I am considering taking the plunge to South Africa, and I saw a trip for the end of September, what is the weather like at that time? cold? animal viewing? Zambezi status? Vic Falls? My jo
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Cat:Middle East and AfricaForum:0EE6B362
Cat:Middle East and AfricaForum:0EE6B362Discussion:c811a5f2-90c9-40a1-840f-70b6d13fac58
I am considering taking the plunge to South Africa, and I saw a trip for the end of September, what is the weather like at that time? cold? animal viewing? Zambezi status? Vic Falls? My journey would be 17 hours, ug, any suggestions how to break that up, or better to fly South African air and do it at one plunge.
September is an excellent time to go to SA (actually I think anytime between June and October works well). It may be a tad less than warm in Cape Town, but September is a good time to head over to nearby Hermanus for excellent land-based whale watching. Even standing on shore there may be times when whales come as close as 100 ft or so. Assuming you'd go to the Kruger region for a safari, you can expect temps ranging from about 60 overnight to mid-80s during the day. Wildlife viewing should be excellent.
The Vic Falls flow should be slow around September, but at least you'll see them (when the flow is high, the mist can obscure the falls). I usually tell people to explore SA and put Vic Falls on their itinerary when they go to Botswana or Zambia/Zimbabwe. All too many times, those who say their trip will be a once in a lifetime event end up planning their next trip to Africa on their flight back home.
Personally I like to make the flight over to SA in one fell swoop. I especially like the JFK to JNB non-stop flight with SAA which gets you into JNB early the next day (<15 hrs). If you're in the NYC area, consider that flight. It's usually 15-18 hrs to JNB from the east coast of the US. I do everything I can to sleep as much as possible, so I'm ready to hit the road running.
sdb1, I noticed that stop and wondered if it was for refueling or something. Prolonging the agony I suppose. I thought about going through Amsterdam on way back and staying a couple of days, just to break it up. Haven't decided but Sept sounds good.
I must say I'm not a big fan of that stop either, which is to refuel and to deplane and board Dakar passengers. Still, I think it's much better than having to connect in some city in Europe and worrying if everything will go well. Although you don't leave the plane, they make you get up while the plane is quickly cleaned a bit and security goes through checking seats and luggage. Once that's done, I go back to sleep. Amsterdam on the way home would be nice---it's an interesting place to walk around. Good luck with your planning.
Definitely a great time to visit. Its Spring time so rainy season would not have hit yet and it isnt too hot either. The Vic falls are good to visit as well at that time though they are not in South Africa. Rather fly from South Africa to the Vic falls via Livingston in Zambia. You can also do the direct flight to Vic Falls, just compare prices.
