Turn up the heat for your October adventure and head to Africa where it is hot, hot, hot – in all senses of the word! With sunny days and clear skies come walking safaris, fantastic game viewing, adrenaline activities, pool time and chilled cocktails. Taking into account different tastes for experience, there are a variety of options to satisfy your travel appetite.
The temperatures can get intense and the African sun is powerful – so it is highly advised to bring the correct gear. Hats, suncream, long sleeved shirts, swimming costumes, shorts and flip flops. Closed shoes are necessary for walking safaris, as are long cotton trousers, however at the lodge and in your cabin you will want to be footloose and fancy free! Most lodges will have fans if not air-conditioning to help combat the heat – otherwise dipping in and out of a pool with a view is equally, if not more, satisfying.
JENMAN African Safaris has selected a few of our sizzling destinations to awaken your travel tastebuds, providing the answer to “What’s hot in October?” Africa!
Victoria Falls & Hwange
Our Victoria Falls & Hwange 6 day itinerary includes the best of what the area has to offer. Beginning your adventure in the eccentric town of Victoria Falls, you will have time to view the natural wonder itself, taking a tour of the rainforest, keeping cool beneath its trees. Being the dry season, the waterfall is not as powerful as the high season – however it has its own charm and character. Devil’s cataract still runs with impressive force, gifting a cool ambience – and depending on the time of day – rainbows!
The Batoka Gorge and its steep basalt cliffs with aloes and determined fig trees gripping to its rock – a reminder of the resilience of nature. For the adrenaline seekers, this is also a fantastic time to go white water rafting, immersing yourself in the wild waters of the Zambezi River!
Your last three nights will be spent in Hwange National Park at either Nantwich or Elephant’s Eye, Hwange – remote and exclusive safari experiences. Time is spent exploring the park in open-aired vehicles, enjoying the cool air of sunrise game drives or the reprieve of sunset as the day ends.
Swimming pools with views over the plains call for full immersion, combined with cocktails. Dry season also means incredible game sighting opportunities in and around the lodge, wildlife congregating at nearby pans as well as quenching their thirst from the swimming pool!
Botswana Wildlife Breakaway
Just across the border, our Botswana Wildlife Breakaway celebrates the diverse landscapes of Botswana as well as Zimbabwe. You begin your adventure in Maun, the third largest town in this spectacularly scenic southern African country. Maun is the starting point for most expeditions into the Okavango Delta. Area attractions include a renowned riverboat that offers cruises up and down the Thamalakane River; the forest groves of the Maun Game Reserve; and Moremi Game Reserve, home to hippos, lions and rhinos.
Your next stop is situated upon a lagoon, with options of boat and mokoro excursions into the delta. Guma Lagoon Camp also offers night mokoro experiences, out of the heat of the day and beneath a blanket of African stars!
Quilted in wetlands, forests, floodplains, open grassland and lily covered lagoons, Moremi Game Reserve is one of Africa’s most beautiful conservation areas. Moremi is also a stronghold for the wild dog population of Botswana, a successful reintroduction of rhinos, and the home to more than 500 bird species.
The reserve is literally bursting with life. You will spend three nights here at Bedouin Bush Camp embarking upon sunrise, sunset and nighttime game drives, truly fulfilling your appetite for wildlife encounters.
Heading back towards Zimbabwe you will stop over in Nata to experience the wonders of the Makgadigadi pans and Nata Bird Sanctuary. The Makgadikgadi Pans are the largest salt pans in the world. Surrounded by the Kalahari Desert, it is an area of low rainfall, however, features its own unique ecosystem which attracts a large variety of both animal and birdlife.
On the eastern tip of the pans is the Nata Bird Sanctuary – one of the three breeding grounds for flamingos in Africa. During the dry season the roads here are easier to travel on – leading you to an area of flourishing flamingos – now if that’s not cool – I don’t know what is!
We then head to Chobe National Park, with a sunrise game drive and afternoon boat cruise planned to keep riding the breeze. The park is also known as ‘the Land of Giants’ due to its large elephant population, which you will see plenty of on both land and river. The elephants here love swimming, splashing around in the Chobe waters to regulate their temperature – and simply to have fun! Final destination; Hwange National Park.
Open plains are an invitation for walking safaris, the bush stretching before you to the horizon. There are also community and conservation projects to visit, stoking the fire of education and awareness for local initiatives. Tourism is such an important industry for local residents within and around national parks, your journey is impactful to you and those you meet along the way!
Nourish those embers of your destination dreams, ignite your travel fire and email us at info@jenmansafaris.com to book your African adventure – the hot seat of safari awaits!
