Would you choose Botswana in May or Sept?
 

After much internet research & reading of the informative posts on this forum I have decided on the following itinerary in Botswana/Vic falls:

3 nights Little Kwara
3 nights Lebala
3 nights Tongabezi

Although we knew the price would be shockingly expensive the quotes we have for Sept is more than we were hoping to pay. So the question is, if we save money & go in May what would we miss? All thoughts/experience of the differences between May & Sept much appriciated!

Clanv,

Lebala - perhaps, September better than May for the big herds of buffalo and elephant.

But, there were plenty of herds mid june this year. Infact, more elephants than end August of last year(so depends on how wet their summer was!)

Predators wise.....all down to the luck of the draw!!!

If you are looking at May's price advantage, then u should try to go as late in May as is possible......

Hari

As HariS says gameviewing is in the luck of the draw. However, you can try and load the dice in your favour by going at the end of the dry season when the game is more concentrated around the permanent water. That's the advantage of Sept and why it's more expensive.

I agree with HariS. I have often been to Bots - Okavango, Linyanti then Vic Falls in late May and for me it has always been fantastic. Sure the elephant won't be as prolific as in September however you are sure to still see many in the Linyanti. As far as cats go well I have always had great Lion sightings in the Linyanti - Cheetah and Leopard are a little more scarce.

I won't say cheetah or Leopard are scarce.... as i mentioned, it completely depends on good luck!!! Lebala always has something or the other to offer, so the OP should still have a good trip....

Hari

We have been to Leballa/Lagoon in June/July/ September and December.
On every occassion game viewing has been good! We are trying March next year. The best is nearly always September October when the pans in the woods have dried up. Last year there appears to have been little rain and the pans are allready mostly dry, so game viewing on our recent trip in July was very good ( Selinda Kwando Trip Report). I presume that this is for 2008,

We went this year the first two weeks in June after 5 days in Cape Town. We got the tail end of the pricing advantage as Wilderness camps changed on June 15. WE had wonderful weather and I think wonderfuly game viewing. We saw hers of elephants, Cape Buffalo, lion prides, giraffes and all other animals. I cannot imagine anything better.

We alos had wonderful dry, no mosquitos,(very important to me), cold mornings and warm afternoons. Wore layers in the morning and by the morning tea break was down to a t-shirt and pants.
We also saved a great deal of money so were able to stay longer.

Hi your choice depends on what you want. May is better for birds and is cooler but also higher risk of wet/ rain. On the other hand September is more expensive but hotter and drier (a lot) and with greater concentrations of Game as a result, I'd personally opt for September. We went in June, please see our full trip report:

http://wilddogsandenglishmen.wordpress.com

WD