Where Next???
 

okay, I'm hooked. Where should I go for my 2nd safari? I'm thinking southern Afreekah - South Africa, Zambia, Botswana or Namibia. I like the idea of sticking with one country at a time. This way I have an excuse to keep going back, not that excuses are needed, but people may more readily underdstand why the house has not been re-painted in 10 years if one MUST instead go back to Afreekah to see a new country.

Trip report is coming, I promise, but I simply must start planning another trip. I'm not yet ready to release the old trip (old -I've just been back for 2 days!) until I can begin planning a new one.
J

Any one of those destinations will make a good choice. My personal fav-Botswana....

Btw, where did you just return from?

Hari

Tanzania - North circuit as well as Selous, my persoanl favourite. Really liked being on the Rufiji River, so my next destination would have to include some water spots, which Botswana has as well as Namibia and Zambia, so this decision will not be easy!

Zambia has your name all over it. Get hold of Rocco NOW and he'll straighten you out.

Namibia has next to NO water, unless you plan to be in the Caprivi area.

However, I found Etosha (in Namibia) to be excellent in terms of the types of animal interactions that I saw. The Okaukuejo waterhole (at the Etosha rest camp of the same name) is NOT to be missed! Saw black rhinos, and most of a lion kill. Would have seen the whole thing, except the lions managed to chase their prey just out of range of the lights. However, the sounds of the lions fighting over the kill were impressive enough.

I skipped the rest of Namibia as we were short on time, and because I thought the other attractions were a bit too similar to the western U.S. desert. Still beautiful, but I wanted to see other things first.

Gritty,

I disagree....Namibia very very different from the Western US.

Hari

Thank you all! Actually I've been so busy reading the trip reports of others, and writing my own,that I have not checked back for replies! I really respect the viewpoints of the posters here and owe alot of thanks to so many! Thank you for replying -

mkhonzo I did have plans to contact Rocco - He definately is the Zambia expert! He tried to get me there as our first ssafari but I chickened out. All I could do was picture my 12 year old son in a capsized "canoe" being attacked by hippos. Now I realize it is more likely to be me in that "canoe", but that I can live with!

I'm thinking of combining a bit of Botswana as well - Mombo camp is a name that keeps coming up. As it will be 10 of us this time, for sure. I have to book very early which is why I'm starting to look now for 2008.

J

If we were to travel in late June, early July- like we did this year, what would the weather typically be like in Botswana &/or Zambia? Would this be a good time to go for wildlife viewing in those areas? Is the weather too cold or too wet there to really enjoy gameviewing? (Anything under 50F would be considered "too cold")

Or, should we wait until late July, early August and go to Kenya? I really liked Sandi's pictures of Shampole (sp?)

As we still have kids in school, waiting until late August, early September is out of the question.

Please help me out with this - I know it seems like we have plenty of time, (2008) but if there are going to be 10 of us, possibly 12 (and no more than that!) I need to start looking at lodges/camps early especially since we prefer the smaller ones!

Thanks!

Forgot to mention - we really want to see more predators this time - leopard, lions, cheetah, hyena, and (fingers crossed) wild dogs!

Back 2 days and planning a return. You are hooked!

Planning now for 08 is not too early, especially if you want Mombo.

Any of those destinations you cited would make good second trips.

When I read your most recent post, that points to Botswana. Late July, early August would be a good time for wild dogs (but they are elusive) and a good time in general for Botswana.

June & July IMO are excellent months to be in both Zambia & Bots. Temps will plummet at night, but then you pull on the jacket, crowd the fire and suck on a scotch, no problem. Fact is if you go later in the year it can become sincerely HOT.

June / July for game viewing, once again in both destinations is going to be just fine. There is no real migration in either area, so the game is not going to "up & off".

In both areas you'll see plenty predators, so up yo you and the budget where you finally end up.

Mombo...watch the wallet, not sure that the additional cost of the camp is worth the incremental $$$'s. I really do believe that many of the camps that are less expensive around the Moremi will offer up just as good game viewing.

Bahama: Botswana definitely is the best fit for your desire of diverse predator viewing. Late July is ideal chance for catching wild dog at the den which is the best chance to see them. Botswana provides a much better opportunity than Zambia for dogs and cheetah while both are great for leopard, lion, and hyena.