Africa Wild

We've never been to Kruger in mid-winter before so don't know what it's like then. We've had a couple of chilly days but never below zero. The hottest we've experienced was our very first trip to Kruger in December 1976....I can still remember the stifling heat. I'm sure the temps must have been in the upper 40s...we've never been back in December again!! -O

There's a thread on Kruger weather here.

Bushcraft wrote:
My coldest night was at Tamboti and it was -1 and the hottest at Satara and Lower Sabie where both days were 43 degrees

My experiences exactly, BC!

Berg & Dal has felt as cold as Vereeniging to me .

We will be spending 15 nights in the Kruger in December , we start at Letaba, move to Balule, move to Tamboti, move to Pretriuskop, move to Lower Sabie and then back to Pretoriuskop and then home , so how do we deal with the heat??? Any tips welcome, thanks

Good luck TD!

Yesterday in Phala it was 43 degrees and at 18h00 it was still 39. Hopefully it won't be this extreme in December as there should be rain by then.

My tip to beat the heat at places like Balule is to have a cold shower with your clothes on and then go back to the shade without drying yourself. Repeat as needed.

In the car, put your aircon on blowing on your feet. This cools you down quite well, but don't close your windows otherwise you spoil the atmosphere of being in Kruger.

Presumably you are camping, TD?

Shade is hard to find in campsites unless you are lucky, these days! In summer, the trick is to position your tent, even next to a medium sized bush, so that the bush gives some shade from the SETTING sun! This will give the tent and contents time to start cooling down for the evening stretch! Also open all doors and windows as soon as you get "home", but put up gauze before sun sets, for mozzies!

A portable desktop-type fan is essential for your tent or caravan, as most sites now have power, and totally negates mozzies and other insects as you sleep, besides cooling you down!

I have no poroblem with driving windows-up, aircon on during the hot hours...Sprocky just cools his feet to minimise the smell, I think?

Drink lots of water, even in between beers or what not. Alcohol is a dehydrating agent!

In Letaba we are in a safari tent (number 4), Balule (hut number 6),Tamboti (safari tent) ,Pretoriuskop (hut with fridge and aircon),Lower Sabie (hut with aircon and fridge) and then back to Pretoriuskop (hut with fridge and aircon). I think Balule is going to be the hottest, but we bought a fan (30cm x 30cm), it is collapsible and it works on batteries.