The best game, the most people, the highest prices

Why these months are different

Water. As the country dries out, animals concentrate on what is left, the grass is shorter, and the sightings that take patience in March take twenty minutes in August.

In Kenya and northern Tanzania the migration adds to it. In Botswana the Okavango flood — which arrives from Angolan rain months earlier — puts water into the Delta precisely as everywhere else dries, which is why the two peaks coincide for opposite reasons.

Avoiding the crowds without leaving the season

The crowding problem is specific, not general. It happens in public parks where vehicle numbers at a sighting are not capped.

• Stay on a conservancy or private concession. Same animals, capped vehicles, plus night drives and walking.
• Take a private vehicle, so you are not on a shared schedule that arrives when everybody else does.
• Choose September over August if your dates allow even a fortnight of movement.
• Go to a less obvious region. Southern Tanzania, Laikipia and the Linyanti are all at their peak in these months and see a fraction of the vehicles.

Booking

Six to twelve months ahead for July to October. The best small camps — the eight-tent, owner-run ones that make a honeymoon — sell out first, because they have eight tents.

If you are inside three months for these dates, the honest position is that you are choosing from what remains. That can still be a very good trip; it is just no longer a free choice.

Ask what is still available