In March, Craig, Sally, Sarah and Andrea from New Frontiers Tours embarked on an extensive Botswana inspection trip. They returned brimming with excitement and enthusiasm! Here’s a quick look at the beauty of Botswana’s ‘Green Season’ and why it truly is a year-round destination.
During the 2014 Green Season (December – March) the Okavango Delta has received twice its average annual rainfall with 50% falling in March. Rainfall is erratic, unpredictable and localized. Heavy downpours may occur in one area while a mere 10 or 15 kms away there is no rain at all. As a result of the recent, excessive rain some airstrips are closed and roads are flooded, causing logistical challenges and longer than normal airstrip transfer times. With so much surface water game is dispersed which means the guides have to work harder when out on game drives! None of this detracted from our enjoyment of experiencing Green Season in all its glory.
Peak game viewing months in Botswana are the dry winter months of April/May through to October/November but with its dynamic eco-system Botswana is very much a year round destination. Apart from offering vastly reduced rates, the Green Season months of March to December are full of surprises and a lovely time to visit Botswana.
Our Top 10 Reasons to visit Botswana in the Green Season:
- Fresh green and lush the bush is dotted with wild flowers and the Delta water lilies are in full bloom
- Birding is excellent as by December the migrants have arrived
- Constant sounds day and night from insects, birds and reed frogs
- Long warm days and balmy evenings
- The bush comes alive as the birthing season begins and predator sightings are frequent as they take advantage of a glut of easy prey
- Photographers will relish the kaleidoscope of colours and clarity of air
- Spectacular cloud formations, brilliant flashes of lightning and the colourful arc of a rainbow
- During March the Okavango Delta bull elephants feast on the fruit of the Marula trees
- Stretching interminably the vast flat grasslands of the CKGR are dotted with plains game – oryx, springbok, hartebeest, eland, wildebeest and giraffe. Bat eared fox and jackals are seen in large numbers
- After the first rains in December Nxai Pan becomes a veritable Garden of Eden as springbok lambs are born and zebras slowly start moving into the area, small herds at a time. This is the only park in Botswana where springbok and impala are seen together
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