|
 |
|
Sasendle
Adventures
South Africa - Namibia
On-line
Guide to Tour Products &
Company
|
|
News & News Topics -
Inside Sasendle -
Tours & Equipment -
Photos |
|
Welcome to
Sasendle
Accommodated 4x4
Adventure Tours
from the Cape
of Good Hope
to the desert magic of Namibia |
Photo Gallery ... with a difference
South Africa-1a:
Sasendle's Cape-Namibia Explorer Safari
Before downloading these images, please
read download instructions & conditions of use! |
|
South Africa's Climate
Seasonal weather conditions in South Africa and their regional
variations are often difficult to grasp for visitors from the
northern hemisphere. We hope the following will shed some more light
on what to expect:
All of Southern Africa, including South Africa and Namibia have
seasons opposite to those north of the equator - May/June to Aug/Sep
is our winter season, |
 West
Coast,
South Africa
Only after winter rain falls in South
Africa's Western Cape and West Coast areas is it possible to see
carpets of Namaqualand Daisies covering the plains of these
otherwise arid to semi-arid landscapes. As in the photo to the
right, fascinatingly colourful contrasts are created when the
Namaqua Flower Season reaches the Atlantic Ocean coastline.
|
News Topics
Inside Sasendle
-
Company
Profile
-
Inside News
on team,
memberships, shows,
& other topics - pages:
1 /
2 /
3
Newsletter
Archive
Photos
-
Namibia
-
South Africa
-
South Africa
Tour Brief
-
Scheduled
Tours
-
Excursions
& Short
Tours from/to CPT
-
Combo Tours
Tour Highlights
1-5
/ 6
Tours & Equipment
-
Safaris &
Prices 2010
-
Safaris & Prices
2011
Travel Tips
1-7
/
8-10
/ 11- ..
What our safari guests had to say
Customer
Feedback
4x4 Club Activities
(dedicated page
to follow) |
|
Page through the Photo Gallery using
<<
-
>>
|
|
 West
Coast, South Africa
All-year-round attractions of South
Africa's (and Namibia's) West Coast are its marine life as well as
large colonies of pelagic birds and Cape fur-seals. Sasendle's
Explorer safari visits Lambert's Bay where breeding colonies of Cape
Genets and cormorants may be observed from close quarters. Seal
colonies and marine cruises are best accessible from Cape Town, SA,
and Swakopmund, Namibia, with optional day excursions available from
both these town.
All those animal species, also including whales, dolphins and some
rare fish species, depend on the nutrient-rich waters of the arctic
Benguela Current that runs along the south-west coast of the African
continent. |
|
while
the remaining months of the year are the summer season.
Spring and autumn are usually very short and almost intangible
periods, and therefore hardly ever mentioned. In most years, the
change from summer to winter and back to summer is rather dramatic.
In most of Southern Africa, the seasons have characteristics
opposite to those in the northern hemisphere too:
Winter commonly means moderate to warm day-time temperatures,
cool to cold ones at night depending on altitude, and no rain fall
at all. Winter days are therefore sunny and dry with cloudless
skies.
Summers are warm to hot throughout day- and night-times and
also the rainy seasons. Rain normally occurs as short but heavy
downpours in the late afternoon and at night, bringing relief from
the heat.
The EXCEPTIONS from these rules: |
Western Cape Province,
South Africa - Inland Areas
 When
turning inland from the coastal areas of the Western Cape there is
never a 'mountain with a view' far away, and the view always
provides proof of the fertility of this region. If it is not vast
wine farms one sees, it is large-scale plantations of citrus and
stone fruit, vegetables, grains, and many other crops. The Western
Cape inland with its moderate, almost Mediterranean climate is one
of South Africa's few powerhouses when its comes to feeding the
nation and growing produce of export quality. A significant part of
the world-production in international brands of top-class fruit
juices, table grapes, protea and gerbera flowers, navel oranges,
apples, and of course the entire production of
Rooibos tea and Cape wines, are today well-known as
coming from South Africa.
It has not always been like that - during the apartheid era, exports
had to be labelled as originating from other countries to ensure
consumer acceptance in the markets they were sold to. It happened
with the knowledge of the importers, as there was no other way to
meet the growing demand for food in the densely populated
industrialised countries in Europe, the Americas and elsewhere. |
|
More photos about
our comfortably accommodated
4x4 adventure safari "Cape
to Namibia Explorer"
will follow with future site updates.
In the meantime, enjoy viewing
our other photo gallery pages, e.g.
Namibia: Namibia-Kalahari-Cape Discovery,
Accommodation Establishments in Namibia
... or simply keep paging through the photo gallery.
|
|
The Western Cape Province (Cape Town area, western Garden Route, and
West Coast) of South Africa, which is a winter rain fall region that
enjoys mostly dry and warm summers.
Further north from the Cape, towards the Namibian border, the
boundaries of summer and winter rain fall regions begin to blur. The
western parts of South Africa's Northern Cape Province and the
south-western parts of Namibia including the coastal areas therefore
receive winter as well as summer rains but in far lesser quantities
and far more sporadic than either of the individual rain fall
regions.
The remainder of Namibia to the north of this transition area falls
into the summer rain fall region again, like the rest of Southern
Africa.
This also explains why the Namaqualand flower season depends on
winter rain falls only and why winter is usually the best season for
game viewing all over Southern Africa. It is also the best season
for seeing protea and other fynbos species in flower as well
as for whale watching, both highlights only to be seen during winter
in the Western Cape.
Being willing to compromise regarding 'good weather' expectations
during a few winter days spent in that area on Sasendle's "Cape to
Namibia" safaris is usually a small price to pay in return for the
exceptional experiences to be had.
Visitors with special interests in birding and entomology, those
wishing to experience Namibia's Namib and Kalahari in a dazzling
display of fresh green plant growth on orange desert sands, and
those who like to spend beach holidays in the Western Cape area of
South Africa should however give preference to travel dates that
fall into the Southern African summer season ... and accept to
encounter some rain falls as well as some rain effects on road
conditions in the central and northern destinations visited on our
"Cape to Namibia" tours. |
Richtersveld Transfrontier Park,
South Africa
At first sight, this park comprises of
some of South Africa's most barren landscapes. Its climate is mostly
arid, due to marginal rainfalls, even though it is situated in the
transition area of the winter and summer rainfall regions and thus
receives rain during both seasons.
It appears
to be a forbidden land of near lifeless mountains and canyons that allows
only a handful of the toughest plant and animal species to survive.
The vastness of this hostile environment almost defies human
comprehension and dwarfs anything compared to it. Travelling here
feels like entering another world, like returning to the very
beginnings of life on this planet.
Yet, this is the
Succulent Karoo, the richest place on earth in succulent species and a
sanctuary for an array of specially adapted wildlife. Declared a
World Heritage Site and consolidated with its natural extension north
of the Gariep (Orange) River, only in recent years, the Richtersveld counts
amongst the top highlights of Sasendle's "Cape-Namibia Explorer"
4x4 safaris. |
|
 |
|
Northern Cape,
South Africa
The expansive wide open landscapes of
the Northern Cape usually appear harsh and barren in broad daylight.
But sunsets tint them in the softest pink, white and yellow pastel
colours that become particularly impressive when contrasting with
the various shades of green of fresh plant growth.
Even the slightest of rainfalls make desert-adapted plant species
spring into action. Often just a few drops of water are enough to
trigger the full development of shoots and flowers that may have
been dormant for a number of rainless years. During drought periods,
much of the desert and Karoo vegetation looks dried out and dead, if
the visible parts of plants do not completely vanish from the
surface. Sacrificing every bit exposed to the scorching African sun
and conserving just enough moisture in their root systems to start
growing and propagating again immediately when the rains do come, is
part of their unique survival strategy.
This miracle may only be experienced by visitors during certain
times of the year, and when it happens Sasendle's cross-border 4x4
safaris will pay particular attention to the flora of South Africa's
Northern Cape and Namibia's Southern Karas Regions. |
|
Return to Namibia-Unlimited.com |
Sasendle
Adventures Contacts (full details) |
|
|
Email:
info@sasendle-adventures.com / Fax:
+27 - (0)21-911
30 75
/ Tel: +27-(0)21-9112275 |
| |
|
|
