Expert: Ruard Ganzevoort - 6/11/2008

Question
QUESTION: hello, me and my dad want to go to africa this december, now we thought abou tanzania, kenya and namibia. but we got allot of responses saying that it is gonna be really hot. so we thought south africa. is there allot of animals? are there lots of wildlife activities? were should we go in south arica? how is the weather gonna be?

ANSWER: Hi

It is hot in December. Specially in December. I was in Etosha(namibia game park) once in december and it was 48 degrees (118 f) ... and it was 9 o clock in the morning. It is hot!!! But if you are use to it, you will manage!

South africa have also a lot of game (animals). You have a couple of game parks where you can see lots of different species. Kruger National Park is the biggest in South africa. About 380km long and 70 km  wide. (2000 lions and 10 0000 elephants etc. You will see lots of game. It is not like tanzania, but you have the same variety, but not the same quantities. You can do a self drive or organise safari. There are lots of options. Tanzania is pricy in that way.I don't know what your budget looks like, but in South Africa they cater for everybody. (Pricewise). South africa also have a garden route (900km) coastline with lots of activities. Like bungy jumping, shark cage diving etc. There is lots to do... you will find lot of it on the net.

Honestly, if you want to see wildlife and have a holiday, I would recommend South Africa, If you want a safari experience.. then I would suggest Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia. Remember Namibia you have to drive a lot to see the country. Tourist spot are far between each other.   Depending on your time. All the countries you have mentioned is hot at that time. But Namibia is a dessert and that will be the hottest at that time.

Hope this information will enough otherwise feel free to contact me again.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: so how is the temperature in south africa in december? which hotel should i go to? i only want to see animals not the city plz recomend places

Answer
South africa is a big country, so tempatures varies from hot to very hot. If you only want to see animals -  go to Kruger National Park. It is the biggest and some people stay there for up to 2 weeks. But it is hot (35 celsius) and above. The best time to see animals will be in the morning or late afternoon. There is also night drives which you can go on. You can do a self drive to Kruger. It is about 500km from johannesburg international. Kruger park is big, 400km long and about 75km wide. To see the most animals, stay in the south. Skukuza and down. Please check the net for details. Krugerpark is also well cater for tourist. Lot of information and camps are very good equip for most travellers. Book early to avoid disapointment.

You can also do the panarama route for a day out. Check south african websites for that. If you need more information, please contact again