General information on South Africa

Most of the country is situated on a high central plateau with narrow coastal plains extending from the escarpment to the sea. On the east coast the Indian Ocean, warmed by the southward-flowing Mozambique Current, brings dependable rain to the coastal plains. So we have lush forests and bushveld on the east coast and along the escarpment.

Once on the central plateau, the rainfall decreases steadily towards the west until, on the west coast, we have semi-desert conditions. The Atlantic Ocean on this coast is cooled by the Benguela Current, which flows northwards from the Antarctic and so doesn’t bring much rain and only contributes a bit of moisture to this parched land in the form of early morning mists.


Right in the southwest corner of the country, the Western Cape is somewhat anomalous. Rainfall here is in winter and is brought by huge cyclonic weather systems, which are born deep in the southern ocean. The summers are warm and dry and, generally the whole floral and faunal assemblage is unique.
Higher-altitude areas are pleasantly warm over summer, but the mountains are rain and mist prone. The north-eastern regions can be humid, but swimming on the east coast is a year-round proposition. Summer can be exceptionally hot in the lowveld. Spring is the best time for wildflowers in the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces. Winters are mild everywhere except in the highest country, where there are frosts and occasional snowfalls.

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