Safari In Colour: Green Season

Pru Allison
September 14, 2019

We spend a lot of time talking about the best places to visit in the Bush, but the time of year can have a dramatic effect on each place too.

We’re approaching the Green Season, which runs roughly from November to the end of March, and while we don’t often admit to favourites (Sophie’s Choice and all that), we absolutely love this time of year.

The landscapes of Botswana and Namibia really come to life during this season, so travelers are privy to new beginnings aplenty, and sadly some early demises, as well as the predators, emerge in force.

We caught up with some of our team to find out more about what they love about Green Season.

Nadine Smith – Regional Sales

“Botswana’s green season is a rebirth. It brings in the rains and lush vegetation, along with prolific birdlife and new babies being born all around.

One of my favourite times to travel to Botswana is during the months of November and December. These months bring afternoon thundershowers; they don’t last long, but can be quite dramatic and are very welcome as they cool things down. The contrasts of fresh green shoots of grass, leaves and dark tree trunks against bright blue skies with cotton candy clouds, always make for great photographic opportunities. With all the new impala and other antelope babies being born, predators are on high alert.

Our Green Season is a quieter time of year to travel, as the winter months attract the majority of international travelers who take advantage of their summer holidays, making this is the best for you to feel even more alone in our uncrowded concessions. Birdlife is in abundance and we have the zebra and wildebeest migration taking place in the Makgadikgadi which starts and ends with the rains which also bring in the flamingos. Again, the contrasts of the lush green plains, dramatic skies and thousands of zebra and wildebeest is nothing short of ‘wowzer’! It’s a refreshing change from the dryer months – what’s not to love!”

Ally Karaerua – Managing Director of Namibia

“Contrary to the popular belief, Namibia is a year-round destination and the summer months give the country a completely different character which needs to be enjoyed.

Imagine water in the Sossusvlei, newborn animals all over, dusty Etosha turned into a lush green oasis, and flowers in the desert.

This is the time when Etosha is at its best. There are animals all over, and you can’t miss anything. Namibia becomes like game viewing in the Okavango delta where water pools are all over. Animals are nowadays habituated and don’t shy away from human beings. The guides always know where the animals are as they follow the same patterns, and don’t forget the excitement of game stalking!

If you don’t trust me, trust the European migratory birds that will be in the country for holiday and to enjoy the new life which has been washed into the vegetation.

The truth is that Namibia is a semi-arid country and rain is a scarce commodity even during summer. When it rains, it does not last longer than 2 hours and soon after that, the sun will shine again. The beautiful cloud formations and the rainbows are spectacular during the summer months and not to be missed. The temperature might be high during this time of year, but that is part of the experience.

We all have different reasons to travel and there are certain aspects which will remain the same irrespective of the time of the year, but the seasonal beauty is very special.”

Peter Allison – Head of Sales and Marketing

“The green season is a fantastic time of year to travel. The landscape is awash with baby animals and beautiful colours thanks to flowers springing into bloom and migrant birds. There’s also no dust at this time of year thanks to the rains, and it’s a really affordable time to travel! Many of our camps are heavily discounted as part of our Natural Summer Selection offer.”

Get in touch with us to find out more about our Natural Summer Selection offers which see a number of our Botswana properties heavily discounted for the Green Season.