of circumstances that I wanted to swim. I knew that there was worms in the dam so for years I did not swim in the dam. (I and my small children swam in the dam 20 years ago when it was newly built). It was with trepidation that I  went into the dam after so many years.

The red pressure tanks on the opposite dam wall is my marker and I use it to "sight". In my break I have the beautiful surrounding mountains as my view.

To the North East there is the Winterhoek mountains.

In a South Easterly direction is the Du Toit's kloof Mountain

To the west is Kasteelberg where the two towns Riebeek Kasteel and Riebeek West nestled at the foot of the mountain.

I can swim through a 25 m pool with 20 strokes (SPL) So I counted my strokes swimming towards the red pressure tanks and did it in 140 strokes- so figured this equal 7 X 25 m and swimming there and back would be 350m. So I practiced swimming three of this double lengths without a break to make sure that I would be able to swim 1 km in an open water competition. I was impressed with my time of 7 minutes there and back. I thought I would be able to swim a kilometer in 21 minutes.

I wasn't prepared for the absolutely elation I experienced swimming in the muddy water. The water has cool and hotter patches. In certain areas of the dam the wind quiet down and in other areas I got mouthfuls of water when breathing to the left. Swimming will never be the same again!

This was experiences that was necessary for my swim at Eikenhof dam.