Best Time of the Year for this Tour?

Smiling Sam

I know this is a fairly new tour, but I was looking for some recommendations. It seems like the weather can be drastically different from Cape Town to Zambia. I always try to minimize rainfall amounts and temperature extremes across the entire tour. Which part of the year do people recommend?

jdurkin

Hi Sam,

I would think that the absolute draw card of this trip is the Okavango Delta. I know... the whole itinerary is fabulous ... just going for the jewel in the crown, from my point of view. I just did a quick google and came up with 2 suggestions. June to August is high water, bringing migrating animals to the water, plus, they say, the best time to avoid mosquitos! Yay! September & October are hot and dry, bringing animals and birds to the edges of the water.

So I guess you would balance that with the rest of the itinerary. As it happens, I was talking to a visitor from Johannesburg this week and he said now, February/March is lovely in Cape Town ... just as it is here, in Melbourne. (He has family here and this is the time he always visits.) Jo'burg has a fairly stable temperature year round, but there are thunderstorms in the summer.

So I guess it boils down to what you particularly want to see and take away from a trip to this part of Africa. If you are a twitcher you might want to go in the dryer months. Like all large land masses, the weather will vary from place to place ... so it's down to you to decide. What a privilege it is to be so troubled by decisions like this!

Have a great time whenever you go!

Cheers,

Jan

Nick of Skara Brae

I plan to go in April, which I understand is the end of the rainy season affecting the Delta. For me the trade-off involved accepting a greater risk of rain and less concentrated wildlife for more scenic (and lush) landscapes and greater opportunity to see young animals (birthing in Jan. to Mar.).