Weather & when to go in Botswana

Even though Botswana is primarily a dry country, its summer is also its rainy season, and lasts roughly from November to March. From late May to August, rain is very scarce.

Botswana experiences extremes in temperature. Days are normally clear, warm and sunny, while nights are just the opposite. They can range from cool to bitterly cold in autumn and winter (March – August). From October to April the moderate rainy season brings heat and humidity, definitely not recommended for the faint-hearted.

Where most of Botswana is mainly just a desert landscape, the northern and eastern outskirts offer the friendliest climates. Throughout the biggest part of the year, these areas experience maximum temperatures, ranging between 25°C (77°F) and 32°C (90°F). During the chilly months of May to September, temperatures experience a slight drop.

Most popular time to visit:

Autumn & winter (April - August). During these months, the days are generally pleasant and the animals are always near or around water. One thing you’d have to bear in mind, though, is that this is also the time of European, North American and South African school holidays, meaning that this is the busiest time of the year for Botswana tourism, and things can get a little crowded.

Good time to visit:

June, early July and mid to late September. Prolonged rains can make sandy roads too muddy to cross, and animals tend to disperse when there’s too much water.  

Worst time to visit:

December – March. Because of really heavy rains, it’s extremely difficult to get around Chobe and Moremi National Parks. Many lodges actually close during this season.

Best things to do in Botswana

1. The Okavango Delta is a major attraction, and flying over the Delta in a small plane or drifting through it in a mokoro, or watching one of its spectacular sunsets are what adventure stories are all about.
2. The Chobe River offers some incredible bird watching, and it’s also a great place to pitch a tent and sleep out in the African wilderness. This is, of course, after sharing some stories around a campfire under the African night sky.
3. While cruising on the main Botswana highway, just watch out for an elephant crossing it, an experience wished upon every traveller.
4. Another thrilling experience is wild dog and lion tracking by foot in Moremi.

Areas of interest in Botswana

Chobe National Park

Covering 11,000 sq km (4300 sq mi), Chobe National Park has the biggest variety of wildlife compared to anywhere else in Botswana. A good place to start exploring it is at its northern tip, in a town, called Kasane. Its location makes a good base for visits to the park. Up to 500 herds of elephants are Chobe’s main attraction, closely followed by lions, cheetahs, hippos, hyena, crocodile, buffaloes, giraffes, warthogs, otter, zebra, antelope, jackals and many bird species.

Makgadikgadi Pan

No landscape on earth is like this. Once an enormous lake, the Makgadikgadi Pans are now three immense salt pans (the largest on earth). During the sizzling heat of late winter days, these stark pans take on a disorienting and ethereal austerity. All sense of space and direction is completely destroyed by heat mirages as imaginary lakes shimmer and then disappear, and ostriches take flight, while stones seem to turn into mountains floating in mid-air.

During annual rains, the hollows in the pans form temporary lakes. The water turns fringing grasses green, and herd animals and birds in huge numbers arrive for the party.

Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta is one of the world’s last untamed wildernesses. Starting at the Angolan highlands, this watery mass of 16,000km² elaborate channels and islands is the world’s largest inland delta. It lies in Botswana’s northwest, and flows into the opposite direction each year. The middle of the delta, which consists of 20% of the greater delta area, is protected by the Moremi Wildlife Reserve.

Local farmers used to call the Okavango Delta a ‘useless swamp’, and wanted it to be drained so they could use it as farmland. Fortunately, the delta has been recognised for its significance in conservation, and today this mysterious, placid and beautiful area is a sanctuary for a huge elephant population, as well as lion, antelope, cheetah, giraffe, wild dog, leopard, crocodile, hippo, buffalo, a big number of bird species, and over 80 species of fish. Needless to say, the African Fish Eagle finds this place to be paradise.

Bear in mind that the Okavango Delta is incredibly big, which makes spotting wildlife a little more challenging than your average game park. This is not for the impatient traveller, but rather for the traveller who wants to experience Africa for what it is, and not only for the Big Five and the blood and gore that one sees on wildlife channels.

If you fancy yourself a patient and laid-back traveller, then jump on a plane or 4x4, and let it drop you off at the Okavango Delta for a few days. Here you’ll drift around on a mokoro (dug-out canoe) and go on walking safaris – the best ways to explore the delta. Don’t despair, you will have a poler with you, who’s the person who’ll steer your mokoro for you and will find safe spots for you to swim. You’ll also get a chance to go on a walking safari with an experienced delta guide, and track some spoor. Your guide will fill you in on everything you need to know about the wildlife, birdlife, plant life and all the intricate ways of the delta.

Maun

Once a dusty little frontier town where local people brought their cattle to trade, Maun is today Botswana’s tourism capital and the springboard for safaris into the Okavango Delta and Moremi Wildlife Reserve. The town is now home to over 30 000 people who live in an assorted mix of traditional huts and modern buildings. It has shopping malls, restaurants, banks, a few hotels and some happening bars.

Flights into the Okavango Delta can be organised from Maun Airport, and there’re several companies offering a one-hour sightseeing flip by six-seater plane. The town itself doesn’t offer much to see, except for the local tribesmen bringing their cattle into town for sale, or the occasional indigenous red lechwe grazing alongside the goats and donkeys along the riverbanks.

Moremi National Park

Mostly described as one of the most beautiful wildlife reserves in Africa. Moremi National Park is a mixture of lagoons, floodplains and mopane woodland and acacia forests. Its incredible diversity of plant and animal life has made Moremi famous.

Recent history of Botswana

This country is an African success story. Not only has it achieved independence from Britain in 1966, and then unearthed three of the world's richest diamond mines, but also, though suffering from the world's highest HIV rate, it enjoys stable governance and good educational and economic standards.

It does, however, suffer from unemployment, AIDS, urban drift and an increasing birth-rate.

Nature also not been too kind to Botswana, as devastating floods in 2000 has left 70,000 people homeless. Meanwhile, droughts have caused extensive suffering, especially in the west.

Despite these setbacks, Botswana remains a peaceful nation.

Highlights of Botswana

1. Visit the Okavango Delta by either small plane, drifting on a mokoro or by foot.
2. Watching one of its spectacular sunsets.
3. Seeing the elephants, hippo's and birds along the Chobe River.
4. Bump into an elephant crossing the main Botswana highway.
5. Tracking a wild dog and lion by foot in Moremi.

Quick facts of Botswana

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Area:

602,957 sq km; 232,802 sq miles

Population:

31,639,000

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Languages:

Religion:

Christian (71.6%), Badimo (6%), other (1.4%), unspecified (0.4%), none (20.6%)

Electricity:

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Money matters

Medical matters

1. Malaria
2. HIV/AIDS

Getting there

You can fly into either Gaborone, Maun or Kasane.

You can also fly into Vic Falls or Livingstone, and transfer by land.

Remember that even though international flights arrive in Gaborone (SAA and BA), it's usually cheaper to do your long-haul flying to Windhoek (Namibia) or Johannesburg (South Africa), and then, from there, travel overland.

Safety in Botswana

Not your average African country, Botswana is modern, developed and most things actually work. The tap water in the towns and cities are completely safe to drink.

It’s no secret that HIV/AIDS is a serious issue in Botswana.

The greatest danger to you will be either caused by wildlife or the inherent risks of driving in the bush.

Road safety in Botswana should not be taken lightly. It has one of the highest accident rates in the world, with drunk and reckless driving at the top of the list.  Watch out for goats, cattle, sheep, donkeys and wild animals, especially at dusk and after dark when things aren’t that visible. As a driver in Botswana, you’d need to be very alert and have no need for speed on dirt roads.