South Africa weather and regions
As a starting point the weather.
The area in the North ie Johannesburg,Kruger Park,Botswana,Victoria Falls,Zambia experiences summer rain between December and March/April.
By April most of the rain should be over,if anything an occasional short rain in the afternoon.For the bush this is a positive thing as it keeps the dust down,and cleans the air.
For the South ie Cape Town,beautiful Summer warmer days,generally no rain between December and April,however it has a Mediterranean climate,so you will experience some infrequent cloudy and or light rain days,as well possibly as some windy days.
April/May to November reat time for a Safari.As you move towards later in the year,the animals gravitate towards the main drinking areas.
Regions of the country including different Safari areas:
What follows are some possibilities that can be combined together.
Garden Route...Short flight from Cape Town,a easy self drive of about 5 hours.
2 ways to reach the area if driving…One is by the main inland highway that passes through small farming areas mostly wheat farms before joining up with the coast.
Knysna Heads, Garden Route
The other my personal favorite is by a inland route called the Worlds Longest Wine Route.
Smaller towns,vineyards, fruit farms etc before changing over as you head north to a semi desert region ending up in the area where all the Ostrich farms are. From here its a short drive to connect with the coast highway and the coastal towns of the Garden route.
If there are any ex surfers who dreamed of riding Jeffrey’s Bay,it can be done a little further North up the Garden Route,and if there are are any adrenaline junkies you can jump the worlds highest bungee jump in this area as well.
Storms river bungee jump
Another variation of the above is to take another inland highway reaching the more remote popular town of Prince Albert ie food, wine,etc, from where you can take one of the countries most scenic passes(dirt road) and on the other side of the pass reach the Ostrich town of Oudschoorn.
From here its a short drive to connect with the coast highway and the coastal towns of the Garden route.
Johannesburg
For those who have a interest in history/culture of S Africa,and has some nice museums,hotels,guest houses and restaurants.
Soweto,the Apartheid Museum,Constitutional Hill,the Maboneng area names by Forbes Magazine in mid 2019 as one of the top ten coolest neighborhoods in the world.
Other areas are the Herbal market,art and craft markets,gold and diamond mine tours,Alexandra township,Johannesburg Tour,Reef city theme park,and then there is Pretoria with the Voortrekker Monument,Union buildings and Gardens,and further out Cradle of Mankind archaeological site.
A 2 to 3 Night stay can cover this area
Northwest
This is an arid area part of the Kalahari desert that has one of S Africa biggest rivers running through it,creating a green belt of wineries,raisin farms and is one of the world largest grape/wine collectives.
It fit’s in well with a Safari to the Kgalaagadi National Park that is larger than the Kruger Park.
Rural village life…beautiful scenery… village life to the remote farming areas..nice creative combinations of food, culture,farm/ guest house stays with country hospitality,coastal walks, etc
A area of Art/Crafts ie drum makers,wood carvers, potters,fabric…has a different feel to the Eastern Cape with the red earth..easily accessible from the Northern parts of Kruger Park.Village/Culture/Arts/Craft experience,which has UNESCO World Heritage site as well.
Art piece depicting the Domba Dance Venda
Durban
Lots of arts/crafts….good Indian restaurants….a starting point to explore the Drakensberg mountains also aUNESCO World Heritage site plus another experiences including a gourmet culinary mountain guest house and the Midland Meander through the countryside stopping in at various food/clothing/beading/ etc stores.
Victoria Falls:
Very close to Chobe Park Botswana,..for the more active river rafting on the Zambezi, and bungy jumping.
Victoria Falls
Mozambique and Seychelles:Beach areas,laid back,scuba,snorkel,swim with wild dolphins,kayak and doing nothing but chilling on the beach.Count me in.
Safari Locations:
Kruger Park.…Private lodges…self drives….guided private Safaris.
Kgalaagadi National Park …close to the Northwest section above…semi dry park not as many animals as Kruger,does have lions,leopards etc…stunning landscapes…fits in well with Kruger to experience different eco systems,and makes a complete cultural/food/wine/Safari combination due to the proximity of the worlds 2cnd largest grape collective.
Unique Africa Safari experience as you go onto the Chobe river for one of the Safari activities..very close to Victoria Falls.
Okavango Delta Botswana…the epic center of Safari in Botswana and all of Africa…huge inland waters/islands etc.
Botswana has other areas to visit as well..those who are interested I will communicate with you directly.
Zimbabwe…..Mana Pools-very remote area guided canoeing Safari down the Zambezi river or doing walks/game drives in the area.
Zambia Remote parks …river locations…home to walking safaris in Africa.
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Email: stephen@go2southafrica.com
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