Safari Wildlife
Best in September

August   October

Bear essentials, Yosemite National Park, California, USA:
September is not yet cold (in the daytime at least) in this gorgeous, big-rock park) so hiking is spectacular and black bears are still looking for food in anticipation of hibernation.

USA Tours

Grizzlies, Knight Inlet, Pacific Coast, Canada.
Feast time for the big critters as hundreds of thousands of pink salmon head for their spawning grounds and dozens of grizzlies intercept them with ease in the shallow waters, providing a dramatic and magical show for lucky spectators.

Bears fishing for salmon, Alaska (far north USA):
If you enjoy the unspoilt outdoors and want to wander in wonder among forests of snowy peaks, glassy fjords, crystal lakes and rivers jumping with salmon-fishing bears, then a late summer trip to Alaska could be the place for you.
At this time there are also plenty of moose, deer, wolves, whales and other marine lifeforms.
Best July-September. Early September provides best weather, best prices and least trouble booking things.

Alaska Pictures   Alaska Map   Alaska Tours

GAA/Trek run lively, good-value, small-group tours of Alaska, hiking, kayaking and wildlife. Trek: Alaskan Wonder (multi-activity, camping); Alaskan Kenai (wilderness); Klondike (28 days camping) GAA: Alaskan Adventure; Alaskan Highlights; Alaska, Yukon, Arctic Circle

Polar life: Churchill, Hudson Bay, Northern Canada.
Excellent bleak scenery and cool animals - polar bears, caribou, wolves, whales and seabirds. Best March - November, especially October/November for polar bear migration. Avoid the rest of the year.

Polar Bear Tour Pictures   Canada pictures   Canada Tours

Big game safari: Masai Mara, Kenya.
Many other tourists will be bumping around on topless Toyotas but wildlife access is superb (tho' not self-drive) in Masai Mara and September may still see the tail end of the beestly migration (check with tour operators, timing is everything). Best July-September. Best weather December-March. Avoid April-June ( rainy season).

Kenya Safari Pictures

Big game safari:
Serengeti and Ngorongoro, Tanzania. Extensive and varied game parks with plenty of beastly diversity. Best December-February, June-September, with Serengeti wildebeest migration around July/August. Worst time: March-May (rains).

Tanzania Wildlife Safaris   Tanzania Hiking   Zanzibar Beaches

Encounters Travel is a small-group adventure tour operator offering lively, good value Tanzania Tours. e.g. wildlife on East African Odyssey; a Classic Kilimanjaro Trek; best wildlife and beaches on Savannahs & Sands

Lemurs, chameleon: Berenty Reserve, Madagascar.
Berenty is Madagascar's best park to see varied, unique lemurs, chameleons, baobab trees...Best May-June, September-November. Avoid December-March.

Madagascar tourist information   Madagascar Lemur pictures   Madagascar Map

Big for game, deserts, and dunes: Etosha National Park, Namibia.
Etosha in September is home to grunting masses of animals of all sorts with three fenced tourist camps in the middle of this rampant wildlife.
The blasted Skeleton Coast is free-access home to vast numbers of seals. Best June-September, OK May, October.

Namibia tourist information   Namibia Wildlife Pictures   Namibia Map   Africa Map

Wildlife safari: Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana.
Much of the Okavango Delta, with many interesting creatures - including the Big Five, but high costs. Visitors travel a lot by small boat or elephant back. Best July-October or November - March for twitchers.

Botswana tourist hints   Africa Map

Self-drive wildlife safari: Kruger Park, South Africa.
Kruger's self-drive setup is well-organised, as is the large selection of accommodation inside the wildlife area and September, in other words autumn, is cooler and less crowded than the previous months.Best June-September. OK May-October.

Kruger tourist information   Kruger Safari Wildlife Pictures   South Africa Map   Africa Map

Encounters Travel is an adventure tour operator offering lively, good value South Africa Tours. e.g. The Garden Route & Lesotho including Addo Elephant Park, Lesotho pony trekking, Drakensberg hiking; Big 5 Encounters including Kruger National Park, Blyde River Canyon and more.

Orang utang Rehabilitation Centre, Kabili Sepilok Forest, Kalimantan, Malaysia.
Playing hide-and-seek with semi-wild orange critters through an ancient rainforest. Best July-October.

Malaysia Pictures

Wet wildlife: The Pantanal, Brazil.
A spacious and open wetland offering more wildlife than the Amazon tho' less claustrophobic ambience. Best July-October. Avoid December-May (rains).

Pantanal tourist information   Pantanal Pictures

Wildlife on foot safaris: South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.
This undeveloped country leans towards walking safaris so tourists can spot a variety of animals safely without having to stink around in a petrol-guzzler. Best October, good July - September and June for bird watching. Avoid November - April (rains).

Zambia safari information   Africa Map

Chimpanzees: Uganda - Kibale Forest or Budongo Forest.
Tanzania - Gombe Stream or Mahale Mountains for animal tracking. Best June - September. Avoid March-May, October, November.

Africa Map

Wildlife/Safari Pictures listing. *= big photos:

*Namibia

*Canada Polar Bears

*Kruger, South Africa

*Galapagos, Ecuador

*Costa Rica

Australia

East Africa, Kenya

Gorillas, Zaire

*Madagascar