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Okavango Delta

Botswana · Africa · southern hemisphere

WildlifeLakes & Coastline

Okavango Delta is at its best for wildlife in July to September. Good but not prime in June and October.

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Wildlife
15
15
15
15
42
67
90
90
90
67
42
15
Lakes & Coastline
0
1
6
29
47
69
90
90
65
37
13
4

No reliable monthly crowd data for this destination — the proxy used elsewhere did not pass its checks here, so nothing is shown rather than a guess.

Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.

primegoodpossibleoff-seasoncrowds, on this place’s own scale

The short version

The Delta floods in the middle of the dry season. Rain that fell in Angola between November and March creeps south at about a kilometre a day and arrives here in June, so the water is high from June to August while the land around it dries out

When not to come

December to March for the rain, though the June–August flood peak restricts vehicle movement more. Local rains, black-cotton tracks, thick bush, and the flood has not arrived yet — you get the worst of both states at once.

Busiest

July for peak flood, then through September for the game

With children

Access is by light aircraft with strict luggage limits, and many camps set a minimum age around six or twelve. Mokoro trips are unsuitable for small children — a dugout canoe in hippo water is not a family activity.

Where to stay

Camps are either water camps or land camps, and which one is right depends entirely on the month. Booking a mokoro camp for February means poling through a channel that has not filled yet — ask the camp what the water is actually doing when you plan to arrive.

What can go wrong

Wet season

Local rains, distinct from the flood — the delta’s water arrives from Angola months later, which is why the flood peaks in the dry season.Jan · Feb · Mar · Dec

Kept out of the score on purpose. Averaging a rare catastrophe into a monthly number would tell you something false; the warning is the honest form.

Dates that matter

  • Floodwater peaks in the northern Panhandle (mid-Mar to mid-May)
  • Water arrives at most camps (Jun–early Jul)
  • Peak flood and best mokoro conditions (Jul)
See everything else at its best in Jul

Organised trips

Multi-day trips to Okavango Delta

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