Seasons by city

The year in Cape Town

Cape Town lies between the mountain and two oceans, in the Cape Floral Region, one of the richest places for plants on earth.

Biome Fynbos
Rain Winter rain
Altitude about 10 m
Rainfall about 600 mm a year
Province Western Cape

Where the year begins

The rain comes in winter, on cold fronts from the north-west, and summer is dry and windy. Rainfall varies a great deal across the city: the slopes behind Newlands get far more than the Cape Flats.

Fynbos is fine-leaved shrubland of proteas, ericas and restios, found almost nowhere else on earth. It is adapted to fire and to poor, sandy soil, and it flowers in some corner at every time of year.

What winter rain means here

Most of the year's rain falls between May and August, on cold fronts from the Atlantic, and summer is dry and windy.

Winter is the season of streams, frogs and new green leaves, so plan water and growing lessons then. Summer is dry, bright and windy, and the fire season in the mountains.

The turning points of 2027

Dates are in South African time. Sunrise, sunset and daylight are worked out for Cape Town's rounded location.

Solstices and equinoxes in 2027, with sunrise, sunset and daylight in Cape Town
Turning point	Sunrise	Sunset	Daylight
Autumn equinoxSaturday 20 March 2027	06:49	18:57	12 h 9 min
Midwinter, the shortest dayMonday 21 June 2027	07:51	17:44	9 h 53 min
Spring equinoxThursday 23 September 2027	06:34	18:43	12 h 8 min
Midsummer, the longest dayWednesday 22 December 2027	05:32	19:57	14 h 25 min

Summer: December, January, February

The south-easter blows hard and the tablecloth of cloud spills over the mountain. This is the fire season in the fynbos, so check for fire warnings before mountain walks, and walk early before the wind and heat rise.

First signs to watch for

Agapanthus in bloom
Longest day
Red disa in flower
Tablecloth on the mountain
First March lily
Vlei water low

The south-easter blowing hard in the afternoons, and a white tablecloth of cloud spilling over the mountain

In the evening sky

On 22 December 2027, midsummer, the longest day, at about 21:12: the moon is waning crescent, 25 percent lit, not yet up, and the Southern Cross is low in the south. Planets: Saturn, high in the north-west; Venus, low in the west. For early risers: Jupiter before dawn in the north-east.

Also up: The Small Magellanic Cloud, high in the south; The Large Magellanic Cloud, high in the south; Grus, the Crane, halfway up in the south-west.

On the nature table

Pale straw-gold cotton with a strip of sea-blue silk along the back, with dry restio or grass stems that have fallen in your own garden or on a road verge; a dried protea or leucadendron head that has dropped from a garden bush; two or three smooth stones from your own garden; a shell from the family's own collection.

Safety this season

On midsummer's day the sun is highest at 12:44, 79 degrees above the horizon, so a child's shadow almost disappears at noon; keep the hours around it for shade, hats, sunscreen and water.
Snakes are about in the warm months: stay on paths, look where you step, and leave any snake alone.

Festivals

Midsummer Festival on Wednesday 22 December 2027; Christmas on Saturday 25 December 2027 (Christian).

Three things to do outside

Watching the Weavers

Nature walk, 30 minutes

Sitting quietly near a tree with weaver nests and watching the birds build, call and fly.

Water: an adult stays within arm's reach of every child near water, the whole time.
Weaver colonies are often over water. Hold hands near any dam or river and stay well back from the edge.

The Cupped Hands Relay

Game, 30 minutes

A cooling game for a hot summer morning. Players scoop water from a bucket in their cupped hands and race to pour it into a jar at the far end, seeing how many trips it takes to fill it.

Water: an adult stays within arm's reach of every child near water, the whole time.
An adult stays within arm's reach of the buckets for the whole game, and empties them as soon as it ends. A small child can drown in very little water.

Mud and Clay Kitchen

Building, 30 minutes

Digging, mixing and shaping mud and clay outside: pots, pies, bricks and snakes.

Water: an adult stays within arm's reach of every child near water, the whole time.
Keep only a small amount of water in the bucket and empty it at the end. Even shallow water needs an adult nearby.

Autumn: March, April, May

The first winter rains usually arrive in April or May. Within days, green sorrel leaves appear in damp ground, and the smell of wet earth after the long dry season is worth stopping for.

First signs to watch for

Swallows gathering
Paintbrush lily flowering
First cool morning
First winter rain
Swallows gone
Sorrel leaves up

Ericas beginning to flower in pinks and reds on the slopes

In the evening sky

On 20 March 2027, autumn equinox, at about 20:12: the moon is waxing gibbous, 96 percent lit, halfway up in the north-east, and the Southern Cross is halfway up in the south-east. Planets: Jupiter, halfway up in the north-east; Mars, halfway up in the north-east. For early risers: Mercury before dawn in the east; Venus before dawn in the east.

Also up: Canis Major and Sirius, almost overhead in the north-west; Carina and Canopus, high in the south; The Large Magellanic Cloud, high in the south.

On the nature table

Soft russet cotton with a fold of grey at the back for the first rain clouds, with fallen oak leaves and acorns from a town street or garden; seed pods that have dropped from garden bulbs or bushes; a small potted sorrel (Oxalis) bulb, planted after the first rain; feathers found on a walk.

Safety this season

At the autumn equinox the midday sun, at 12:53, still stands 56 degrees high and burns quickly, so hats stay on and the late afternoon becomes the pleasant time to be out.
Snakes are about in the warm months: stay on paths, look where you step, and leave any snake alone.

Festivals

Autumn Harvest Festival on Saturday 20 March 2027; Easter on Sunday 28 March 2027 (Christian); Freedom Day Family Stories on Tuesday 27 April 2027; Cape Winter Rain Festival on Saturday 15 May 2027.

Three things to do outside

A Stick and Grass Hut

Building, 120 minutes

Over two or three autumn afternoons your child builds a small hut from long sticks and bundles of dry grass, layering the grass from the bottom up so that it sheds the rain.

Snakes rest in long grass, even as the weather cools. The adult cuts the grass, wearing boots and long trousers, and makes plenty of noise while working. Check everyone for ticks when you finish.

Finding the Southern Cross

Sky watching, 30 minutes

On a clear autumn evening, finding the two bright Pointers and following them to the Southern Cross, then using the Cross to find south.

Go out soon after dark so that younger children are in bed at their usual time. By April and May the Cross is already well up in the south east early in the evening.

Shelling on the Stoep

Practical life, 30 minutes

Sitting together in the shade of the stoep, your child pops green peas out of their pods in spring or rubs dry kernels off mealie cobs in autumn, counting as they go.

Dry mealie kernels are small and hard. Keep them out of the reach of babies and toddlers, who can choke on them.

Winter: June, July, August

Fronts roll in from the north-west with rain and wind, and the streams run again. Southern right whales come into False Bay from about June. Between fronts there are still, clear days that are perfect for a walk.

First signs to watch for

Snow on the peaks
First whale in the bay
Arum lilies in the ditches
Whale calf seen
First lachenalia
First pincushion flower

White arum lilies standing in wet ditches and damp hollows

In the evening sky

On 21 June 2027, midwinter, the shortest day, at about 19:00: the moon is waning gibbous, 94 percent lit, not yet up, and the Southern Cross is high in the south. Planets: Mars, high in the north; Jupiter, halfway up in the north-west. For early risers: Saturn before dawn in the north-east.

Also up: Centaurus and the Pointers, almost overhead in the south-east; Carina and Canopus, high in the south-west; Leo, the Lion, halfway up in the north-west.

On the nature table

Deep green felt with a strip of grey-blue silk for the sea and the rain, with fallen protea bracts picked up under a garden sugarbush; pine cones from under a garden or park tree; a potted Cape bulb, such as a lachenalia or an oxalis; a smooth grey stone.

Safety this season

On the shortest day the sun reaches only 33 degrees, at 12:47, and midday shadows are long, but it still burns; cold mornings mean water play waits for a warmer day.

Festivals

Midwinter Lantern Evening on Monday 21 June 2027; Women's Day on Monday 9 August 2027.

Three things to do outside

Washing Line Day

Practical life, 40 minutes

On a breezy morning your child helps peg the washing on the line, watches it flap dry in the wind and then takes it in and folds it, matching socks into pairs.

A rotary washing line can swing round and pinch fingers. Little ones use the low string line, and nobody hangs or swings on the arms of a rotary line.

Midday Shadow Tag

Game, 20 minutes

A running game for a cold, bright winter day. Around midday, when the low winter sun still casts long shadows, the catcher tries to step on the other players' shadows.

The winter sun is low but can still burn at midday, especially at altitude. Wear hats, and put sunscreen on faces if you play for long.

Fynbos Smell Walk

Nature walk, 45 minutes

A slow walk on a fynbos path, rubbing a single leaf here and there to smell the wild herbs, and coming to know a few plants by their scent alone.

Many fynbos plants are protected. Pinch at most one leaf from a common, plentiful bush, never pick flowers or dig plants, and in reserves only smell what is growing.

Spring: September, October, November

Spring flowers bloom on the West Coast and in the sandveld from August, and the fynbos is full of colour. The whales are still in the bay into spring, and the days lengthen quickly.

First signs to watch for

Swallows back
Pincushions in full flower
Painted ladies flowering
South-easter is back
Watsonias in flower
First everlastings

The south-easter returning, with long, bright, windy days

In the evening sky

On 23 September 2027, spring equinox, at about 19:58: the moon is last quarter, 46 percent lit, not yet up, and the Southern Cross is halfway up in the south-west. Planets: Mars, halfway up in the west. For early risers: Saturn before dawn in the north-west.

Also up: Sagittarius and the Teapot, almost overhead in the north-west; Pavo, the Peacock, high in the south; Scorpius, high in the west.

On the nature table

Pale green silk scattered with small squares of pink, orange and yellow cloth for the flowers, with a pincushion head that has dropped from a garden bush; strips of dry reed or grass for a weaver's nest; small fallen feathers; a potted Cape bulb or pelargonium in flower.

Safety this season

By the spring equinox the midday sun is back up at 56 degrees, at 12:38, and UV climbs quickly towards October, so bring the hats out before the heat arrives.
Bees are busy with the spring flowers: walk calmly past hives and flowering trees.

Festivals

Spring Festival of Blossoms on Thursday 23 September 2027; Heritage Day on Friday 24 September 2027; Diwali on Monday 1 November 2027 (Hindu), a date that moves; check locally.

Three things to do outside

The Swallow Skipping Rhyme

Game, 30 minutes

When the swallows return in spring, two people turn a long rope while the others jump in to an original rhyme, counting their jumps in rhythm until they run out.

A rope is for jumping only. Nobody winds it around their neck or ties anyone up with it, and it goes back into its basket after the game.

Planting Beans

Garden, 30 minutes

Planting and caring for a row of beans in a garden bed or a big tin, and watching them come up.

Raw dry beans are not for eating. Keep the seed packet or bag up high.

The Friday Nature Walk

Nature walk, 45 minutes

A slow weekly walk with a basket, the same route each week, gathering small finds for the nature table.

Take water, hats and sunscreen. Walk in the morning before the heat of the day.

Places to walk

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

Fynbos, proteas and a forest of yellowwoods on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, with paths for small legs.

Table Mountain National Park

Silvermine and the lower contour paths are good for families, with streams, sugarbirds and ericas.

Rondevlei Nature Reserve

A wetland in the southern suburbs with flamingos, pelicans and bird hides.

Where these facts come from

Biome, rainfall regime, solstices, equinoxes, sunrise, sunset, the midday sun and the evening sky are computed by Selemo's season engine for Cape Town at 33.95 degrees south, 18.45 degrees east, rounded to about 5 km, using Meeus's astronomical algorithms and the NOAA solar equations.
Biome names follow the national vegetation map of South Africa (Mucina and Rutherford); first signs, the nature table and festivals come from Selemo's seasons library, version 1; activities come from Selemo's activity library, chosen by the Outdoor Matcher for a typical clear morning in each season after the safety rules; altitude and rainfall are rounded long-term figures, being checked against South African Weather Service climate data.

Registering for home education in Western Cape

Your year in Cape Town

Selemo works all this out for your own home in Cape Town and shapes your week around it.

Start the 14-day trial All seasons and festivals

No card needed for the trial. Seedling Free stays free.