Weather in S. Africa in August
 

Hello. I am planning to visit South Africa in August - Joberg, Cape Town, Kruger and the Garden Route. What type of clothing should I bring? Thanks.

MauraNYC - think of March in the northern hemisphere (I'm also in NYC but don't compare it exactly to NYC weather). You'll be coming out of Winter, but not quite Spring. It will still be chilly and/or cold in mornings and nights up near Kruger and there may still be possibilities of wet in the Cape area.

So - layers, layers, layers. The worldwide response for transitional periods. Regardless, while on safari, and in open vehicles, whether summer or winter, the wind picks up and you do need a hat, scarf, gloves, socks, and a thermal-t is a good item to have. And layers hold true in the CPT area, as weather is still changeable.

There are many posts on this board regarding weather in SA, and a search will bring them up for you to read. Just input "weather in South Africa" or "in Cape Town" or "Kruger" and click the GO and they'll be there.

Johannesburg usually has dry, sunny weather in winter. Nights sometimes drop below freezing, but noon temperatures often rise to 60 deg F.

Expect the Kruger National Park to be dry and sunny as well. Nights will be cool, sometimes even frosty. Noon temperatures should be pleasant, in the low 70s F.

The Garden Route will be temperate with daytime temperatures in the low 60s F. You may encounter a little rain.

Cape Town's night time temperatures are around 45 deg F and day time temperatures range from low 60s to mid 60s F. As Cape Town has a mediterranean climate with a winter rainfall, you easily could encounter rain. You also may encounter a brisk wind in Cape Town.

You need to be able to add or subtract layers in response to changing temperatures.

At Kruger, on the Garden Route and during many sight seeing activities, you can dress casually. But do take some smart casual clothes as well, since you'll need them for dinner and perhaps even for daytime shopping in Johannesburg.

If a guide takes you on early morning and evening game drives in an open 4x4 vehicle in Kruger, you'll find the wind cold. Take a warm jacket, a woollen cap and gloves or mittens.

Natural colours that blend into nature (khaki and the like) are better for game drives, as they are less disturbing to animals. Some safari guides merely discourage white clothing, but I've read of a case here at Fodors where the guide point blank refused to take someone on a game drive till they'd covered up their white shirt.

Definitely take serious rain gear for Cape Town. You may be lucky and not need it, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

I went for an August hike in Hermanus, near Cape Town, and got thoroughly soaked. It was a lesson to me that there's a reason why some jackets are labelled water-resistant and others are labelled water-proof.

I've just previewed this message, and I see that Sandi already has responded. She's already stated the important stuff. However, since this message contains some additional information, I'll go ahead and post it anyway.

Judy - there's never too much information, even if we sometimes feel we're repeating ourselves. But I love the way you have it down to the temps! I'm generally more flexible in my own mind when it comes to weather, as we never really know - these days anyway.

>>>>>>I'm generally more flexible in my own mind when it comes to weather, as we never really know - these days anyway.<<<<<<

You're so right, Sandi. The weather seems so unpredictable all over the world these days.

I find that when my "real life" friends and acquaintances ask me about the weather in Africa, they don't seem to really "get it" till I quote actual temperatures. I guess that's why I try to give Fodorites temperatures as well. :)