EXPLORE AFRICA & BEYOND

Tanzania – the migration has started to amass in the southern Serengeti ready to calve from November to March attracting great predator action.

Zambia – many camps in Zambia close due to the rains, but the camps that are open have great low season specials and this is an excellent time for birding.

South Africa – whilst much of South Africa will be having summer rains, The Cape is generally sunny with a fabulous climate for some winter sun. The loggerhead and leatherback turtles are beginning to hatch along sections of the KwaZulu- Natal coast.

Namibia – enjoys year round sunshine, but the small chance of showers and the heat of the summer make this low season, and a great chance to travel for less. If there are rains, they transform this normally arid country into a spectacle to behold so you can’t really go wrong.

East Africa – offers excellent year round game viewing and whilst “the” migration is very much in Tanzania, the sunny days and smaller numbers of visitors make this a great time to visit and take advantage of the specials. In Tanzania the migration will still be in the south offering the same outstanding game viewing as January.

Uganda and Rwanda - this is one of the best times of year for trekking gorillas and chimps.

Birding is still superb in Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Botswana – since December the herds of zebra, wildebeest and other plains game that spend the dry winter months grazing in the north head south to the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans and Central Kalahari, and this is one of the best times to see the largest migration in southern Africa. The desert is transformed into a lush floral kingdom. Low season specials make Botswana more affordable and there is great birding.

Mozambique – the summer showers are becoming less and less, and this leads to beautiful warm days with fewer visitors. The whale sharks and manta rays are still here from November to April.

Kenya – the start of the long rains when many camps and lodges close for refurbishment, but with our advice, the best camps can still offer exceptional game viewing at great prices.

Tanzania – the end of the short rains means the Serengeti can be transformed into a floral kingdom stretching as far as the eye can see. Now going into the drier months to November, this is a great time to climb Kilimanjaro.

South Africa – The rains are coming to an end and the days are clear and bright making this the perfect Easter holiday destination.

Zambia & Zimbabwe – the volumes of water crashing over the Victoria Falls are at their highest and the “Smoke That Thunders” truly is.

Botswana – the rains have finished and the great herds of elephant that dispersed far and wide are starting to move back into the areas around the Chobe Linyanti in numbers. The flood waters of the Okavango have arrived and by the end of the month the entire Delta is in peak flood attracting a multitude of wildlife.

Zimbabwe – the safari season starts and game viewing from now until November is at its best.

South Africa – whilst generally cooler and drier, the more temperate climate of Kwa-Zulu Natal makes this an excellent time to visit the Drakensberg, Anglo-Zulu and Anglo-Boer Battlefields, The St Lucia Wetlands and game reserves of Zululand. Also a great time for a round of golf at some of the outstanding courses to be found here.

Zambia - Robin Pope run 2 set departure Shoebill Safaris to Kasanka National Park and the Bangweulu Swamps with the first and last night spent in South Luangwa (with options to extend). Many species of game and birds will be seen, but the star attraction is the chance to see the extraordinary shoebill stork.

South Africa – whilst much of the country is enjoying dry, warm days and the game viewing starts to get better and better, the Cape is coming into a short period of wind and rain.

Botswana and Namibia – the season officially changes this month as we enter what is considered the best time to visit both. Botswana is now one of the best places in Africa to see the massive concentrations of elephant and buffalo for which it is famed. Along with Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa, this is the time of year that wild dog begin to den which is when they are at their least nomadic and “easiest” to find.

Malawi – an excellent time to visit and with new lodges opening there is now quite a circuit for wildlife lovers as well as warm days to relax by the lake.

Tanzania – the south of the country is moving into safari season and camps and lodges that have closed begin to open in the wild southern circuit which includes Selous, Ruaha, Katavi and Mahale. This is a great time for chimp trekking.

Zambia – the seasonal bush camps that close in the summer rains are open again and South Luangwa, Kafue and the lower Zambezi are coming into prime safari time.

South Africa - the Southern Right Whale migration arrives from now until December, calving in the deep bays around Hermanus, Gansbaai and Kleinmond. Throughout the season they can be seen along the coast, along with dolphins, seals, penguins and great white sharks, but it is the coastline around Hermanus that is generally recognised as the best land-based whale watching in the World.

Also in South Africa is the bizarre spectacle of the “sardine run” where millions upon millions of sardines form one great shoal stretching for miles which makes its way along the South African coast. Predators arrive en mass to partake in a feeding frenzy, and you get a wildlife extravaganza rivalling the Great Migration.

Botswana - the Okavango Delta is in full flood and the Chobe Linyanti area now has the largest concentration of elephant in Africa, along with huge herds of buffalo and lots of predators.

Tanzania - the southern parks are very much coming into their best season and offer some of the last untouched safari experiences of East Africa. The wildebeest migration has moved into the western corridor of the Serengeti and will soon start to amass along the Mara River ready to cross into Kenya. Tarangire is experiencing its own migration with elephant and other mammals arriving in numbers.

Kenya and Tanzania - the great migration is amassed in the northern Serengeti and the Masai Mara making this a great time to see the legendary river crossings.

Malawi - Lake Malawi offers an exceptional alternative to the coast with warm freshwaters and white sandy beaches, warm sunny days and no rain. Combines best with a safari in Malawi or neighbouring Zambia which is in its own peak safari season.

South Africa - It’s Spring and soon the Cape floral kingdoms will bloom providing one of the greatest botanical spectacles on earth and combining wonderfully with whale watching, wine tasting and dry season safari.

Zanzibar - the perfect beach destination combining wonderfully with safaris in Tanzania and Kenya.

South Africa - The Cape is still blooming with Fynbos and Protea along the coast and up through the Cedarberg into Namaqualand. It’s the Hermanus Whale Festival with lots of events in addition to prime whale watching.

This is peak safari season from now until the end of October pretty much for all East and southern Africa. The first of the migration will start to cross back and forth in the Serengeti and Masai Mara. Carmine bee eaters start to arrive to breed and, towards the end of the month and into October, other summer migrants begin to appear.

Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi and southern Tanzania are getting hot and the rivers have shrunk down to their lowest levels and game concentrates in huge numbers around permanent water. Lots of summer migrants are beginning to arrive and the heronries in Botswana’s Okavango start to become active from now until March

Indian Ocean – now is a great time to visit all the Indian Ocean Islands off Africa. Turtles start to come ashore to lay their eggs late in the month along the Mozambique and Kwa-Zulu Natal coast line.

Zambia - the bush camps will start to close towards the end of this month and into November as the rains start.

This month falls between the busy safari season and the Christmas peak season, and is a great time to take advantage of some low season specials, especially in Botswana and Namibia. The weather is warm and sunny and later in the month there is a risk of afternoon showers, but this can be a quiet time to travel. Summer migrants are starting to arrive throughout southern Africa.

Zambia - up to ten million “straw-coloured fruit bats” converge upon Kasanka National Park as the fruits of a local tree ripen. Robin Pope Safaris run a set departure safari to see this natural phenomena. This is also the last month that the remote Liuwa Plains in western Zambia are accessible and RPS run up to 4 departures in addition to those that run earlier in the year.

South Africa has firmly established itself on the map as one of the Christmas hot spots for winter sun and the Mediterranean climate of the Cape, the malaria-free games reserves, cosmopolitan Cape Town and the miles of beaches make this the ideal family destination. However, such is the popularity that early booking is essential. Mauritius is another popular destination this time of year, either as a stand-alone holiday, or combined with a safari in South Africa. Regular flights make combining the two seamless.

Tanzania - the migration has arrived en mass into the southern Serengeti and the herds have started calving which creates intense predator activity. The mobile bush camps we use here at this time of year will have been set up in advance and this is another place where advance bookings are essential. Birding in southern Africa is now at its best with all the migrants having arrived to add to the hundreds of resident and endemic species.