The Green Season is essentially the very apt name for the warm, wet summer months in Botswana. The Green Season runs from November through to April. It is the time of year when the country gets most of its annual rainfall and the countryside becomes green and lush. Now most people worry when they hear the word “rain” in the same sentence as “holiday” but the Green Season is actually an excellent time of year to explore Botswana.
The rainfall tends to be concentrated around February so if you travel from November to January you will probably miss the worst of the rain and even in February and March its not that bad! The annual rainfall in the Okavango is no more than in London only it is concentrated into a few months instead of all year round like here in the UK. The rain tends to come in short, heavy downpours, usually in the afternoons when the heat has built up into thunderstorms. However they don’t occur every day and you can enjoy beautiful sunny days in between.
There are many benefits to travelling in the Green Season, the main one being that there are substantial discounts. Botswana’s main tourist season coincides with the European and American summer holidays so it can get booked up early on. During the Green Season it is much quieter and the camps and lodges offer good discounts. The other advantage is that you will pretty much have the place to yourselves as the visitor numbers are so much lower. For those who really want to get away from it all you can enjoy the remoteness of the African bush without seeing another person whilst out on a game drive at this time of year.
Another huge benefit of travelling in Green Season is that the countryside becomes stunningly beautiful and lush. Vast arid salt pans becomes wetlands teeming with birdlife and the dusty plains become vast meadows of lush green grass and beautiful wildflowers. The trees are also green and heavily canopied, providing cool shade and a verdant backdrop to the wildlife. Botswana is a photographer’s paradise and no more so than during the Green Season when the dusty air becomes much clearer, views become sharper and colours more vibrant. The scenery is truly spectacular during the green season and the landscape comes alive with the vast numbers of birds and animals that live here.
And of course, the lush greenery brings out vast herds of herbivores and where they go so too do the predators. Many animals migrate during the Green Season including a mass migration of zebra across the Kalahari and the Savuti. Elephants and wildebeest, buffalo and antelope are all on the move in large herds at this time and it is also the time when they produce their offspring with plenty of food and cover all around. With all the animals on the move and weak youngsters to prey on the big cats are having a field day and can usually be found looking healthy and extremely well-fed! Botswana is also a birder’s paradise with a large number of migrant birds arriving from Europe during the Green Season as well as the local birds which include rare eagles, owls, kingfishers and waterfowl of every description.
Posted by Ruth
