Weather and climate

Matobo National Park weather

What it is doing right now, what the next two weeks look like, and what each month of the year means for the game viewing.

Right now in the park

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The next two weeks

Straight from the forecast, updated when you open this page. Useful if you are packing. Not useful for choosing a month, which is what the year below is for.

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The year at a glance

Bars are rainfall, the line is the daytime high. Thirty-year averages. The green band marks the months this park is at its driest, which is when most people want to be here.

Rainfall in millimetres along the bottom. Highest month 145 mm, daytime highs from 7.7 to 30.4 degrees.

Every month, and what it means for the wildlife

The temperature tells you what to pack. The rainfall column decides what you will see.

Month	Day	Night	Rain	Wet days	What that means here
January	26.9°C	17.3°C	145 mm	15	The wettest stretch of the year. Green hills, full dams and afternoon storms, with the gravel roads to the outlying camps slippery after rain. Summer migrant birds are present, which makes it good for birding and photography.
February	26.0°C	16.7°C	94 mm	11	The wettest stretch of the year. Green hills, full dams and afternoon storms, with the gravel roads to the outlying camps slippery after rain. Summer migrant birds are present, which makes it good for birding and photography.
March	26.2°C	16.0°C	54 mm	8	The rains tail off and the skies clear while the grass is still long. The hyrax on the kopjes give birth in March and April, and the black eagles start laying from April.
April	25.7°C	14.0°C	18 mm	3	The rains tail off and the skies clear while the grass is still long. The hyrax on the kopjes give birth in March and April, and the black eagles start laying from April.
May prime	22.8°C	10.8°C	8 mm	2	The dry season begins. Cool, bright days and cold nights, with June and July bringing the lowest temperatures of the year. The annual eagle survey season runs from May.
June prime	20.6°C	8.4°C	4 mm	1	The dry season begins. Cool, bright days and cold nights, with June and July bringing the lowest temperatures of the year. The annual eagle survey season runs from May.
July prime	20.5°C	7.7°C	3 mm	0	Peak winter, very dry and clear, with frost possible in the valleys. Eagle chicks are in the nests. August is the month of the annual Mwari pilgrimage, when the sacred sites are especially sensitive.
August prime	24.0°C	9.8°C	2 mm	0	Peak winter, very dry and clear, with frost possible in the valleys. Eagle chicks are in the nests. August is the month of the annual Mwari pilgrimage, when the sacred sites are especially sensitive.
September	28.4°C	13.5°C	8 mm	2	Warming fast, dusty and dry, and the thinned bush makes the game section easier. October is the hottest month and the bare granite radiates heat, so walk early. The first storms can arrive late in October.
October	30.4°C	16.2°C	43 mm	7	Warming fast, dusty and dry, and the thinned bush makes the game section easier. October is the hottest month and the bare granite radiates heat, so walk early. The first storms can arrive late in October.
November	27.0°C	16.4°C	112 mm	14	The rains return and the summer raptors arrive, Wahlberg's and steppe eagles among them. December is wet and green, and busier with Zimbabwean holidaymakers over the festive season.
December	25.8°C	16.7°C	133 mm	16	The rains return and the summer raptors arrive, Wahlberg's and steppe eagles among them. December is wet and green, and busier with Zimbabwean holidaymakers over the festive season.

Climate figures are Open-Meteo climate normals, 1991 to 2020, taken at -20.49, 28.54. The wildlife column is ours, from the sources on the best time to visit page. Averages hide bad years: a dry January still happens, and so does a wet July.