Northern Province

This land of legend, ruins and relics lives in ancient forests, sparkling waters, hot springs and waterfalls. Much of it has remained unchanged for centuries, offering unlimited opportunities for the enjoyment of untamed Africa.

One of the loveliest regions of the country is The Soutpansberg range. This range should be explored at leisure by following at least one of the forest trails. Beyond the mountains, mopane trees and giant baobabs dominate the plains sweeping northward to Zimbabwe. Many natural heritage sites in the area are accessible to visitors.

The northern section of the Kruger National Park is renowned for its large herds of elephant and buffalo and a rich bird life. The mountainous area of the Waterberg is also home to numerous game reserves, proving a rewarding experience of wilderness country.

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.