Drakensberg

The Drakensberg is the country's most impressive mountain range and a very popular holiday destination. Nestled at the foot of these mountains are numerous fine hotels and holiday resorts. There are several supurb walks and hikes throughout the Drakensburg. These range from gentle day walks to strenuous treks of a few days.

Although it is just a little over 8000 hectares, the Royal Natal Park has some of the most dramatic and accessible scenery Drakensburg has to offer. Throughout the National park you will be able to se a wide variety of flora and fauna. There are also a lot of excellent hiking and climbing areas throughout the park.

The eastern plateau region (including Johannesburg) has a dry, sunny climate in winter with maximum temperatures around 20ºC and crisp nights with temperatures dropping to around 5ºC. Between October and April there are late-afternoon showers often accompanied by spectacular thunder and lightning, but it rarely gets unpleasantly hot. Heavy hailstorms cause quite a lot of damage each year. It can, however, get very hot in the Karoo (the semi-desert heart of all three Cape provinces) and the far north (the Kalahari). The Western Cape has dry sunny summers with maximum temperatures around 26ºC. It is often windy, however, and the southeasterly 'Cape Doctor' can reach gale force. Winters can get cold, with average minimum temperatures of around 5ºC, and maximum temperatures of around 17'C, with occasional snow on the higher peaks.

The coast north from the Cape becomes progressively drier and hotter. Along the south coast the weather is temperate, but the east coast becomes increasingly tropical the further north you go. The Transkei region and KwaZulu/Natal can be hot and unpleasantly humid in summer, although the highlands are still pleasant; this is also a summer rainfall area. The Mpumalanga and Northern Province lowveld get very hot in summer, when there are spectacular storms. In winter the days are sunny and warm.