The Juice Journal by Juice Film

We’re delighted to welcome you to our beautiful country. Here’s our quick-reference packing guide to a few essentials you shouldn’t be without on a Cape Town shoot in autumn and winter.
Our best advice: pack and dress like an onion — layers, layers, layers. You can genuinely feel four seasons in one day here. Autumn and winter can still bring hot days, but mornings and evenings turn pretty chilly.

Cape Town Weather | Autumn & Winter

Cape Town’s weather is famously unpredictable — it’s not unusual to experience all four seasons in a single day. During autumn and winter, crisp mornings can give way to warm sunshine before cooler temperatures and rain roll in later in the day.

Daytime temperatures generally range between 15–22°C, although warm spells can reach the mid-20s. Early mornings and evenings are much cooler, often dropping below 10°C, particularly in winter.

Winter (June to August) is Cape Town’s rainy season, so occasional showers and strong winds are common — but there are also many beautiful, clear winter days with sunshine and spectacular mountain views.

Our best advice? Dress in layers, and you’ll be comfortable no matter what the Cape Town weather decides to do.

What to Pack

Essentials

• Sunscreen (we’ll have some in the chaperone vehicles and on set, but you can never have enough)
• After-sun
• Insect repellent, if you’re shooting in our beautiful natural locations
• Any regular medication you take (we have medics on set with a basic first aid kit, but if you take specific medication please bring enough for the trip)
• Lip balm
• Sunglasses
• A hat or cap
• A refillable water bottle
• A reusable coffee cup
• Camera

Clothing

• Light cotton T-shirts
• Long-sleeve cotton shirts
• Loose-fitting, comfy clothing — choose natural fibres over synthetic
• Sturdy, waterproof closed-toe shoes or hiking boots
• A hat – wide-brimmed, or a baseball cap
• Sunglasses
• A scarf or sarong to keep over your shoulders and protect your neck (Juice Film will provide one)
• A waterproof raincoat for rainy days
• Sweaters for the early mornings and evenings
• A puffer jacket to keep warm
• A beanie for the early mornings

Staying Hydrated and Warm

• Drink water first thing in the morning and last thing at night — you need to rehydrate overnight
• Sip water throughout the day rather than waiting until you’re thirsty. The colour of your urine is a good guide — the clearer, the better
• Choose sugar-free juices; vitamin C helps keep you nourished and active
• Limit your alcohol intake, or drink a glass of water between each drink
• Always carry an extra layer — the weather can turn around very suddenly here
• Top tip: take probiotics when you arrive, and keep a rehydration sachet in your day bag

Dehydration checklist

• Speak to the medic on set
• Hydrate immediately with water and rehydration salts (we’ll have these on set)
• Move into shade if you’re too hot, or somewhere warm and sheltered if you’re too cold
• Remove excess clothing — shoes and socks included
• Put a cold, wet cloth at the base of your neck for instant relief

Myths and Legends of Table Mountain: Van Hunks and the Devil

One of Table Mountain’s best-loved legends explains the “tablecloth” of cloud that rolls over the mountain. As the story goes, the local pirate Van Hunks climbed to his favourite smoking spot high on the mountain one day, only to find a stranger already sitting beneath his tree. Grudgingly, he struck up a conversation — and ended up challenging the young man to a smoking competition, boasting that no one could out-smoke him.

The two lit their pipes and puffed away from sunrise until dusk, drawing a crowd below who marvelled at the clouds of tobacco smoke blanketing the mountain. As the young man leaned forward to cough, his hat fell off — and Van Hunks spotted two horns hidden beneath his hair. He’d been smoking against the devil himself, and had won.

Furious at being beaten, the devil summoned a clap of thunder and the pair vanished. To this day, locals say that whenever cloud creeps over Table Mountain, it’s Van Hunks and the devil, still at it.