Seasons by city

The year in George

George lies on a plateau between the Outeniqua Mountains and the sea, on the Garden Route, where mountain fynbos meets tall indigenous forest.

Biome Fynbos
Rain Rain all year
Altitude about 200 m
Rainfall about 750 mm a year
Province Western Cape

Where the year begins

Rain falls in every season, the climate is mild, and the mountains catch cloud and mist. Snow sometimes dusts the high Outeniqua peaks in winter.

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 rain all year means here

Rain falls in every season, with no long dry spell, so the land stays green for much of the year.

Any season can bring rain, so keep a rain plan for every outdoor lesson, and use the steady rain for a year-long rain gauge.

The turning points of 2027

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

Solstices and equinoxes in 2027, with sunrise, sunset and daylight in George
Turning point	Sunrise	Sunset	Daylight
Autumn equinoxSaturday 20 March 2027	06:33	18:41	12 h 9 min
Midwinter, the shortest dayMonday 21 June 2027	07:35	17:28	9 h 53 min
Spring equinoxThursday 23 September 2027	06:18	18:27	12 h 8 min
Midsummer, the longest dayWednesday 22 December 2027	05:16	19:41	14 h 25 min

Summer: December, January, February

Mild and green. Forest walks are cool on warm days, and the turaco's call is easy to hear; its red wings show only when it flies.

First signs to watch for

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

Cicadas shrilling in the heat, and the warm, resinous smell of the bush in the sun

In the evening sky

On 22 December 2027, midsummer, the longest day, at about 20:56: 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 12:28, 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

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.

Rock Pools at Low Tide

Water, 60 minutes

Visiting the rock pools at low tide to watch anemones, little fish, crabs and starfish, with an adult within arm's reach of each child the whole time.

Water: an adult stays within arm's reach of every child near water, the whole time.
Go as the tide is going out and leave the rocks well before it turns. Never turn your back on the sea, and keep off rocks where waves break or the rock is dark and wet with spray.

Stones and Hollows

Game, 40 minutes

In the shade on a hot afternoon, two players scoop two rows of hollows in the sand and pass small stones around them in turn, counting and planning ahead. A simple family version of a sowing game.

If thunder starts, move onto the stoep or indoors, never under a lone tree.

Autumn: March, April, May

Mushrooms come up on the forest floor after rain. Look closely, but never pick or taste them.

First signs to watch for

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

The first winter rain arriving on a north-west wind, with dark cloud banks rolling in from the sea

In the evening sky

On 20 March 2027, autumn equinox, at about 19:56: 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 12:37, 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.

Three things to do outside

The Worm Heap

Garden, 40 minutes

Building and feeding a compost heap together, turning it now and then and finding the earthworms that turn kitchen peels into dark, crumbly soil.

Spiders and the odd scorpion like warm heaps. Wear gloves, and the adult lifts the top layer with the fork before small hands go in.

Autumn Seed Walk

Nature walk, 45 minutes

A slow autumn walk to gather the seeds, pods and winged fruits that plants are letting go of, then sorting them at home for the nature table.

Some seeds and berries are poisonous, such as syringa berries and castor oil seeds. Your child gathers but never puts seeds in the mouth, and everyone washes hands afterwards.

Sweeping the Yard

Practical life, 30 minutes

In the cool of an autumn or winter morning your child sweeps fallen leaves with a small grass broom, carries them to the compost heap and looks at the patterns the broom leaves in the earth.

Sweep in shoes. Devil thorns and other small thorny burrs hide in dry leaves and bare earth, especially in the dry months.

Winter: June, July, August

Southern right whales come into the bays from about June, and the high peaks are sometimes white with snow after a cold front.

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

The first spring bulbs, such as lachenalias, flowering early in sheltered spots

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-west; 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, halfway up 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 12:31, 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

A Winter Vegetable Bed

Garden, 75 minutes

Preparing a small bed in autumn in a winter-rainfall garden and sowing peas, broad beans, spinach and beetroot to grow with the winter rains.

The adult does the heavy digging. Your child works with a trowel beside the adult, never in front of a swinging spade or fork.

Naming the Sunset Colours

Sky watching, 30 minutes

On a clear winter evening, sitting together to watch the sun go down and naming each colour in the sky as it changes, then painting them the next morning.

Look at the sky around the sun, never straight at the sun itself, even when it is low and red. If it dazzles, look away.

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.

Spring: September, October, November

Ericas and proteas flower on the mountain slopes, and the days grow long and soft.

First signs to watch for

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

The last whales leaving the bays for the summer

In the evening sky

On 23 September 2027, spring equinox, at about 19:42: the moon is last quarter, 47 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 12:22, 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

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.

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.

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.

Places to walk

Garden Route Botanical Garden

Fynbos, forest and medicinal plants of the southern Cape, with short trails.

Victoria Bay

A small sheltered bay with tidal pools, a short drive from the town.

Garden Route National Park, Wilderness section

Lakes, rivers and forest trails, with the call of the Knysna turaco in the trees.

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 George at 33.95 degrees south, 22.45 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.

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