The late winter and early southern spring are the best months to visit some of the game and nature reserves. Whilst the inland climate tends to be dry, coastal climate is wet with the Western Cape Region receiving its regular winter rains. I do enjoy my annual visit the Namaqualand along the Western side of South Africa when the indigenous wild flowers paint the landscape in early spring with incredible varieties of colours. The colourful display spreads across large areas of the Western and Northern Cape Provinces from Saldanha Bay to beyond Springbok.
Nieuwoudtville in the Northern Cape is the centre of much activity as it is the hub of this spring show. From here one can drive in all four directions of the compass to enjoy one of nature’s wonderful miracles. Visitors need to book early in the year for the middle of August although the flowers will often bloom right to the end of September.
In the many national and private game reserves many of the wild animals will give new birth. Buck, Giraffe, the big 5 and many others will be surrounded by young ones. With this in mind and the temperature, especially in the northern parts, being a temperate 20° to 25° C in the day tourists favour the Kruger National Park with its abundance of wildlife. The coastal areas tend to be less busy because of the winter rains and cooler weather however Botswana and Namibia are popular destinations during the late winter and early southern spring.
Safari tours by numerous organization and a highly recommended trip on the Rovos Rail Train to Namibia are unique experiences with 4×4 outings to Sossusvlei, Augrabies Waterfall of the Oranje River and the Fish River Canyon. The Okavango Delta region of Botswana and Etosha Pan Game Reserve offer great encounters with wildlife in natural habitat. A retired couple said: “We enjoyed a tent camping trip to Etosha with its wonderful diverse of wild life. The late night encounter with an elephant whilst tenting still causes shivers down our backs as we can still hear him breaking large branches of a nearby tree whilst we sat in our tents”. The Nambian hospitality is highly recommended and numerous lodges offer great accommodation in wonderful scenic locations. The Kaokoveld with its colourful indigenous people is a another unique region in the north-western part of Namibia.
