Huge 445kg pumpkin scoops top prize at festival

Cornelis Bester was named this year's Goliat van Gat Pumpkin Festival winner with his massive 445kg pumpkin he named Grietjie after his mother.

- Marizka Coetzer

The Goliat van Gat Pumpkin Festival, hosted by the Cullinan Farmers' Union-affiliated TLU (Transvaal Agricultural Union) SA last weekend, was launched in 2004 as a project to raise awareness about the challenges farmers face.

Lee-Ann van Zyl came in second place with her 360kg pumpkin, while Jacky Smal took third place with her 185kg pumpkin.

Bester, from Heidelberg, said last season some of the challenges they faced included germination in September.

"I inherited an orphan plant from Wykus Lamprecht, so we were already a month behind, then followed the heatwaves that lasted for weeks and our town was without water for another three weeks in December," he said.

He had to beg for water from people with boreholes.