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Zebra in Mokala National Park, South Africa

© 123rf.com / Nico Smit

South Africa weather, climate and geography

Weather & climate

Best time to visit: 

South Africa's climate is seasonal, getting quite chilly in winter (May-August). It's pleasantly warm and sunny in spring and autumn, and delightfully hot in summer (November-March) with frequent heavy tropical rains and hailstorms to cool things down. The thunder and lightening storms over Africa's big skies are quite spectacular.

Even in winters the chill is nothing compared with European standards, with mild frost occasional, and snow a rarity. The rainiest months in Cape Town are May to August, and Johannesburg receives most of its rain in summer.

Christmas can be just too hot for game viewing in the safari parks, and it's also peak season for South African holidaymakers. Cape Town is a magnet for Jo'burgers at Christmas, so best avoided - visit in spring and autumn, when the weather is good and the crowds are smaller.

Required clothing: 

Lightweight cottons and linens; rainwear. Warmer clothes are needed for winter.

Geography

The Republic of South Africa fills the southern tip of the continent and is lapped by the Atlantic to the west and the Indian Ocean to the east. It totally encloses the independent kingdom of Lesotho, and is bordered by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland to the north.

A vast, interior plateau has sharp escarpments that rise above the lowland plains. Mountainous regions include the Drakensberg and Magaliesberg.

The west coast is arid, while the south and southeast coasts are semi-arid, with vegetation fringed by sandy beaches and rocky coves. In contrast, the subtropical northeast has lush wetlands and coastal forests.

Of its nine provinces, Gauteng, which houses Johannesburg and Pretoria in the northeast, is the smallest and most densely populated.

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