safari season

Hi,

Im going on a Safari in June 2009. Places Im visiting are: Kruger, Chobe, Serengeti, Masai Mara. What are my chances of sighting game? I think the rainy season is different in different places but if someone could rate my chances during this time of the year, that would be great

thanks

Well, you will be highly likely to see most game at the end of the dry season. Still, even if travelling during the wet season, you will see most kind of animals.
June to September is pleasant in Kenya and Tanzania as temperatures are relatively low and there is less rain. January and February are good months as well, albeit a bit warmer. April is probably one of the worst months, with high rainfall.

In the south, September to November is nice, when it has been dry for a while and temperatures are rising but not overly hot. Still, I find prices higher and sometimes accommodations fully booked in these period. June is perfect for me, when temperatures are low, even freezing at night is possible in South Africa and the sun shines almost from sunrise to sunset.

July and August are holiday months in North America and Europe and even southern countries have winter holidays than, like South Africa probaly has a few weeks.

If you combine things, I would go for June or September/October, avoiding rainy seasons, hot weather and crowded places alltogether in both places.

June is smack-bang in the middle of the Migration as it passes around Eastern Tanzania/Kenya so your chances of seeing game in Serengeti, Masai Mara and the Ngorongoro Crater are very, very high - in fact guaranteed!

Chobe has a good population of game, especially elephant, at all times of the year and like Kruger, is fully accessible so spotting game there is also pretty much guaranteed. Obviously it depends on if you are looking for a specific species or not but I would agree that June and mid September to October is the perfect time to travel to these areas.

The best time to be in Kruger is in the winter months - between April and September. It is then warm and dry; vegetation is sparse and water restricted to rivers and water holes, where the animals are forced to congregate.

Chobe is also excellent in its winter months April/May to October, when the days are drier and cooler and lots of game begin to gather around the waterholes anticipating the peak of the dry season.

Kenya and Tanzania will present super game watching at the Mara/ Serengeti ecosystem from mid July to October when the migration is at its peak and there is wildebeest followed by many other animals at the border river crossing. Your game viewing is bound to be action packed and quite enjoyable. June is not exciting enough and you might not enjoy as much though your chances are still good.

I would recommend mid July / August, then you will enjoy all 4 destinations at one go, with plenty of game viewing. If it really has to be June for you, then your chances still stand good.

Travel Helper

Hi,

You have quite a range of destinations you are visiting? How long will your safari be? The date is fine and you should have a great time spotting wildlife and this with good weather conditions. I would suggest that when at each of these destinations you perhaps look at doing surrounding areas as well. There are other parks for instance in Botswana close to Chobe that you can visit; Makgadikgadi, Central Kalahari, Moremi and the Vic Falls (100km away).

That said to visit all of the regions you mentioned will already take up a lot of time and to ad any other new destinations may not be practical.

Johan Gerber.
(Lathita Travel)