Western Cape
July & August are traditionally the coldest and wettest months of the year, but there can be days when the sun is out and if you experience a “berg wind” ( a wind which brings in warm air from the interior) you can get hot dry and sunny spells, usually followed by a cold winter front.
The winds start coming from the North West which traditionally brings the cold fronts which come up from the southern ocean, these can bring some stormy weather with cold temperatures, heavy rain and storm force winds.
During such times, it’s fabulous to visit Cape Point and see why the cape was once called the Cape of Storms and to sit down in front of a fire and enjoy some slow and long wine tasting in any number of fabulous wine estates.
The temperatures around this time of year come down to freezing and be in the low teens and lower still at night time, but it rarely gets to freezing temperatures because of it’s location to the ocean.
Inland areas: Northern Cape, North West, Limpopo, Gauteng & the Lowveld
This time of year is the driest and coldest at night time, with crisp clear cold nights with potential for ground frosts. Day time temperatures remain lovely mid twenties, with night time dropping into the lower teens and occasionally lower.
Safari in the Lowveld at this time of year is amazing as it makes for great game viewing given the lack of water and thinner bush, but early mornings remain cold and the temperatures climb steadily to mid twenties during the day. The Lowveld has the best weather conditions at this time of year!
KwaZulu-Natal
This time of year is the driest in KwaZulu-Natal. Protracted periods of sunshine along the coast and lovely clear days in the inland and mountains. Humidity levels will reduce at this time of year making it feel more comfortable during the night times.
Inland temperatures will be a much cooler as you head up into midlands and the mountains. Winter weather systems can bring snow to the Drakensberg Mountains which make them scenically very beautiful and fabulous for walking.
Average temperatures for Durban around this time of year is 23 degrees celcius.
