Seasons by city

The year in Mbombela

Mbombela lies in the subtropical Lowveld of Mpumalanga, in a green valley of rivers, granite domes and fruit farms, below the escarpment.

Biome Savanna
Rain Summer rain
Altitude about 660 m
Rainfall about 770 mm a year
Province Mpumalanga

Where the year begins

Summers are hot and humid with afternoon thunderstorms; winters are mild, dry and sunny, and frost is rare.

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.

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 Mbombela's rounded location.

Solstices and equinoxes in 2027, with sunrise, sunset and daylight in Mbombela
Turning point	Sunrise	Sunset	Daylight
Autumn equinoxSaturday 20 March 2027	05:59	18:07	12 h 8 min
Midwinter, the shortest dayMonday 21 June 2027	06:41	17:14	10 h 33 min
Spring equinoxThursday 23 September 2027	05:45	17:52	12 h 7 min
Midsummer, the longest dayWednesday 22 December 2027	05:02	18:46	13 h 44 min

Summer: December, January, February

Litchis and mangoes ripen on the farms around the city, and the afternoons are heavy with heat and storms. Outdoor time belongs to the early morning.

First signs to watch for

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

Young impala playing together in nursery groups

In the evening sky

On 22 December 2027, midsummer, the longest day, at about 20:01: 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: Grus, the Crane, halfway up in the south-west; The Small Magellanic Cloud, halfway up in the south; 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 11:54, 88 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 Dog

Practical life, 45 minutes

On a hot summer morning your child helps wash the family dog in a tub on the lawn, then brushes it dry in the sun and looks carefully through its coat for ticks.

Water: an adult stays within arm's reach of every child near water, the whole time.
Wash only a calm dog that knows your child well. The adult holds the lead or collar the whole time, because a frightened or uncomfortable dog may nip.

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.

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 heat breaks, the storms ease, and the bush is at its greenest. A fine season for river walks.

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 19:22: 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 12:03, still stands 65 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

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.

A Hopping Game in the Dust

Game, 30 minutes

Your child scratches a ladder of numbered squares into bare earth with a stick, tosses a flat stone and hops up and back, counting aloud. Nothing is needed but a stick, a stone and a patch of ground.

Sweep the patch clear of thorns, devil thorn burrs and sharp stones before you draw, and play in shoes in the dry months.

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.

Winter: June, July, August

Warm, dry days that are easy to spend outside, and cool nights. The bush thins, and coral trees and aloes add red to the hillsides.

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, high in the south; Scorpius, halfway up in the east; Leo, the Lion, halfway up in the north-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 41 degrees, at 11:57, 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

Seedlings on the Windowsill

Garden, 30 minutes

In late winter, sowing tomato, sweet pepper and basil seeds in an egg box on a sunny windowsill and caring for them each morning until they are ready to plant out in spring.

Some bought seeds are coated and are not for eating. Put the packets away after sowing and wash hands afterwards.

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.

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

The heat returns quickly, jacarandas flower in the town, and everyone watches the sky for the first rains.

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

Hot, heavy days before the rain, then the first storm with a cool wind ahead of it

In the evening sky

On 23 September 2027, spring equinox, at about 19:07: 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 south-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 65 degrees, at 11:48, 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

A Friendly Scarecrow

Practical life, 75 minutes

At spring planting time your child builds a scarecrow from two poles, old clothes and dry grass, gives it a kind face and a name, and plants it in the vegetable bed to keep the birds off the seedlings.

If you cut long grass for stuffing in spring or summer, wear boots, make plenty of noise as you go and let the adult do the cutting, because snakes rest in long grass.

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.

Bees on the Flowers

Nature walk, 30 minutes

Watching bees from a respectful distance as they visit flowers in the garden or veld.

Know whether anyone in the family is allergic to bee stings before you go, and carry what they need.

Places to walk

Lowveld National Botanical Garden

Waterfalls on the Crocodile and Nels rivers, a forest walk and a large collection of cycads.

The granite koppies around the city

Rocky domes for a careful scramble and a view, in the cool of the morning.

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 Mbombela at 25.45 degrees south, 30.95 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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