For any Game of Thrones fanatic this quote is meant to be said in a horrific dramatic tone. But obviously they have never been backpacking in Cape Town before, because winter is actually… not too bad!

The recipe book for 24 hours of Cape Town, in winter will say that the temperature won’t rise up to 17 degrees and won’t go below 8 degrees. Add an occasional unexpected burst of rain and a whiff of wind and you will have a nice plate of Capetonian winter! Winter is a wonderful happening and although Capetonians prefer to hibernate until the temperature rises up to 22 degrees again, for tourists all over the world it’s probably not so bad!

For obvious reasons, winter season is preferred to be called the green season!  If you prefer the great outdoors and a 30 degree sunny day is not necessarily your cup of tea? Head out to the greener locations of Cape Town, because vegetation soaks up the water and it blossoms all across Cape Town. Cape Point won’t be any greener and even Table Mountain and Devils Peak will show some beautiful secret waterfall splashing’s throughout the hiking trails. Luckily Ashanti Gardens lodge is just a couple minutes away from the starting trail!

Weirdly enough, the ocean temperature in winter beats the ocean temperature in summer, and therefore any surfer would actually prefer to come up here in winter. ‘Kiff’ waves, better wind conditions and warmer ocean temperatures sure get those surfers amped and up and running to the fine beaches of Cape Town. You can even pick up some Surfrikan slang while you are at it!

Best way to prepare yourself for winter is… Well actually we don’t know. Take whatever you think is necessary and decide in the morning before. Best advice in this ‘secret season’ is to walk outside when you wake up, take a few breaths and see what will suit the weather best. You either wake up being surprisingly cold or surprisingly warm!

Of course, whenever temperature hits 8 degrees, it could get pretty cold. But luckily Ashanti is prepared for that. Head up to the Kumasi bar and enjoy the cosy comfortable and warm atmosphere. Where our friendly funky staff will hook you up for a nice treat to maximize your wintery stay!

(Spoiler: since its low season it’s cheap and therefore highly affordable to backpack in Cape Town)