bakerstreet

Thanks to great education from gardyloo and other Fororites, I'm understanding better the vastness of the geography in trying to figure out when to plan a first trip to Africa to see a tiny bit of it.

If I plan to visit Cape Town, spend several days hoping to see animals in Kruger National Park and then again on the Chobi River and see Victoria Falls, what month do you consider ideal for such a trip? Our priorities are to be physically comfortable, especially meaning NO high heat and humidity (and preferably a minimum of mosquitoes and other stinging pests), not the rainy season, AND to maximize seeing the animals. The Big Five, of course, to the extent those live in the identified areas. We are not birders and would be most excited about seeing the animals. If we must be either cold or hot and there is no "temperate" season that covers the whole area at the same time that is also a good time to see the animals, we'd rather risk being a little cold than too hot.

Other than seeing the animals, we'd like to enjoy seeing Cape Town, the Falls, etc. So, for example, if there is a time of year when it's so windy no one wants to be outside in Cape Town, or fog blankets everything, etc., I'd rather not go then.

I know these are newbie questions; I'm a newbie and this could be our only safari trip so I'd like to plan for the best possible experience for us and truly value the expert knowledge here.

bakerstreet

I mean Chobe

ekscrunchy

I've been several times in May, September and October and all were fantastic. How could they not be????
At a game lodge you are not out and about in the height of the heat..much depends on the type of lodge..some have a/c.

Personally I would skip Vic Falls if your time is limited..too many other places that I found much more exciting.

I was there in early October...but you have to look at the flow of the Falls in various months to decide whether to stay in Zim or Zambia.....as I recall, we were staying in Zambian that trip and crossed over the bridge to see the Falls on the Zim side. There the heat was boiling hot......close to 120F.but you do get some spray.

bakerstreet

Thank you! We would be taking a pre-arranged trip that covers those locations, so we won't be varying the areas we visit --- that's why I'm interested in understanding the best times weather-wise (and animal viewing-wise) to be at all of those specific areas on the same trip.

I definitely want to avoid "boiling hot" times -- 120F is far far hotter than I want to experience -- so since you said Victoria Falls in early October was that hot perhaps we should not look at a Sept/Oct trip? I'm finding this topic tougher than usual to research, and this is helpful. Thanks.

Gardyloo

The only time we were at Chobe and Victoria Falls was in mid-August. The temperatures were tolerable at the falls - humid, obviously, because it's a giant waterfall complex, but the heat was tolerable for the short time we were at the falls. Because the winter is the dry season, the volume of water over the falls was much less than at other times. We were told that's not a bad thing, because during heavy flows the spray is so thick you can barely see the falls. I'd say in retrospect if we had to do it again, we wouldn't, but YMMV.



At that time of year you ought to have pleasantly warm days and rather chilly nights around Kruger NP, and Cape Town can be a crapshoot - maybe warm, maybe not, maybe wet, sunny, cloudy... all in a few hours of each other. I would say that if September were an option I'd probably go for it; in several trips that included both the Kruger area and Cape Town, that was our favorite time.

mlgb

February worked out pretty well for us in Kruger/Cape Town but the folks who went to Vic Falls said there was too much water then. But I believe you do want water for the Chobe/Okavango.

So glad we did NOT follow the standard advice here to "go in September." Rainfall is not necessarily consistent from year to year, either. For some areas you want rain, for others not so much.

One of the Fodors "experts" said it would be hot, humid and buggy, but that was not true at all in Kruger. The mornings are pleasantly cool, and most safaris schedule a mid day break. We took Malarone and only saw a few mosquitos at the far north (Punda Maria) which you probably don't have time to get too. That was made up for by seeing a Secretary bird stomping a snake and Crimson bee eaters swarming a termite erruption when it finally rained. Oh, yes we did see all of the expected mammals, some in the group even saw wild dogs and we had a pair of leopards which is unusual (they are mostly solitary). Many baby elephants, even baby cheetahs hiding in the long grass with mom. So much for the "wrong time" of year. And we stayed in the "wrong place" i.e., the public accommodations inside Kruger.

( I can't speak to the weather north of there, since I flew to Cape Town rather than taking the charter to Vic Falls/Botswana).

I have learned not to pay too much attention to Fodorite's weather recommendations. If you have a safari planner, I would just ask them directly.