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South Africa Safari
Thinking about a big holiday next year to celebrate a big occasion.
What would be the best time of year to go to South Africa on safari re weather, mosquitoes (do they even have mosquitoes?) and any other factor that may be relevant to the usually non-adventurous tourist?
Looking forward to all advice.
What would be the best time of year to go to South Africa on safari re weather, mosquitoes (do they even have mosquitoes?) and any other factor that may be relevant to the usually non-adventurous tourist?
Looking forward to all advice.
Answers
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If you specifically mean SA then I'd suggest avoiding Kruger Park which is a glorified safari park. Sabi Sands adjacent to the Kruger gives a more natural experience.
Better still, go to Botswana and visit the Okavango Delta and Kalahari desert camps. You'll get an amazing variety of wildlife this way.
I've found September a good time to visit.
Better still, go to Botswana and visit the Okavango Delta and Kalahari desert camps. You'll get an amazing variety of wildlife this way.
I've found September a good time to visit.
The National Parks in SA are run by SANparks. At the end of this is a link to show you where they are.
By far and away the best known for 'safari' experience is Kruger which is on the Mozambique border in a low river plain - just the sort of thing mosquitoes love, so you need jabs there.
An alternative (that jno refers to) are the parks in the south of the country, of which the Addo Elephant Park north of Port Elizabeth is the one I'd suggest. You won't see all the Big 5 there - no lions or leopards. But the other 3 are there plus a host of other game animals including giraffes.
The second thing you need to understand is how the game parks work. Though they are National Parks a bit like our national parks - the Lake District say, whilst some of them are 'open' to anyone who wishes to drive through, vast areas of land are leased to commercial organisations who set up 'private game parks' where they have sole access to the land within those areas. So whilst Eccles talks about Kruger being a glorified safari park he is perhaps talking about the open areas where there is a free-for-all of private individuals and private independent commercial operators all trying to access the same animals. A scrum can occur.
But both Kruger and Addo have private game reserves - often on the 'best' land where the most animals congregate. The animals don't know any different and can wonder accross the 'boundaries' between leased and open-access area lands.
The private game reserve operators also sometimes lease additional land (and this certainly happens at Addo) where they can 'contain' (and I am talking areas areas of perhaps 50 square miles of fenced land) other game animals only found in Kruger - so I have seen white rhino, giraffe and many other species in such areas.
So you pays your money and takes your choice.
Kruger is perhaps far enough north to be month independent, but the parks in the south are best in October-December, I reckon.
http://
By far and away the best known for 'safari' experience is Kruger which is on the Mozambique border in a low river plain - just the sort of thing mosquitoes love, so you need jabs there.
An alternative (that jno refers to) are the parks in the south of the country, of which the Addo Elephant Park north of Port Elizabeth is the one I'd suggest. You won't see all the Big 5 there - no lions or leopards. But the other 3 are there plus a host of other game animals including giraffes.
The second thing you need to understand is how the game parks work. Though they are National Parks a bit like our national parks - the Lake District say, whilst some of them are 'open' to anyone who wishes to drive through, vast areas of land are leased to commercial organisations who set up 'private game parks' where they have sole access to the land within those areas. So whilst Eccles talks about Kruger being a glorified safari park he is perhaps talking about the open areas where there is a free-for-all of private individuals and private independent commercial operators all trying to access the same animals. A scrum can occur.
But both Kruger and Addo have private game reserves - often on the 'best' land where the most animals congregate. The animals don't know any different and can wonder accross the 'boundaries' between leased and open-access area lands.
The private game reserve operators also sometimes lease additional land (and this certainly happens at Addo) where they can 'contain' (and I am talking areas areas of perhaps 50 square miles of fenced land) other game animals only found in Kruger - so I have seen white rhino, giraffe and many other species in such areas.
So you pays your money and takes your choice.
Kruger is perhaps far enough north to be month independent, but the parks in the south are best in October-December, I reckon.
http://
for what it's worth, I prefer the game viewing in Kenya and Tanzania, which is mostly open grassland (especially the Masai Mara and Serengeti, which are basically the same huge reserve crossing the border of the two countries); that in SA and Zimbabwe tends to be denser and scrubbier bush. That's a fairly huge generalisation and just my personal preference.
Hi HC,
South Africa's summer is hot but tends to be rainy, as such there are more mosquitoes around.
The winter offers hot days, cold nights and less mosquitoes. You're also more likely to spot animals during the winter season as there is less vegetation and the animals tend do gather around watering holes as it is the dry season.
Eccles is right, Sabi Sands is the premier safari destination, they have the best lodges and more wildlife spottings. I also found the guides and rangers to be highly knowledgeable.
The last three times I visited (I am bit of a Safari nerd!) I travelled with Wanderforth and can highly recommend them. (http://www.wanderforth.com/)
Mike
South Africa's summer is hot but tends to be rainy, as such there are more mosquitoes around.
The winter offers hot days, cold nights and less mosquitoes. You're also more likely to spot animals during the winter season as there is less vegetation and the animals tend do gather around watering holes as it is the dry season.
Eccles is right, Sabi Sands is the premier safari destination, they have the best lodges and more wildlife spottings. I also found the guides and rangers to be highly knowledgeable.
The last three times I visited (I am bit of a Safari nerd!) I travelled with Wanderforth and can highly recommend them. (http://www.wanderforth.com/)
Mike
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