4 Good Reasons to Visit South Africa this June/July

Word on the street (and in many an official tourism report) is that South Africa is usurping Europe as a favourite destination for our Northern Hemisphere counterparts, especially over their long June/July summer holidays. If you haven’t twigged yet, here are some of the reasons why SA is so popular…

Diversity of Landscapes and Activities

While Europe boasts plenty of variety across the continent – from trekking holidays in the mountains, to seaside resort towns and equal doses of urban and rural culture, the point is that more often than not, a multi-country trip is necessary to experience this variety. Not so in South Africa. With 11 official language groups, numerous tribes and ethnic groups, thriving cities and swathes of rural land, culturally speaking, South Africa is a place offering more to the culture vulture than your average destination. And for the ‘doers’, there is great hiking, biking, beaching, dining, bungee-jumping, art gallery touring and more.
 

Furthermore, the landscapes in South Africa and the activities they offer are incomparable. Laze on the beaches or whale watch in and around Cape Town, explore stunning indigenous forest and fynbos along the Garden Route, check out the arid landscape (and plants and animals) of the far north reserve known as the Kgalagadi, spot the Big 5 wildlife in the many game reserves of the interior, or experience a farm stay in KwaZulu Natal’s Midlands or hike up the towering peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains.

Favourable Exchange Rate

While the comparatively weak currency (South African Rand or ZAR) is not great for South Africans, those coming from strong economies like the US, the UK or Europe will find South Africa’s accommodation, activities, food and transport easily affordable, as everything is charged for in our own currency. Another factor which works in foreigners’ favour is that June/July is considered the low tourism season for most areas.
 

High & Low Tourist Seasons are Reversed

Given South Africa’s location in the Southern Hemisphere, it follows that when it is winter in the north it’s summer here, and vice versa. This means that the tourist seasons are reversed too. So June/July in South Africa is largely regarded as the low season in many regions, meaning that not only is it less crowded and busy (making planning activities a breeze) but a lot cheaper too, since you won’t be paying inflated high season prices.
 

Decent Weather, Year-Round

In case you are wondering why anyone would give up their Northern Hemisphere summer for a South African winter, there is an answer to that too. For starters, South African winters are comparatively mild – none of this dark, snowy business for us!
 

The number of daylight hours varies little between summer and winter here, and while the temperatures drop depending on where you are, this is hardly a problem. KwaZulu Natal’s North Coast and South Coast for example have winter average temperatures of around 23-25°C, and the warm Indian Ocean means a ‘winter’ beach holiday is well within the realm of possibilities!
 
Believe it or not, there are certain activities in South Africa which are best done during winter here. Whale watching is one such activity, as the Western Cape Province’s Southern Cape’s famed southern right whales only arrive in the Cape to breed and raise their young around May, and stay for 4-5 months. Game viewing up in the Kruger National Park is also excellent in winter as the dry season leads to lack of plant growth, in turn making it easier to spot the animals, which also tend to congregate around the limited water resources in winter.