Cape Town's weather and how it affects traveling in the cape
Cape Town's weather and how it affects traveling in the cape
The Cape Doctor, two words that strike fear into of any Cape Town cyclist and make the heart of every kite surfer sing with joy. The Cape Doctor is the name given by the locals to the prevalent South Easterly wind that blows from late spring to early autumn and is responsible for ruining many braais. At its worst it'll blow in clouds that seldom bring rain, this is known as the black South Easter. Locals seldom even complain about the wind, it's a test of how local you really are. If you haven't grown up with regular visits from the Cape Doctor then you're bound to complain about it. My earliest memory of visiting Cape Point nature reserve is dominated almost entirely by wind and my Canadian cousin's whiney accent moaning about how much she hated "Africa." Incidentally this is also my earliest memory of intense bigotry, thought I didn't know this at the time.
This introduction makes it seem like wind is the only weather we get, it is not. A beautiful day in Cape Town is a magical affair, when the sun is shining and the air is still, the sun combined with the lack of clouds heats the air to just the right temperature without melting the tar mac. When you get a day of this calibre it feels as if it is like this every day and you forget how annoying the wind is or how grey and cold the winter days can be. The bronzed residents will strut up and down Camps Bay beach front swearing blind that every day in Cape Town is thisbeautifu. The truth however is that it's not and when it's not something very strange occurs.
One is tempted to say that the winter weather brings out strange behaviour in Capetonians, however the problem is that in winter nothing in Cape Town comes out. Cape Toninans go into a sort of hibernation, all the pretty girls disappear. The only things that increase in numbers are cars. Mother city residents are notorious for refusing to carpool, and their resolve not to share a car with anybody is matched only by their resolve not to use a car in summer. Which means that come winter traffic congestion can double. If you live near a school, especially a school where many of the kids cycle, prepare to add an hour onto your commute, this is not even a joke. The same kids that will happily play rugby in the rain and mud, or jump in pools with their clothes on, cannot for some reason cycle to school in the rain, despite the massive advancements that have been made in wet weather wear.
If using public transport one can rely as usual on the shared taxis to do their regular community service and fit as many people into them as possible so that as few people as possible are left standing in the rain. They also employ a unique driving style that, while frustrating to other commuters, is extremely efficient at ensuring that traffic flows smoothly.
On days that it rains the trains and busses become packed, more so than usual, which is strange because the pavements aren't exactly crammed with pedestrians when the sun is shining. Get the Best Honeymoon Packages at Southern Travels Isle of Wight Tourism and Seaside Trails Foreclosure Prevention in north miami beach NIKOLA TESLA: Solution TIME Travel EXPERIMENTS The dark side of hotel accommodation in Ireland Get Ready for The 2011 London Marathon Thoroughbred Racing – The Triple Crown Lapland snowmobile trips in April Watch American Idol Season 10 Episode 18 Fresh News Turks and Caicos - Island Tourism Get Ready For Your Beach Looks With Well-Toned Abs Join the Celebrity Craze: The Brazilian Blow Dry Stroke'D Out in Vegas. The Strokes Play First Show of 'Angles' Tour