The benefits of a Botswana green season safari

The first rains of summer bring an almost instant transformation. Grass cover becomes abundant, trees explode with new greenery, and the landscape carpets itself in countless floral blooms. The air carries that unmistakable African perfume of wild sage, mixing with petrichor as rain meets soil, creating a distinct freshness that speaks to nature's renewal. It is a true feast for the senses. And the cameras as well.

Throughout the day, spectacular cloud formations build until explosive thunderstorms flash across the horizon. These dramatic skies provide photographers with rich light and endless opportunities, while lush green vegetation creates stunning contrasts against dark, looming clouds.

Perhaps most exciting is green season’s wildlife rebirth (calving season), when thousands of young animals take their first tentative steps into the world. The 'cuteness factor' is everywhere – from wobbly-legged antelope calves taking their first steps to playful young elephants exploring how to use their trunks.

With abundant food and water, wildlife takes on a vitality that speaks to green season's phenomenal bounty and ability to sustain unique wildlife spectacles. Emerging termites provide sizable food sources, supporting everything from dwarf mongoose to countless bird species, including thousands of migrant birds from across Africa and the northern hemisphere. During this time, one can witness hundreds of southern carmine bee-eaters, barn swallows, common swifts, and raptors like lesser spotted eagles creating aerial ballets above the greening landscape.

Elusive species like bat-eared foxes and brown hyenas also become more active and visible during this time, while iconic areas like the Okavango Delta take on new dimensions, with lush vegetation creating intimate waterways perfect for mokoro excursions and close-up wildlife photography. Even the harsh Mababe Depression becomes delightfully welcoming during summer rains, with its vast grass plains attracting large herds of buffalo and oryx, followed by lions and other predators.

With fewer crowds, unique photography conditions, and nature's magic unfolding daily, your green season safari awaits in the remote corners of Botswana's wilderness. Take a look at some of our Wilderness camps that offer the very best of this renewal:

In the remote north-east, the extraordinary 121,450-hectare (300,000-acre) Linyanti Wildlife Reserve showcases the green season at its most dramatic. Here, the Kwando River makes an almost 90-degree turn to become the Linyanti River due to the Linyanti Fault, creating a stark contrast in the landscape which is visible from the air. The reserve's varied habitats – from marshes and waterways to riverine forests dotted with Kalahari apple-leaf and cathedral-like mopane woodlands – create diverse ecosystems perfect for wildlife viewing.

Within it, Wilderness Little DumaTau offers a wonderfully intimate green season safari experience. This exclusive four-tent camp, set within a crucial elephant corridor, offers remoteness and countless wildlife encounters. Here gentle giants can be seen in their numbers, notably less stressed in summer with the abundant forage and water surrounding them. 

During green season, the famous Savuti Channel often carries water, creating a wildlife highway teeming with hippos, red lechwe, impala, baboon, and waterbuck. The channel becomes a favoured hunting ground for wild dogs, and the perfect stage for spotting the magnificent kori bustard. Wilderness Savuti offers six tents positioned on the channel, providing access to both land and water-based game viewing, with the option of a romantic Star Bed at Zibadianja Lagoon – the very source of the Savuti Channel.

Originally a destination of leisure for the Swedish monarchy, Wilderness King's Pool represents safari royalty in the Linyanti. This eight-suite camp, nestled in front of an oxbow-shaped lagoon, is surrounded by lush riverine forests and expansive floodplains that become even more spectacular during green season. Here you can enjoy day and night drives as well as close encounters with elephants at the camp's underground hide, made even more special when these giants arrive with their newborn calves. The camp’s barge, the Queen Silvia, provides sublime sunset boating opportunities along channels lined with verdant vegetation.

Wilderness Qorokwe offers an exclusive 27,200-hectare (67,000-acre) concession bordering Moremi Game Reserve that truly comes alive during green season. Here massive herds of buffalo perform dramatic river crossings, living up to the camp's name which means ‘the place where the buffalo broke through the bush into the water’.

Positioned between two permanent channels, Qorokwe becomes a predator stronghold during green season. With calving season in full swing, expect thrilling encounters with lions, cheetahs, and leopards taking advantage of abundant young prey. The camp's nine tents offer the perfect base for exploring through game drives, boating, mokoro excursions, and guided walks – all enhanced by summer’s spectacular photographic conditions.