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CLIMATE
ZONES and TRAVEL PERIOD
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The
Cape Region
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The Cape region has got
a Mediterranean winter rain climate. Typically, the summers are warm and dry - while
the winters are humid and cool. The best time to travel in the Cape region is from spring to autumn - i.e. from September (wildflower season in Namaqualand) - otherwise from October to late April, early May.
The Addo National Park is one of the few
Big Five Parks with the best time to visit in summer. |
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The
Karoo
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The hinterland of the Little- and Great Karoo is a
semi-arid to arid region with little rain all year round. The relatively rare rain falls in the western and southern regions of the Karoo only in winter, in the northeastern regions, however, predominantly in summer. |
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KwaZulu-Natal
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Natal, with the area around Durban, has a subtropical climate up to Mozambique with much less seasonal fluctuations. There you will find the large nature parks along the coast of the Indian Ocean (iSimangaliso Wetlands Park with Sodwana and Cosi Bay and further up across the border, the Maputo Elephant Reserve in Mozambique), nature parks in the high mountains of the Drakensberg region and of course the large game reserves such as the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park. |
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The
North and East
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The northeast of South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, however, are summer rain areas. That means summers are warm, the landscape often glows in lush green and
it rains fairly often. The winters, however, are dry and cool. When the sky is blue, it is pleasantly warm during the day, but can get very cold at night - especially in the higher areas (sometimes below freezing).
Nevertheless, winter is the main travel time for the large national parks, such as Kruger, Etosha or the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Because the water is scarce, it gathers
the game at the few water points and it can be observed well there. Many native trees and shrubs also lose their foliage during the dry season, making it easier to see the game roaming around. |
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But this also means that you have to book well in advance for Etosha and Kruger National Park if you want to travel there in the autumn and winter months until spring (especially the months June to September). The same applies to the Kgalgadi Transfrontier Park (Kalahari Gemsbok National Park).
Personally, however, I particularly appreciate the rainy season in these regions, the sky, occasional tropical thunderstorms, the rich green colors ... and the one who knows where to look and what to look out for shouldn't have any problems with game viewing. |
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The best time for whale watching is in the winter months from June / July to early summer October / November (regionally different). Cows and bulls come for the rutting season, the pregnant cows come for giving birth to the calves. In spring, early summer - at the latest just before Christmas - they move back into the waters of the Antarctic.
In the area around the Cape of Good Hope up to Port Elizabeth you can also watch whales well from the coast as it becomes more difficult along the Atlantic coast northwards, towards Namibia, because
of the flattening shores and the missing bays to see even large mammals from land.
You
may attend to Whale watching tours almost everywhere along the coast
with approved tour operators. Private boats must not approach the whales less than five hundred meters away.
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