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SOUTH AFRICAN EMBASSY IN ROME: NEWSLETTER

TOURISMOURISM
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Planning your next holiday in South Africaing your next holiday in South Africa

It is always a good time to visit South Africa! Since South Africa is in the southern hemisphere, it’s summer

down here when it’s winter in Europe and North America. Summer begins in November and lasts till Febru-

ary, which makes this the ideal time to visit if you want to escape the cold weather.

Depending on which part of the country you plan to visit, the average day temperature in summer ranges

from a minimum of 15°C to a maximum of 28°C. In winter the average day temperatures are 19°C to 23°C.

Be sure to take a jacket with you as it can get chilly at night.

South African Tourism advises that, if you’re intending on going on a safari in Mpumalanga and Limpopo

then the best time to visit would be in winter. This is because these two Provinces are very pleasant as it’s

sunny and warm during the day and dry and cool at night. Late winter is popular for game spotting because

the vegetation is sparser and animals visit the waterholes to drink. Summer in the Lowveld can be extreme-

ly hot due to high humidity. Alternatively, you can go on a winter beach holiday in Durban or on the KwaZulu

-Natal coast as average temperatures remain around the 26°C mark.

In Cape Town, the best time to visit is in spring and autumn, which is April and May or the beginning of Sep-

tember to October. Spring is particularly breath taking as you’ll get to witness first-hand some of South Afri-

ca’s most beautiful indigenous flowers bloom. Autumn offers a relief from the summer heat while the vine-

yards of the Cape Winelands start to change colour. Winter in Cape Town is less attractive as it’s character-

ised by wet and windy spells when cold fronts pass through.

The breath taking scenery in South Africa will leave you with fond memories that will last forever and will

draw you back for more and more. Yes, flying is quick and easy, and if you have limited time, a good option,

but most of the magic of exploration lies on the ground. South Africa is a heaven for self-drive enthusiasts.

Here are some of the seasonal highlights that South African Tourism has highlighted on its website as being

of special interest (there are many, many more – visit https://www.southafrica.net/gl/en/travel for details):

The sardine run (May to July)

Aptly described as “The Greatest Shoal on Earth”, the sardine

run takes place every South African winter when millions of

small silvery sardines surge from the cold Cape waters up to

the warmer sanctuary of the KwaZulu-Natal coast. The reason
for this hasn’t been determined however there are many prom-

inent theories that attempt to make sense of this phenomenon.

Whatever the reason, it is quite the spectacle as the shoal is

approximately 15km long, 4km wide and 40m deep. It’s a feed-
ing frenzy for dolphins, sharks, seabirds and other marine life – making it a watching frenzy for people inter-

esting in marine life.
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