Seasons by city

The year in Pietermaritzburg

Pietermaritzburg lies in a bowl in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, between the coast and the Drakensberg, where grassland, thornveld and forest patches meet.

Biome Grassland
Rain Summer rain
Altitude about 650 m
Rainfall about 900 mm a year
Province KwaZulu-Natal

Where the year begins

Summers are hot and humid with frequent afternoon thunderstorms. In winter, cold air settles in the valley overnight, bringing frost and morning mist, while the days are dry and clear.

Grassland covers the high central plateau: open, rolling veld with few trees, cold dry winters and green summers. Its wild flowers come up after the first rains and after the winter fires.

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 Pietermaritzburg's rounded location.

Solstices and equinoxes in 2027, with sunrise, sunset and daylight in Pietermaritzburg
Turning point	Sunrise	Sunset	Daylight
Autumn equinoxSaturday 20 March 2027	06:01	18:09	12 h 8 min
Midwinter, the shortest dayMonday 21 June 2027	06:52	17:07	10 h 15 min
Spring equinoxThursday 23 September 2027	05:47	17:55	12 h 8 min
Midsummer, the longest dayWednesday 22 December 2027	04:55	18:58	14 h 3 min

Summer: December, January, February

Storms gather over the hills on most afternoons. Morning is the time for outdoor work; the ground is soft after rain for digging and planting.

First signs to watch for

Christmas beetles singing
Streams running full
Longest day
Widowbirds displaying
Afternoon storm
Termites flying after rain

Red bishops puffed up like little red balls in reed beds near water

In the evening sky

On 22 December 2027, midsummer, the longest day, at about 20:13: 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, high 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

Rich green cotton with a strip of dark grey silk at the back for the storm clouds, with long grass seed heads from a field edge or your own garden; fallen feathers; a smooth stone or two; a small potted plant, such as a red-hot poker or an agapanthus.

Safety this season

On midsummer's day the sun is highest at 11:56, 84 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

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.

At the Stream

Water, 30 minutes

Visiting a shallow stream or pool to float leaf boats, look for tadpoles and listen to the water.

Water: an adult stays within arm's reach of every child near water, the whole time.
An adult stays within arm's reach of a child near any water, all the time.

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

Misty mornings return as the nights cool, and the plane trees in the old streets and gardens turn yellow and brown.

First signs to watch for

Cosmos in flower
Swallows gathering
Last storm of summer
Swallows gone
First frost
Leaves turning yellow

The sky quieter as the swallows leave

In the evening sky

On 20 March 2027, autumn equinox, at about 19:24: 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

Rusty red-brown cotton with a scatter of pink and white felt cosmos flowers, with dry red grass seed heads; fallen yellow leaves from a garden or street tree; dry cosmos seed heads from your own garden; seed pods and fallen twigs.

Safety this season

At the autumn equinox the midday sun, at 12:05, still stands 60 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

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.

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.

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.

Winter: June, July, August

Frost and mist in the valley at dawn give way to clear, sunny days. Aloes flower on the rocky slopes around the city.

First signs to watch for

Ice on the birdbath
Snow on the Drakensberg
Green shoots in the burnt veld
Coldest morning
Blossom on the fruit trees
August wind

White-eyes, mousebirds and sparrows busy at garden feeders

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; Scorpius, halfway up in the east; Carina and Canopus, halfway up in the south-west.

On the nature table

Pale straw-coloured cotton with a strip of white felt for frost and blue silk for the sky, with dry pale grass stems; fallen bark or a few pine cones; pale stones from your own garden; a small potted aloe.

Safety this season

On the shortest day the sun reaches only 37 degrees, at 12:00, 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

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.

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.

Spring: September, October, November

The rains return, the grassland greens, and the city's jacarandas flower in October.

First signs to watch for

Weavers building
First wild flowers
First summer thunderstorm
Jacaranda in bloom
Swallows back
Fireflies

The first summer thunderstorm, and the smell of rain on dry earth

In the evening sky

On 23 September 2027, spring equinox, at about 19:10: 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

Charcoal grey cotton at the back with fresh green silk spreading forward, like new grass after the veld is burnt, with a small piece of charcoal from your own cold fireplace or braai; fallen blossom petals from a peach or plum tree; grass and twigs for a weaver's nest; a small potted plant in flower, such as a wild gerbera.

Safety this season

By the spring equinox the midday sun is back up at 60 degrees, at 11:50, 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.

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.

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.

Places to walk

KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical Garden

An old garden of plane trees and a forest of indigenous trees, with a lake and a spring.

Queen Elizabeth Park

Grassland and woodland above the city, with walking trails.

World's View

A walk along the escarpment above the city, with views over the whole valley.

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 Pietermaritzburg at 29.60 degrees south, 30.40 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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