Temperatures

Regarding temperatures, each country has its own extremes. Generally, mornings and evenings are always cool, whether you travel in summer or winter. As you go on safari early in the morning, we strongly advise you to bring warm clothes. This way, you won’t suffer from the low temperatures of the African dawn.

The more you venture into desert regions, such as Namibia or Botswana, the colder the nights and the hotter the days will be. The months from November to March are the hottest. The mercury will then gradually drop until it reaches its lowest point around July. Afterward, the heat will return, and the eternal African climate cycle will resume.

Be aware that during the months of June, July, and August, nights are particularly cold in arid zones. The dry climate of the deserts makes heat accumulation impossible. It will not be uncommon for temperatures to drop to negative levels at night. For example, we experienced nights at -8 degrees in the Kalahari Desert in early August. Enough to send chills to even the most cold-resistant among you.

During the day, the temperatures will follow the same cycle, with the most pleasant ones occurring when the nights are the coldest. Generally, the thermometer will rarely show a temperature below 20 degrees during the day, allowing you to fully enjoy your time.

Landscapes

For once, here’s an unchangeable rule. Aside from the differences in landscapes between countries, all of them react similarly to weather cycles. When the climate is dry, the vegetation is sparse, the ground hard, tree leaves become dull, and some even fall. The sky will generally be sunny, and clouds will be rare.

The main advantage of this phenomenon is that it will make your wildlife observations easier. Indeed, animals can no longer hide in tall grass or behind thick foliage. Consequently, spotting them from a distance will be much easier, and once you’ve found them, you’ll be able to observe them for longer.

However, for lovers of color and photography, the setting will be dull. No green leaves or colorful flowers, just yellow and dryness to frame your images.

It’s the price to pay for enjoying the best time to observe wildlife.

A small exception for photography: lighting. During the dry season, sunrises and sunsets will be incandescent. The mornings and evenings will gift you with the famous « golden hour », turning any ordinary moment into a visual dream.

When the climate is wet, it’s the opposite. The vegetation is dense, the trees are in bloom, and the grass covers the bush with a thick green carpet.

As you can imagine, it will be much harder to spot wildlife, and when you do see an animal, it might choose to disappear at any moment.

The weather will be more overcast, reducing the beauty and intensity of the light. However, the colors of the scenery will make your photos burst with shades, and every wildlife encounter will feel like a scene from the Garden of Eden.

It is also worth noting that road and track conditions will be poorer during the rainy season. Rivers and streams are higher, and the vegetation is more lush, limiting the range of vehicle movement. Thus, you may encounter a lion crossing a small stream and leaving you stranded on the opposite bank in January, whereas you could have followed it in September.