CHOBE NATIONAL PARK
December to March
It can be very hot and wet, with roads becoming muddy and impassable, especially after heavy rains. This is Botswana at its most beautiful. Game will have dispersed and made its way into the interior, but all the migrant birds will be breeding, and the animals will have dropped their young. The bush will transform from this parched and sun ravaged fall-out zone into a noisy, lush, magical landscape, full of brimming pans, alive with wildfowl and migrants. Gone are those huge herds congregating along the rivers and waterholes but this is made up for by the sheer beauty and life that the rain.
April to July
The bush begins to flatten out, pans dry out and game viewing gets better and more visible as the bush becomes less dense. There is little chance of rain and temperatures are mild although it can get cold at night and early mornings. A good, general time to visit, when it is still very pretty and with good game viewing.
August to November
Game viewing at its best! The interior becomes dry and animals congregate at the rivers and waterholes. Elephants gather in their hundreds and dominate proceedings. The Linyanti, Savute and Chobe rivers are magnets for huge buffalo and elephant herds. The Savute marsh is like an oasis in the semi desert. It’s not a ‘pretty’ time of year but game viewing is probably unequalled for the sheer numbers and species of animals.