Sometimes the river is a 6km-wide, impassable torrent and at others, scarcely a stream. The western areas of the Northern Cape, including Namaqualand, a small section of the Green Kalahari and Calvinia, Nieuwoudtville and Loeriesfontein in the Hantam Karoo fall into the winter rainfall area, i.e. April - September. The Northern Cape's weather is typical of desert and semi-desert areas. We live in a large, dry region of fluctuating temperatures and varying topographies. Though somewhat unusual, summer temperatures do sometimes top the 40 mark.
Winter days are warm - the onset of night bringing dew and frost to supplement our low rainfall.
Sutherland, in the Hantam Karoo, is one of the coldest towns in southern Africa. In winter, snow often blankets its surrounding mountains. .