Camera Lense for Africa? - What mm?

So I am going to africa in a a few months and was looking to buy a high end telephoto lense for wild life photos. What mm range should i consider obviously something 300+ mm. wildlife photographers and photographers who have been to Africa would be ideal for an awnser.

Note I have a digital SLR with a magnification factor of 1.5 so a film standard of 100mm is 150mm on my camera (I have a nikon D200, but Im looking for a mm range and will chose lenses later)

I'm looking at a VR lense actaully, Nikon 70-200 F2.8 VR

My budget is about $1000-$2500

I have not been to Africa, but I would say that you are looking to spend some serious money on a lens to make it worthwhile. First and foremost, you really want to get a "VR" lens. I'd say that the LOWEST price lens you can even consider is the new Nikkor 70-300 VR lens. The 80-400 VR might be affordable to you and probably all you'd need, although Rockwell says it's kind of slow on autofocus. You can use the focus limiter switch which greatly reduces the lens's tendency to hunt for the right focus.

Check out the page on Ken Rockwell's site devoted to safari equipment:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/safari.h...

I have a D200 and the 70-200 2.8VR lens. It is outstanding! However, it is probably not long enough for your needs in Africa. One suggestion would be to get that lens and the Nikon 1.7 extender, which I have read good things about in reviews. This would give you a focal range of 70-340 f/2.8-4.5 and should do very well in terms of size and cost.