South Africa’s winter solstice occurs on June 21. During June the maximum average temperature is
67 F while the minimum average temperature is 45 F. While it does get quite cold during the
night, snow only lightly falls in the higher altitude mountains. Some cities
have their rainy season during the winter and the average precipitation during
June is about 3.5 inches. South Africa
is a great place to visit during the winter to get away from the hot summer
temperatures of the northern hemisphere.
With its cold but sunny atmosphere it’s a great time to take a
vacation.
The summer solstice in South Africa occurs on December
21. With the average maximum temperature
of 75 F and the average minimum of 57 F and an average precipitation of 0.4
inches, it’s a great time to visit a safari.
Although the temperature does not appear to be high, it can get quite
humid in some areas, but as you travel inland the temperatures decrease. In some areas storms are quite common in the
summer and are beautiful sights, but be careful of strong winds that sometimes
have the power to pick up people off their feet!
During the spring Equinox on September 22 there is a
possibility of rain as the average monthly precipitation for this month is 1.7
inches. The temperatures are also
similar to winter solstice temperatures with an average maximum temperature of
64 F and an average minimum temperature of 48 F. As we have seen, the weather does not vary
drastically from winter to spring and therefore these two seasons share much of
their characteristics. The only
difference being that there is considerably less rainfall in the spring. The western and northern capes are popular
destinations for the locals to see the many beautiful flowers that bloom in the
spring.
Last but not least we have the Autumnal Equinox which occurs
on March 20. March is a great time to
visit as some of the best weather occurs all around South Africa. There is little rainfall with an average
precipitation of 0.7 inches and average temperatures ranging from 77 F to 57 F. It is warm during the beginning of autumn from
the continuation of summer but gets cooler as winter approaches. Cape Town is the number one place to visit in
South Africa when visiting during the autumn.
When
thinking of what season to visit South Africa, spring should be one of your
considerations. Spring is a great season
to visit as it is not as hot as summer but outdoor activities, that might not
be comfortable in the winter are also possible.
Some of the most popular attractions include going on a safari, where
you can see animals including buffalo, elephants, lions, leopards, and rhinos
all in their natural habitats. The
Cradle of Humankind, a high-tech visitor attraction that holds the secrets of
the origins of humankind. The Wine
Routes located in the Western Cape showcases South Africa’s unique winemaking centers. All of these are great options not even
including seeing the beautiful flowers in the Western and Northern Capes, a
highlight of the spring. Spring is also
great because there is little rainfall and the thunderstorms and strong winds
of the summer are usually over. There is
so much to do in this small country of South Africa but a once in a lifetime opportunity to
experience the beauty of nature on our planet while vacationing in comfort.
Sources:
goafrica.about.com
www.southafrica.net
Picture from: www.prweb.com
