botswana in january?

Old May 10th, 2002, 06:41 AM
  #1  
lisa
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botswana in january?

Hello,

My husband and I would like to go on safari to either S. Africa/Botswana or Namibia next January. Is this a bad time to visit given it will summer? Is it very rainy? Will there still be good wildlife viewing? Is it better to go to Eastern Africa at that time of the year?

Thank you!
 
Old May 10th, 2002, 11:28 PM
  #2  
clara
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I was in Botswana last December. I loved it. Everything was so green and very beautiful! Not dry and dusty as it is in July and August. It was hot, but that made it a pleasure to take outdoor showers, even early in the morning. During their winter, which is the high season, it is really cold in the morning when they wake you up at 5:00AM to go on a game drive. You have to bundle up in layers -- you have to take a lot more clothing, in general. I prefer the summer!
 
Old May 11th, 2002, 06:26 AM
  #3  
Liz
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for Clara-
Thanks for your review of Botswana in December. I hadn't thought about the less packing factor. Just how uncomfortable was the heat? Was the midafternoon really difficult? What part of the country are you from? North or South? That makes a difference too. We came from the Pacific Northwest and now live in Nevada and what is hot now to me is quite different than what before and vice versa. Thanks, Liz.
 
Old Aug 2nd, 2002, 05:12 AM
  #4  
karen
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We went to Botswana in August and it was great. They have very different seasons from us -- a rainy season and a dry season. We were there in dry season. From what I understand it is very lush and green during the rainy season but this brings mosquitos in droves so you must be much more careful there. In the dry season it is cool when you get up but afternoons are 80 with no humidity. It is the lack of water in the air -- humidity of 10% or so -- that is the reason it gets so cool at night.

There is a reason it is low season and less expensive -- also in the okavango delta it is flooded at that time and most of the camps are closed. I do not know about eastern Africa as I can't go there -- I can't take the yellow fever vaccine which is required for Kenya or Tanzania or that area.
 
Old Aug 2nd, 2002, 07:01 AM
  #5  
Allen
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One thing to think about is dry versus wet seasons. In the wet season, the delta floods and offers water to the entire area and therefore the animals spread out. The dry season offers water in a much smaller area and the animals concentrate in that area making game viewing fantastic. Also, in the dry season the grass dries up and makes spotting the animals a lot easier than when the grass is high and lush. In any event, Botswana is wonderful any time of year. East Africa in January is great but at that time of the year the great migration has not moved from Tanzania to Kenya so plan to visit both countries if you wish to see the vast herds.
 
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