Packing for Botswana & Cape Town in May
 

We'll be in Bots & CT in May, and have heard the safari tents in Bots (Duma; Mombo, Vumbura) can be very cold in May,& CT can be rainy. Should we pack everything-shorts, short sleeved & long sleeved shirts, pants, fleece & rain jackets-or what? Would love to hear from someone who has been there in May. Will also be in Vic Falls, which seems to be somewhat warmer then??

We were in Cape Town in May 2004 and in Botswana about 5 weeks later, in June.

In Cape Town, the weather was warmer than expected, so we were glad we had warm weather clothing. But it was certainly chillier at night and we needed our warmer items too.

The trouble is, weather has become less predictable over the last decade, and where you could once look at the past records for the time of year and take that as reliable indication for the coming year, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

Botswana was cold at night, yes. Very. Beds were lovely and warm though, with high quality duvets and insulated hot-water bottles.

Getting out of bed and dressed in the morning is nippy, to be sure, but doesn't last long and is worth it. We dressed in (lots of) layers and stripped them down as the day heated up. We found we needed a lot of protection as it feels even colder when driving about at fast speed in open vehicles. The wind chill factor of that is considerable. But then, we would be lovely and warm during the day, when the sun was up and we were stopped at a sighting.

Neither of us like high temperatures so this time of year was perfect for us.

And travelling off-peak in the Cape meant we got some great, great prices on accommodation.

Thanks a lot for your input! And I am with you-would much rather have cooler than very hot weather. So did you wear shorts at all? Did you need hiking boots or did you stick with tennis shoes? Would you take a gore-tex raincoat and fleece jacket?

I don't wear shorts EVER so no shorts for me. My husband took along one lightweight pair but, he didn't really wear them. Then again, we're really not shorts people, apart from by a pool or in our garden at home.

I had tshirts, thin long sleeved jerseys, some very thin but warm long sleeved poloneck fleeces, one normal heavier-weight fleece each and we both took a very light-weight waterproof coat, the kind that you can fold up into a very small and light bag. We took a mix of lighter-weight trousers and thicker ones. If we were into shorts, I might have taken one pair of those convertible ones, where you can zip the lower leg off to make shorts.

I took walking boots because I find them most comfortable, but then I wear them quite a bit at home too. I took brown leather Brasher supalite boots, which are comfy and look fine with jeans etc. I had a pair of light shoes in there too. My husband took a pair of very sturdy trainers which are high ankled, so quite like walking boots in terms of support.

Thanks a lot Kavey-very helpful information!

Karn