Things to Do in Johannesburg in January

January dawns sit at 18°C to 22°C (64°F to 72°F), good for cycling Orlando West and Vilakazi Street. Pedal past Nelson Mandela's first house, Desmond Tutu's home, and the cooling towers wearing South Africa's biggest mural before storms brew. Tar softens later in summer. But January mornings keep it firm.

Johannesburg perches at 1,753 m (5,751 ft), spawning the anvil clouds that stack up most afternoons. January storms gather slowly, giving you time to shoot from Northcliff Ridge or the Carlton Centre roof as lightning dances for 45-60 minutes before rain arrives.

Inside the dolomite caves the thermometer never budges from 17°C (63°F), so outside heat is irrelevant. Once morning storms pass, light angles across the Sterkfontein Valley shift dramatically, easy to grasp why this UNESCO site yielded half the planet's early hominid fossils. Slip on the visitor centre's new VR headset and stride through 4 million years of human evolution.

January's fickle skies make indoor culture a smart fallback. Edwardian architect Edward Leong designed the JAG building to sit naturally at 20°C (68°F) without air-con. Spend two unhurried hours in the sculpture courtyard with the contemporary African collection while storms brew outside. At Constitutional Hill the former prison cells that once held Gandhi and Mandela feel heavier when thunder darkens the sky.

The Magaliesberg canopy stays 3-4°C (5-7°F) cooler than Johannesburg, and January's morning storms scrub the air for crisp views over the 2 billion-year-old range. The 2.3 km (1.4 mile) zipline arcs above yellowwood trees older than the city itself, wild sage scents the breeze when wind rises ahead of storms.