Botswana in the Green Season: A Seven-Night Private Journey
The Okavango Against the Grain: What a Green Season Trip Looks Like
This is a seven-night safari through two of the Okavango’s most rewarding areas: three nights in the Khwai Community Concession, followed by three nights in Moremi Game Reserve or, depending on budget and preference, a private concession deeper in the Delta.
Travelling in the green season, from December through March, is a deliberate choice, not a compromise. This is when the Okavango turns vivid and dramatic, when migratory birds arrive in extraordinary numbers, when antelope calve in the lush floodplain grasslands, and when lodge rates drop significantly. It is the time of year when Botswana is genuinely beautiful rather than simply photogenic.
The guiding is private throughout, with your own vehicle and guide. In Khwai, that means night drives, off-road access, and walking safaris where you want them. In Moremi, game drives follow designated tracks: a different rhythm, but an equally rewarding way to spend time in the bush. Accommodation is matched to what makes sense for your group, and both areas have good options across a range of price points.
Worth knowing before you book: the guests who enjoy this trip most tend to be the ones who understand what they are trading. Fewer vehicles at sightings. Richer colours. Smaller budgets. The wildlife does not disappear in the green season; it is just working harder to find it, which is a different and often more satisfying kind of experience.
The green season in the Okavango is one of the few experiences in an African safari where the destination is at its most beautiful, precisely when it is least crowded. Most guests who visit at this time describe it as a revelation.
The Journey Day by Day
Seven nights, two areas, and a deliberate rhythm: three nights tracking the Khwai floodplains, then three in the permanent Delta, with travel days that are part of the safari rather than dead time. Here is how the week unfolds, day by day.
I meet you at OR Tambo for a direct flight to Maun, the gateway to everything north of it. From there, a Cessna charter carries you over the Delta in 30 to 45 minutes, your first look at the floodplains from the air. A lodge vehicle collects you from the Khwai airstrip.
Lunch, a chance to settle in, and then the afternoon opens up. The green-season light in Khwai is remarkable from around four o’clock. A late-afternoon drive into the concession is the right way to start: open floodplains, woodland edges, and predators that tend to move well before dusk.
Two full days in the Khwai Community Concession, with morning and afternoon drives each day. The community concession model gives me genuine freedom of movement: off-road tracking, walking where it makes sense, and the ability to stay with sightings after dark. Night drives are permitted here but not inside Moremi, so these two nights are your window for what moves after sunset. That distinction is worth understanding before you arrive.
The green season brings a particular density of wildlife to the Khwai floodplain. Buffalo herds are a near-daily feature, elephants move through in large numbers, and the predator population, lion, leopard, and wild dog, depending on the season, follows the game. Birdlife peaks between December and March, with summer migrants alongside the resident species. On one of these days, there is also the option of a mokoro excursion: a traditional dugout canoe poled quietly through the lily-covered channels at the floodplain’s edge. Unhurried, eye-level with the water and the birds, and a genuinely different way to read the landscape.
The morning follows the same pattern: a drive at first light, breakfast in the bush, and then the safari moves. If your itinerary places you in Moremi, the transfer is a short road trip from the concession boundary. If you have chosen a private concession deeper in the Delta, a Cessna meets you at the Khwai airstrip. The flight across the floodplains is worthwhile in its own right.
Either way, the afternoon is the same: settle in, have lunch, and head out to begin reading the new area. Moremi and the private Delta concessions each have a distinct character, and each takes a little time to understand.
Two full days in your second area, with morning and afternoon drives each day. Moremi covers a significant portion of the Okavango’s permanent Delta and is one of the most ecologically diverse reserves in southern Africa: dry land, seasonally flooded grassland, riverine forest, and open water in proximity, supporting a range of species that few reserves can match. During the green season, water levels are rising or near their peak, and the landscape reads differently because of it.
A boat excursion becomes part of the programme here. It is a guided game drive by water, moving through channels and lagoons at the pace of the current: hippo, crocodile, water monitors, and the full sweep of waterbirds that use the Delta during the flood. Fish eagles are a constant. Pel’s fishing owl, one of the most sought-after birds on the continent, is found in these waterways. For guests in a private concession, the days tend to be less structured and more responsive, me working with what the area is doing rather than a fixed itinerary.
The last morning follows the same pattern as every other: a game drive at first light, breakfast in the bush, no reason to skip either. Departures out of the Delta are rarely before mid-morning, and the hours between first light and eight o’clock are consistently among the best of any day.
After breakfast, bags go to the airstrip, and a Cessna takes you back to Maun for your connecting flight to OR Tambo. I stay with you through to the point of departure. That is where the safari ends, and it is considered a good place to end it.
The Landscapes: Khwai and the Delta in Focus
The two areas this safari moves through read very differently on the ground: the Khwai Community Concession allows off-road driving and night drives, while inside the reserve, the choice between Moremi Game Reserve and a private concession comes down mostly to exclusivity and cost. Understanding what separates them is most of what decides where you spend your nights.
Khwai Community Concession
Khwai sits on the northeastern edge of the Okavango, bordering Moremi to the south and Chobe to the east. As a community concession, it allows more flexibility than the reserve itself: off-road driving, night drives, and walking safaris are all permitted. The wildlife is prolific. Elephant, buffalo, hippo, and large predators are regulars, and Khwai has a well-earned reputation for wild dog sightings. During the green season, the floodplains are lush and active, and the Khwai River draws animals throughout. Accommodation ranges from well-priced community camps to more considered private options, making this one of the more accessible parts of the itinerary without compromise.
Moremi Game Reserve vs Private Concession: The Choice
For guests managing costs, Moremi Game Reserve is an honest and considered choice. Camps in areas like Xakanaxa offer good accommodation and reliable game viewing on designated tracks. Night drives and off-road access are not permitted inside the reserve, but the wildlife density in Moremi during and after the rains makes a strong case on its own terms. For guests with more budget flexibility, a private concession deeper in the Delta is a different proposition: exclusive traversing rights, mokoro access through the channels, and a level of solitude that is genuinely difficult to match elsewhere in southern Africa. I work out which makes sense for your group during the planning conversation.
If you are considering adding Chobe, Victoria Falls, or another destination to your trip, or would prefer to look at alternate routes across the region, my ” How to Plan a Botswana Safari ” page walks through the operational combinations that work well alongside Khwai and Moremi
Understanding Botswana's Safari Seasons Month by Month
Most safari industry marketing is built around the dry winter months, and for understandable reasons: game visibility is at its most obvious, and the photographs look a certain, predictable way. What tends not to appear in the brochures is that travelling in the green season offers a genuinely different experience, and in many respects a more rewarding one.
The Green Season: Wet Summer, December to March
A Botswana safari in the green season runs on a different set of advantages.
The Shoulder Months: Early Autumn, April to May
By April, the rains have eased, but the conditions stay stable.
High Dry Season Tracking (June to September)
In the dry season, from June through October, the bush thins and animals concentrate on permanent water.
The green season has practical realities worth knowing. Expect warm days and localised afternoon showers, occasionally heavy. Some tracks become serious mud and require real 4×4 clearance, but on a privately guided trip, that is my concern rather than yours. Mosquito activity peaks during the warmer, wetter months, so malaria prophylaxis is strongly recommended. A travel health clinic is the right place to arrange this, ideally four to six weeks before departure.
What Your Safari Price Includes, and What It Leaves Out
A private safari involves real coordination behind the scenes: park entries, light-aircraft charters, concession fees, and timing that have to fit together. The lists below show exactly what your price covers and what sits outside it, so there are no surprises in the field.
Verified Moriti Private Safaris reviews from the field
Genuine feedback from past travellers provides an accurate depiction of my tracking standards across the delta floodplains. Reading these compiled Moriti Private Safaris reviews offers a direct look at how an unhurried, privately guided pace translates into reliable wildlife encounters during the changing green season months.
Frequently Asked Questions About This Green Season Safari
A few questions come up on almost every green-season enquiry, about the rules that differ between areas, where to stay, and whether the season is worth the trade. The short answers are below.
Often, yes, if you understand the trade. The bush is thick, so predators take more time to find than on bare winter ground. In return, you get peak calving, migratory birds at their most prolific, dramatic light after rain, and noticeably lower lodge rates. It suits travellers who value the full picture.
Both work, and the right answer depends on what you value. A private fly-in concession buys solitude, off-road access, and exclusive traversing at a higher rate. Moremi camps are more affordable, and the wildlife moves freely across unfenced boundaries, so you are not trading wilderness for cost.
Off-road tracking and night drives are both permitted in the Khwai Community Concession, but not inside Moremi Game Reserve, where driving stays on designated tracks and ends at sunset. These are conservation rules, not arbitrary limits. I use both areas deliberately, because each offers something the other cannot.
Alternate Routes: My Other Privately Guided Safaris
Botswana in the Green Season: A Seven-Night Private Journey
A seven-night privately guided safari through two of the Okavango’s most rewarding areas, timed deliberately for the green season. Khwai for the flexibility and the night drives. Moremi or the private Delta for the depth. Fewer vehicles, richer light, and a Botswana that most visitors never see.
How to Plan a Botswana Safari: Routes & Pairings
Plan your Botswana safari across the Okavango Delta, Chobe, Moremi, Khwai, Savuti and the Kalahari. We will help you find the right combination.
Private Guided Mobile Safari in Northern Botswana
A 10-night privately guided mobile safari travelling southbound from Kasane to Maun. Three areas, one unbroken journey: Chobe National Park, the Khwai Community Concession, and Moremi Game Reserve.
Occasional notes from the field. Thoughts on planning, places I’m spending time in, and changes that actually matter when you’re thinking about a safari. I send it when there’s something worth saying.