Africa in November

Jennifer on Facebook asked:

Hi there! I'm planning a two week trip to Africa from November 13th through the end of the month. It's my first time on the continent, so I'm open to either a southern trip (some combo of SA, Botswana, the Zs, and maybe Mozambique) OR eastern (Tanzania/Kenya/Uganda). I'm interested in all sorts of things, from gorilla trekking to horseback safaris, but unfortunately November doesn't seem to be an ideal season for ideal game-viewing. I'm guessing beaches in the south will be wonderful, and November seems a low season for rafting the Zambezi, but do you have recommendations for good safaris?

Aardvark Answered:

You are right, November is typically when East Africa has its month of short rains. A lot of people are instantly put off by this but with our help of picking the better areas and the right camps, this doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t sell this region of Africa at this time as it can be a spectacular time to visit in terms of wonderful game viewing, amazing skies, fewer other visitors than in peak season so giving you a more private safari experience, but you would need to be prepared for the odd downpour but this can be exciting with moody skies and wild thunderstorms if you are lucky! This would however mean that gorilla tracking could potentially be a bit harder as it would be muddy underfoot, but you might enjoy the challenge and the reward of seeing these majestic creatures will make all worthwhile we promise!

Tor, one of our UK sales team was in northern Tanzania last November and she saw great wildlife in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater and hardly any other vehicles and came back promoting travel in this off peak time. For more on her post-trip write up, click here.

In Southern Africa, November marks the start of the hot, wet summer season. Again, game sightings tend to be fantastic as the game is forced to congregate around the last few remaining sources of water (namely rivers and shallow water holes), although it would be very hot you would need to be prepared for that and there would be the chance of rain, but like East Africa, the camps and lodges often have reduced rates which make it a great time for a brilliant value safari.

In terms of beaches, the Kenyan and Tanzanian coastlines as well as the spice island of Zanzibar combine very well with a classic Kenya or Tanzania safari. For a safari in Southern Africa, we can easily add a few days at the Victoria Falls (where we can assist with booking a vast array of activities such as a days white water rafting as well as elephant back safaris and helicopter flights to name but a few) or a few days in Cape Town and the wine lands or a few days relaxing on the Mozambique coast.

Other year round beach destinations that often get overlooked are idyllic Seychelles and the beautiful island of Mauritius. So there are plenty of options that we can suggest, although for us to customize a holiday for you we'd like to know more about your likes and dislikes, and your holiday wishlist. 

We look forward to helping you! Drop us a line any time to info@aardvarksafaris.com (USA office) or mail@aardvarksafaris (UK office).

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