North West / Gauteng

Best Time for Magaliesberg & Hartbeespoort

Joburg's weekend escape — ancient mountains, raptor country, and river trails

Monthly scores for 5 activities — derived from multi-year wind, rainfall, sea temperature, and wave averages. No opinion: every score is calculated from the data.

Hiking — Month by Month

Scored on: Dry trails, mild–warm temp, low wind

Best months: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov

Scale:ExcellentGoodFairPoorAvoid· key data point shown per cell

Jan

3/5

Fair

13.4d rain

Feb

3/5

Fair

12.2d rain

Mar

4/5

Good

7.2d rain

Apr

5/5

Excellent

6.2d rain

May

5/5

Excellent

2.6d rain

Jun

5/5

Excellent

2d rain

Jul

5/5

Excellent

0.4d rain

Hols

Aug

5/5

Excellent

0.4d rain

Sep

5/5

Excellent

3d rain

Oct

5/5

Excellent

6.6d rain

Nov

4/5

Good

11.2d rain

Dec

3/5

Fair

14.8d rain

Hols

Where to go

Magaliesberg Hiking Trail (60 km multi-day)
Sparkling Waters circuit
Buffelspoort trails
Hartbeespoort Dam hiking

Best Months per Activity

Months scoring 4/5 or higher. Click a row to explore that activity.

Hiking

Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov

Mountain Biking

Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct

Trail Running

Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Dec

Camping

Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct

Fishing

Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

Monthly Weather Averages

5-year averages 2020–2024 (ERA5 reanalysis)

Month	High/Low (°C)	Rain days	Wind (km/h)	School
January	26.1/15.6	13.4	14.9	Term
February	26/15.3	12.2	14	Term
March	25/13.8	7.2	13.5	Term
April	22/10.6	6.2	14.1	Term
May	20.3/7.4	2.6	13.7	Term
June	17.3/4.1	2	14.7	Term
July	17.8/3.6	0.4	15.2	Winter break
August	21.3/6.4	0.4	17.3	Term
September	25.7/10.6	3	18.2	Term
October	26.9/12.7	6.6	18.2	Term
November	26.7/14.3	11.2	18	Term
December	25.9/15.3	14.8	16.2	Summer break

How Scores Are Calculated

Each month receives a score of 1–5 per activity using fixed thresholds on the raw data. No editorial judgement — every score is derived directly from ERA5, NOAA ERSSTv5, and CMEMS figures.

Hiking:Dry trails, mild–warm temp, low wind

Mountain Biking:Dry trails, manageable temp, low wind

Trail Running:Cool–warm temp (heat risk ↑), low rain

Camping:Dry nights, mild temperatures (frost/heat penalty)

Fishing:Calm seas, manageable wind, cooler water

Data Sources & Attribution

Wind speed, rainfall & air temperature

ERA5 reanalysis (ECMWF) via Open-Meteo Archive API. Daily-max 10 m wind speed, total daily precipitation, and 2 m temperature, 2020–2024, averaged to monthly means. License: CC-BY 4.0.

open-meteo.com

Data last fetched: 2026-05-02

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