Best time to hike the Whale Trail
Best: June–November. Also good: April–May.
The Whale Trail is 53 km long, in 5 stages. Below is the average weather for every month at about 94 m, the middle height of the trail (0–599 m), from 10 years of daily data (2015–2024).
Weather month by month
| Month | High °C | Low °C | Rain mm | Rain days | Daylight h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 19° | 27 | 6 | 14.2 |
| February | 25° | 19° | 24 | 6 | 13.4 |
| March | 24° | 18° | 56 | 9 | 12.4 |
| April | 21° | 16° | 29 | 6 | 11.3 |
| May | 20° | 14° | 52 | 6 | 10.3 |
| June | 18° | 12° | 58 | 8 | 9.9 |
| July | 17° | 11° | 43 | 8 | 10.1 |
| August | 17° | 11° | 43 | 9 | 10.8 |
| September | 18° | 12° | 40 | 7 | 11.9 |
| October | 20° | 14° | 37 | 6 | 13.0 |
| November | 22° | 16° | 28 | 5 | 14.0 |
| December | 23° | 18° | 32 | 6 | 14.4 |
Higher up it is colder: about 6 °C less for every 1,000 m of height. The highest point of the trail is 599 m.
Season notes from our guide
The trail is open all year and groups start every day. June to November is whale season and the most popular time; it is also winter and spring, with cool days, some rain and strong cold fronts. December to March is hot, dry and often windy, with little shade on Potberg: start early on days 1 and 2. CapeNature charges a higher tariff from June to December.
Stages, map, elevation profile, places to stay and emergency help, free.
Read the full Whale Trail guideHike it with Outest
Offline maps, stages and places to stay on your phone.
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Weather: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis), daily values 2015–2024 near -34.45, 20.72, adjusted to 94 m. Rain days: days with at least 1 mm. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th of the month.