Seasons by city

The year in Kimberley

Kimberley lies on dry, open thornveld on the edge of the Kalahari, a city built around diamonds, with flamingos on a dam at its northern edge.

Biome Savanna
Rain Summer rain
Altitude about 1 200 m
Rainfall about 420 mm a year
Province Northern Cape

Where the year begins

Rain is low and falls in summer storms. Summer days are very hot, often well above 30 degrees, and winter nights are cold, with frost, under very clear skies.

Savanna, or bushveld, is grass with scattered trees such as thorn trees and marulas. It is the largest biome in South Africa, warm for most of the year, with summer rain and a long dry season.

Selemo's coarse location rules place Kimberley in grassland. The veld around the city is mostly Kimberley thornveld, a savanna of camel thorn and grass, so this page uses savanna, as a Kimberley family can in Settings.

What summer rain means here

Most of the year's rain falls between October and March, often in afternoon thunderstorms, and winter is the dry season.

Keep outdoor lessons to the morning in summer, when storms are least likely, and treat the first big storm of spring as an event to mark together. Winter is the long, dry season for walks, fires and gathering seed.

The turning points of 2027

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

Solstices and equinoxes in 2027, with sunrise, sunset and daylight in Kimberley
Turning point	Sunrise	Sunset	Daylight
Autumn equinoxSaturday 20 March 2027	06:24	18:32	12 h 8 min
Midwinter, the shortest dayMonday 21 June 2027	07:13	17:32	10 h 19 min
Spring equinoxThursday 23 September 2027	06:09	18:17	12 h 8 min
Midsummer, the longest dayWednesday 22 December 2027	05:19	19:18	13 h 59 min

Summer: December, January, February

Very hot afternoons: outdoor lessons belong to the hour after sunrise and the evening, with water, hats and shade. Storms are brief but can bring lightning.

First signs to watch for

Cicadas singing
Longest day
Woodland kingfisher calling
Dung beetles rolling
Marula fruit falling
Termites flying after rain

Green bush, hot humid days and afternoon storms

In the evening sky

On 22 December 2027, midsummer, the longest day, at about 20:33: the moon is waning crescent, 25 percent lit, not yet up, and the Southern Cross is below the horizon or too low to see. 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, halfway up in the south; Grus, the Crane, halfway up in the south-west; The Large Magellanic Cloud, halfway up in the south.

On the nature table

Deep green cotton with a band of red-brown felt for a dirt road, with marula stones, washed and dried after the fruit is eaten; seed pods from under thorn trees (check them for thorns); a feather found on a walk; a small potted plant.

Safety this season

On midsummer's day the sun is highest at 12:19, 85 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.
Ticks are in the long grass now: check arms, legs and hair afterwards.

Festivals

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

Three things to do outside

Washing the Stoep

Water, 40 minutes

On a hot day, scrubbing the stoep together with buckets, brushes and a little soap, splashing as you go and leaving everything clean and cool.

Water: an adult stays within arm's reach of every child near water, the whole time.
A small child can topple head first into a bucket. Keep only a little water in each, stay within arm's reach, and tip the buckets out as soon as you finish.

Dawn Bird Calls

Nature walk, 40 minutes

Getting up just before sunrise to walk quietly and listen to the birds waking, learning one or two calls by ear and ending with a warm drink as the sun comes up.

Walk on pavements and garden paths you know well, as the light is low. Hold small hands near any road or driveway.

Catching Shadows

Game, 30 minutes

Watching shadows grow short and long through the day, and noticing how long the summer evening light lasts.

Play in shade as much as you can between 10 and 3, and wear hats and sunscreen.

Autumn: March, April, May

The heat eases and the thornveld turns gold. The flamingos are worth a visit in any season they are on the dam.

First signs to watch for

Last summer storm
Swallows gathering
Impala rut begins
Kingfishers gone
Leaves turning copper
First cool morning

Grass turning gold, and the bush beginning to thin

In the evening sky

On 20 March 2027, autumn equinox, at about 19:47: 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; Orion, high in the north-west.

On the nature table

Golden yellow cotton, with bushwillow seed pods with their four papery wings; dry grass seed heads; a smooth stone; a small potted plant.

Safety this season

At the autumn equinox the midday sun, at 12:28, still stands 61 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.
Ticks are in the long grass now: check arms, legs and hair afterwards.

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

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.

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.

Hide-and-Seek in the Bushveld

Game, 60 minutes

On a cool winter day, hide-and-seek in a patch of familiar bushveld with the boundaries tied in bright cloth, a home tree, a whistle call and a seeker who counts to one hundred in fives.

Play only on land you know well, such as your own plot or a farm camp where there are no large animals. If anyone sees a snake or a large animal, they stand still and blow their whistle.

Winter: June, July, August

Cold, frosty nights and mild, clear days. The dry air and dark skies make winter evenings superb for finding the Southern Cross and the Milky Way.

First signs to watch for

Aloes flowering
Waterhole busy
Coral tree in flower
Coldest night
Knob thorns flowering
First hot wind

Coral trees bursting into scarlet flowers on bare branches

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; Leo, the Lion, halfway up in the north-west; Carina and Canopus, halfway up in the south-west.

On the nature table

Dusty gold cotton with a small blue cloth in the middle for a waterhole, with fallen seed pods and twigs from bare trees; dry golden grass; stones to make the edge of the waterhole; a small potted aloe.

Safety this season

On the shortest day the sun reaches only 38 degrees, at 12:22, 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.

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.

Lichen Colours on the Koppie

Nature walk, 75 minutes

A morning walk up a small koppie to find the crusts of lichen on the rocks, name their colours and draw a few of them in block crayon at the top.

Snakes and scorpions shelter in rock cracks. Your child looks with the eyes and never puts a hand into a crack or under a rock they cannot see behind.

Spring: September, October, November

Camel thorn trees flower with small yellow balls, and the heat builds week by week before the first storms.

First signs to watch for

Weeping boer-bean flowering
New leaves before the rain
Swallows back
First summer thunderstorm
Jacaranda in bloom
Woodland kingfisher back

Jacarandas flowering purple in the towns

In the evening sky

On 23 September 2027, spring equinox, at about 19:32: the moon is last quarter, 47 percent lit, not yet up, and the Southern Cross is low 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 west; Scorpius, high in the west; Pavo, the Peacock, high in the south.

On the nature table

Pale green silk over dusty gold cotton, with scraps of deep red felt for the boer-bean flowers, with fallen red flowers from a garden boer-bean or coral tree; fresh fallen leaves; grass and twigs for a nest; feathers found on a walk.

Safety this season

By the spring equinox the midday sun is back up at 61 degrees, at 12:13, 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; First Rains Festival on Monday 25 October 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.

A Woven Reed Fence

Building, 90 minutes

In spring your child weaves a low fence around a garden bed, threading reeds or bendy prunings in and out between upright stakes, and sees how weaving makes thin stems strong.

Wetlands and river banks are protected places. Cut reeds only on your own land or where the owner has given permission, and take only a few from each clump.

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.

Places to walk

Kamfers Dam

A wetland on the northern edge of the city where large numbers of lesser flamingos feed, and in some years breed.

The Big Hole

The great open pit of the old diamond mine, with a museum telling the story of the city.

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 Kimberley at 28.75 degrees south, 24.75 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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Your year in Kimberley

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