African safari in May – our suggested destinations

May is the beginning of high season for shark diving in and around Gansbaai, continuing through to September. In Cape Town winter has arrived by mid May, sometimes marked by windy, wet weather.

But some of the game lodges in Madikwe & the Eastern Cape game reserves often have some excellent low season specials for May and June, making this a great value time to snatch a quick week on safari.

The wetter weather of the Kruger, Madikwe and KwaZulu Natal should be over. So from now until October is an excellent time for a safari in South Africa. Some of the private game lodges have low season specials from May to June as this is a slower season in South Africa.

May could also be a canny time to enjoy a safari in Zimbabwe, Botswana or Zambia. The dry season has begun and the animals are starting to congregate around the waterholes. But it’s not yet dusty and dry. This is the beginning of the peak season in the flooded Okavango Delta in Botswana with sunny, warm days and quite cold evenings. Peak season in the Delta starts in late June/July but rates in May and early June are more affordable.

It’s a great time to visit Namibia as it’s also before the busy peak season, the rains should have ceased and the night time temperatures are not as cold as they’ll become in June and July.

The ‘value’ story is reinforced in Uganda. For the last few years, the Uganda Wildlife Authority has offered drastically reduced gorilla tracking permit fees in April, May and November, saving about 30%. As the fees are pretty steep, this is worth bearing in mind.

Near to the equator, Kenya and the Seychelles in particular, this is the start of the stronger south-easterly trade winds which are good for windsurfing, surfing and kite-surfing.