Botswana Safari Calendar

January

Having finished breeding, the African skimmers leave the Delta panhandle as the floodwaters cover their nesting grounds on the Sandbars.

Water lilies are in full bloom on the Okavango Delta.

February

Spot bird specials such as Pel’s Fishing owl, Slaty Egret and Wattled Cranes.

Zebra herds have migrated from the Linyanti and Chobe Rivers into the Savuti Channel.

March

The last of the heavy rains fall in Botswana.

With the drying of the pand, the elephants are starting to head back towards the Chobe and Linyanti

April

The herds of zebra and Wildebeest begin their trek back to the rivers where water will be available through the winter.

With the floodwaters settling, the Delta panhandle offers the best Bream fishing.

With the lower temperatures the birds begin to make their journey to the Northern Hemisphere.

May

Tjilenje Cultural festival is celebrated in Nlapkhwane in northeastern Botswana, including traTswana dancing, games and cooking.

June

The winter floodwaters have reached the full length of the Okavango Delta.

July

Wild dogs den with their pups across northern Botswana.

Huge herds of Elephant congregate along the waterways of the Okavango delta and the Chobe, Linyanti and Kwando Rivers.

Botswana celebrates Sir Seretse Khama day, their first President.

National Music Eisteddfod is held annually in Selebi Phikwe.

August

Kuru Traditional Bushman Dance festival on D’Kar Game Farm in the Ghanzi District. The festival is set up to help revive traditions of the Basarwa (Bushmen) peoples of the region.

September

The migrant birds arrive with the first light summer rains. Yellow billed kites and Carmine bee eaters are the first to arrive and Woodland Kingfishers are the last

Kalahari Summer Music Festival is held annually in Gabarone.

Botswana celebrates Independence Day on the 30th September.

October

The annual catfish run is at its peak in the delta panhandle, so tiger fishing is at its best.

The heavy rains in October fill up the scattered waterholes in the bush allowing the elephant herds to begin their migration away from the Linyanti and Chobe rivers.

The Kalanga people hold the annual Domboshaba Cultural Festival, performing music, dance and other cultural activities.

November

The Wildebeest, Impala, Tsetsebe and Warthog calving season begins.

Flowers in the Kalahari Desert and Khutse Game Reserve are spectacular.

The Dzalobana HIV/AIDS awareness festival is held annually in Francistown.

December

Summer electrical storms make the skies above the Okavango Delta a spectacular sight.

With the rain soaking the ground, conditions are perfect for mass reproductive termite releases.