SANParks.org Forums

saw in January 2012... after a good rain... a tropical rain in the Auob river













what a nice vision to see Auob river... with water

We'll be visiting Kgalagadi from May the 4th to the 11th. Do we pack our heavy duty clothes, or should we mix? Is there a website where we can check the average temps for May?
We've always been during August, when the minimum was -7.5 on one day, and the hottest was about 34!

Also - have you had any decent rain down there so far this season?
Can we expect thunderstorms during May?

Wow! I had a look at the webcam this afternoon and was thinking how quickly it had dried up.

It looks like there was a nice bit of rain later in the afternoon. Wonderful.

According to SA Weather 17 mm of rain was measured at twee Rivieren in 24 hr period ending 8am on 15 March.

Looks like some rain in the area ?

www.weatherphotos.co.za/rain_wxmaps_sixdays.html

It's RAINING! Not a heavy rain, but it's been going all morning now...

http://metzone.weathersa.co.za/images/P ... th_rai.pdf

http://www.myweather2.com/City-Town/Sou ... px?month=8

If the above climate information is correct, May and August are very similar months in KTP - see graph at bottom of page. It looks like the area climbs out of June/July wintry conditions and almost makes it back to May levels in terms of temperature.

Have been looking at climate in various extreme parts of South Africa - the country is blessed with destinations for all seasons!!

Am sure if they generated a graph splitting August in two, the second half of August would be almost the same as May overall.. Sorry being geeky - not even visiting KTP in the near future, although it is on the list!

Very geeky....but interesting

Yeah it is interesting. August is cheaper than Easter or Christmas to fly to South Africa so it might be a future trip - could combine with Namakwaland spring flowers and drive down to Cape Town. Great three week holiday plan!! Might try that in a couple of years from now - Kruger, St Lucia and Drakensberg first though!

Hello,

I follow your discussions in this forum for some time now and I'm quite impressed how much information one can find here. Congratulations!

We have been to South Africa several times before but now in June we are going to visit KTP for the first time and I have some questions.

We are 2 couples and drive in one car. We are booked in one unfenced camp (Kieliekrankie). Is is possible to move between the chalets in the evening? We would like to have dinner together. Otherwise we have to cook seperately and that won't be too nice.

I see that you recommend gloves etc. But if I look at the temperatur measurements I see that it's only going down to round about 0°C and max. -10°C. That's a bit confusing for me because I live in Germany and I unpack the gloves only for longer walks in winter with temperatures under -5°C. So does it just feel cooler because of windchill in KTP?

Can't wait to pack my stuff!

Joripad

Hello Joripad and welcome



Strictly speaking, you can't. However, if you explain your position to the camp attendant, I'm sure he'll make a plan. Just bear in mind that you'll also have to carry plates, knives & forks to the "supper" chalet -- possibly the chairs as well They are only equipped for 2. The attendant may also want to escort you back to your own chalet after supper.

As for the cold -- nights and early mornings are cold and, to my mind, -10 is still -10 even if there is no snow

Thank you p@m!

Additional chairs wouldn't be the problem since we have camping chairs in the car. But it will be quite stupid to split the supplies and not be able to sit a bit together and talk. OK, but if it's not possible then we have to do it. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to do this trip with friends.

Back to the temperature topic. Perhaps my English isn't good enough to explain it but -10°C is not the same as -10°C with lots of wind. Therefore I asked if there is a windchill effect additionally. And I didn't talk about snow. (By the way we don't have that much snow here in winter as some people believe.) What I wanted to say is that we won't make long walks in the cold there of course and for a few meters to a car I don't feel I need gloves and beanies and so on.
I can only refer to the weather statistics I find in the web and there I see that at least at TR the night temperatures are around 0°C. That we had this month here and we call it spring
Could it be just a different feeling about the temperature topic? I overheat if it's over 25°C outside. That's why we come to KTP only in winter. I possibly wouldn't survive summer.

Joripad

Welcome to the forums, Joripad
Gloves and beanies do not take up much space ? I would pack them if I were you.

Can I add here as someone who has NOT been to KTP but has lived in South Africa, that where you stay will have an effect on how warm or cold you are.

In Europe, the houses are designed to keep the warm air in and in South Africa, they are designed to be cool inside and allow the heat to escape. I lived in Durban and there were times it was really cold and the temp was 20C outside.

So, take your beanies and gloves.

If you are used to cold weather you may not feel cold but, there is nothing worse than being cold and not having the right clothing with you.

As MATTHYS has said, pack them and then you can put them on if need be.