I will eventually head for the Southern part of Africa to make some wildlife photography the last two weeks of January.
In your experience, and given the local season and weather, which country is best please ?
Thank you
Posted by David Bostedo on January 7, 2007 at 4:10 PM
Vincent - I've only toured around South Africa, so I can't speak about Botswana from experience. However, I have looked into travelling there a fair amount. I think your question is very difficult to answer. You're asking about two large countries that have varying geography, terrain, and animal populations. Depending on where you go in each country, you could find just about any type of environment you please. As far as I know, the biggest differences in Botswana are that it is a little more "wild". What I mean is, the parks aren't as well defined and fenced, and there isn't as much development. South Africa is a little more developed. One thing you might want to consider is that Botswana is land locked. So in South Africa you can go shark diving, and seal and penguin and whale watching, which aren't available in Botswana. really don't think you can go wrong with either.
I would look into the Okavango Delta in Botswana in particular. Okavango is a pretty unique environment in Africa, and the one place there I'd really like to go. It is rainy season in southern africa right now, so you should probably expect some wet weather.
Sorry I can't provide more information. I wish I was going anywhere in Southern Africa though.
Posted by Trym Espeseth on January 8, 2007 at 8:14 AM
Hi Vincent
I will try to give you some advice. My preference is definitly Botswana if I could choose between the two. Not to say that safari in SA is a bad option. But as David says Botswana is more "wild" and remote. It has a lot to offer in terms of diversity. Beutiful places like Central Kahlahari Game Reserve, Okovango, Moremi and Chobe just to mention a few. On the other hand Botswana is expensive. They are targeting their safari industry towards the high end of the market. You are mentioning that you will go in end of january. This low season in Botswana. It means that there is a lot more water around than in high season(jul-oct). The animals are then scattered around in the parks and not concentrating around the water sources as they do during dry season. It is also a lot more vegetations around. January can be fantasic for birds and landscape, but personally I would not choose Botswana in that period. I advise you instead to compose a varied safari in SA. It is also greener in Kruger in this period, but the rangers in the private game areas adjactent to Kruger know the wereabouts of the animals. I am sure you will a wonderful experience in SA. I advise you to do safari in the private game parks close to Kruger. You will not be confined to roads etc, and you will get experts rangers. Hope this helps a little. If you have more questions dont hesitate to contact me. You can check out www.ccafrica.com for a start.
Good Luck
Trym
Discussion
2 repliesI will eventually head for the Southern part of Africa to make some wildlife photography the last two weeks of January.
In your experience, and given the local season and weather, which country is best please ?
Thank you
I would look into the Okavango Delta in Botswana in particular. Okavango is a pretty unique environment in Africa, and the one place there I'd really like to go. It is rainy season in southern africa right now, so you should probably expect some wet weather.
Sorry I can't provide more information. I wish I was going anywhere in Southern Africa though.
I will try to give you some advice. My preference is definitly Botswana if I could choose between the two. Not to say that safari in SA is a bad option. But as David says Botswana is more "wild" and remote. It has a lot to offer in terms of diversity. Beutiful places like Central Kahlahari Game Reserve, Okovango, Moremi and Chobe just to mention a few. On the other hand Botswana is expensive. They are targeting their safari industry towards the high end of the market. You are mentioning that you will go in end of january. This low season in Botswana. It means that there is a lot more water around than in high season(jul-oct). The animals are then scattered around in the parks and not concentrating around the water sources as they do during dry season. It is also a lot more vegetations around. January can be fantasic for birds and landscape, but personally I would not choose Botswana in that period. I advise you instead to compose a varied safari in SA. It is also greener in Kruger in this period, but the rangers in the private game areas adjactent to Kruger know the wereabouts of the animals. I am sure you will a wonderful experience in SA. I advise you to do safari in the private game parks close to Kruger. You will not be confined to roads etc, and you will get experts rangers. Hope this helps a little. If you have more questions dont hesitate to contact me. You can check out www.ccafrica.com for a start.
Good Luck
Trym