Question on Africa

[npphotog]

What is the best month to tour Africa - From South Africa to Victoria Falls. May or September. Willard

[beverlyjack]

In my opinion, September. It can be quite hot. We hit the low 100s, but it is the end of the dry season, with animals clustered near water sources, no lush vegitation to hide them and few bugs. Check Africa's Top Wildlife Countries, by Mark Nolting.

[paul929207]

We went to South Africa, Nambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia in July and August. The weather was fantastic. In the game preserves, we had lows about 40F/5C and highs of about 75F/24C. No rain. Cape Town was cooler during the day with some rain

[we're sailing away....]

We are thinking of doing Vantage Travel Best of Africa and The hart of Africa as a B2B in late Dec/Jan any thoughts? Weather and Animals Thank you ..

[Arusha]

Hi "we're sailing away",

Vantage's "Heart of Africa" includes Tanzania. I was on a 9-day safari in Tanzania last February (not with Vantage). Amazing! Visited the 3 northern parks on the Vantage list (Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyara) and stayed at the same Serena Lodges that Vantage uses for those parks. Very nice!

Saw lots of babies the last 2 weeks of February. Here's a list of some of the animals I saw at that time:

Serengeti: Cape buffalo. Giraffes- a family group of male, females, babies. The Great Migration (tens of thousands of wildebeests and zebras and their babies on their constant annual cycle around the Serengeti). Dozens and dozens of hippos up close in one of the hippo pools (the water was very low and very stinky, but got to see how huge they are). ~Three dozen female lions lining up on both sides of a river in the early morning. Seeing the same lions in the afternoon napping on their backs, with full bellies. Black-faced monkeys (one got in the truck).

At the Serena Serengeti Lodge, be sure to visit the patio behind the pool. Unbelievable panoramic view! At that lodge, wild animals roam the grounds (usually cape buffalo going to the fountain to get a drink, and baboons on your doorstep). At night, a guard will escort you between the restaurant/bar and your room.

Ngorongoro Crater: Best place to see a variety of animals up close. They're so used to the safari trucks. The grass is very short, unlike the Serengeti, so it's easy to see the smaller animals. Saw a male lion and his girls up close on 2 game drives. The girls would even recline in the shade of the trucks! Warthogs - 3 moms and 13 babies. Hyena mom and 3 babies. A pair of jackals. Black rhino from a distance. Lots of storks. A serval cat stalking storks.

Lake Manyara: A herd of elephants up close! This was in the northern wooded end of the park. The trucks didn't bother them at all. They were on both sides of us, walking right next to the trucks. Babies and young ones, too. One of the little ones charged the trucks, bellowing, ears flapping! Also lots of baboons and babies.

I did the balloon ride in the Serengeti. Awesome! Expensive, but worth it. Got to see the enormous scale of The Great Migration. The ride was followed by champagne, then breakfast under an acacia tree.

The weather in late February: The Serengeti was desert-dry and hot but very comfortable in the truck. The Crater is up at 7500 feet - cool with brief afternoon showers.

[Arusha]

To add to my previous post...

Views from the Serena Ngorongoro Lodge are also spectacular. You can see the entire crater, since the Lodge is perched high up on the crater's edge.

The Serena Lake Manyara Lodge's infinity pool has a great view of the lake in the distance. We spotted elephants bathing in the lake. Bring binoculars!

[npphotog]

Thank you Arusha - great report. Willard

[we're sailing away....]

Thank you every one ..