Calendar
Tendencies, not dates — and we will say which is which
The flood is a natural system fed by rain in another country. Anybody giving you a firm arrival date for water at a particular camp is guessing.
| Period | The water | The ground | Temperature | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November – January | Low, beginning to rise upstream | Rain arrives; green, transformed | Hot, humid | Birding, newborns, lowest rates |
| February – March | Rising through the upper Delta | Green and wet; game dispersed | Hot | Value, photography of a green landscape |
| April – May | Spreading down through the system | Drying out; game starting to concentrate | Warm days, cooling nights | The shoulder — often the best value of the year |
| June – August | Generally at its fullest | Dry; game concentrated on water | Cold at dawn, pleasant by day | Water camps, mokoro, peak game — and peak prices |
| September – October | Falling, still substantial | Very dry; heavy concentrations | Warming sharply; hot by October | Land camps, predators, exceptional game viewing |
How much this varies
Genuinely. A strong flood pushes water into channels that were dry the year before; a weak one leaves areas reachable only by vehicle. Timing shifts by weeks between years.
So treat the table above as the shape of a typical year rather than a forecast. What a specialist can add is what the current season is actually doing, which becomes clearer as the year develops.
The two under-used periods
April and May. The flood is spreading, the ground is drying, game is beginning to concentrate and the rates have not yet reached their peak. For a first Delta trip on a real budget this is frequently the best window in the year.
September and October. The water is falling but still substantial, the ground is very dry and game concentrations are at their heaviest. October is hot — properly hot — and it is some of the best land-based game viewing the Delta offers.
The cold, which surprises people
Winter mornings in the Delta are cold. A game drive at dawn in June or July, in an open vehicle, at speed, is a genuinely cold experience and camps hand out blankets and hot water bottles for a reason.
Pack accordingly. Every year people arrive for an African winter with summer clothing and spend the best hour of each day being miserable.
The green season, fairly
It is warm, wet and green, the birding is exceptional with migrants present, there are newborn animals, and the rates are the lowest of the year.
It is also the low-water period, so some water activities may not run, and game is more scattered because water is no longer scarce. Rain tends to come in afternoon storms rather than all day, which is less disruptive than people fear.
Choose it deliberately, for what it is, and it is very good value. Choose it by accident expecting mokoro trips and it is a disappointment.
What we will do with your dates
Tell you what is typical for them, what this year is doing, which camps are least sensitive to the flood being early or late, and where a two or three week shift would materially improve the trip.
If your dates are fixed by school holidays or work, we plan around them rather than telling you to move. Most people’s dates are not actually movable, and pretending otherwise is not advice.
Ready to turn this into a real itinerary?
Send us your dates, who is travelling and roughly what you want to spend per person per night. Our Botswana specialist comes back within 24 hours with a plan built around them and a costed quote.