SOUTH AFRICA’S seasons demystified

South Africa is a country of striking climatic and altitudinal contrasts. From the dry grassy highveld around Johannesburg to the subtropical savannah of the eastern lowveld, from the lofty peaks of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg to the idyllic beaches of KwaZulu-Natal, from the parched semi-deserts of the Northern Cape to the temperate evergreen fynbos around Cape Town, there really is no such thing as a typical South African climate.

Actually, that’s not quite true. Typically, most of South Africa, most of the time, is attractively warm and sunny. Certainly, there is no time of year when I would recommend against a visit. That said, a fair response to the question ‘When’s