I really hope that you find the below calendar useful. It should help you to
decide on which time of year suits you. Obviously very difficult to put it all
down on to an easy to read chart so if you do have any questions feel free to
contact us, or look at the questions that we have
had from other
travellers,
the answer you are looking for might just be there. If you haven't read our
weather page, do so, as that will also
be of use to you when planning your trip.
|
Month |
Seasonal Shift |
What's happening |
Sunrise
/Sunset |
| Jan |
• Height of rainy season;
• Hot and humid with thunderstorms and torrential downpours;
• Can get several days of continuous rain;
• The Victoria Falls become more intense with increased river flow;
• White water rafting will normally change to the high water run. |
• Thick vegetation growth;
• Animals disperse widely across the veld, therefore not the best time for game viewing;
• Rainforest very damp;
• Most rainforest flowers in bloom;
• Grass at its most nutritious;
• Lots of bird activity as many nestlings are raised. |
05h53
18h58 |
| Feb |
• Hot days and warm nights, plenty of rain;
• "the smoke that thunders" (spray from the falls) rises high in the sky;
• Most of the rainforest is under constant shower;
• River level rises significantly.
• High water white water rafting run. |
• Dramatic bush growth because of the rains:
• Foliage dense;
• African ebony trees come into
fruit; • Waterbuck breeding season;
• Many nursery herds evident in
Zambezi
national park. |
06h10
18h51
|
| March |
• Hot days and warm
nights;
• Rainy season coming to an end but river levels very high and
Falls are pumping furiously;
•
Rafting often closes due to high water
levels |
• Migrant birds start to
depart;
• Kudu and
buffalo breeding peak; Grasslands in full seed;
• Baobab
trees start to fruit |
06h19
18h31 |
| April |
• End of rainy season,
but the water from the catchment area upstream in Zambia has arrived;
• The Victoria Falls at its highest flow with an average of 500 million litres
of water per minute. Highest ever recorded was 700 million litres in 1958.
|
• Most animals in peak
condition at the end of the rainy season, due to the volume of food
available;
• Impala, wildebeest and warthog rutting season;
• Final
departure of migrant birds |
06h26
18h07 |
| May |
• Beginning of Autumn;
• Days are warm to hot with a chill coming into the evening air;
• Zambezi
flowing strongly despite advent of the dry season |
• Deciduous trees begin
to lose their leaves; best month for fishing in the Zambezi;
• White
backed vulture breeding season;
wild dogs breed. |
06h35
17h51 |
| June |
• Autumn gives way to
winter;
• Warm to hot days, dry weather, chilly at night;
• Zambezi river
levels drops |
• Raptor courtship
displays more evident;
•
Game starts to become concentrated near water as
the grass cover recedes |
06h45
17h49 |
| July |
• Height of dry season
coincides with mid winter:
• Days on the whole are still warm, but you can
get a cold spell creeping in for a few days; nights are very chilly;
Definitely bring something warm;
• No rain |
• Elephants migrate to
winter pastures;
• Raptor breeding season;
• Mopane leaves begin taking on
their distinctive winter hue of burnt orange. |
06h48
17h57 |
| Aug |
• Dry, warm days and cool
nights;
• Sometimes windy, signalling a shift in the seasons;
• Eastern
cataract in Zambia often becomes exposed due to low water levels of the
Zambezi |
• Increase in Elephant
population on Zambian side of river, which is the winter feeding ground
for elephants from northern Zimbabwe and Botswana. |
06h36
18h06 |
| Sept |
• Spring brings
noticeable increase in temperatures;
•
Hot days, nights becoming warmer;
•
Excellent white water rafting as the water levels drop and rapids become
exposed |
• First migrant birds
arrive from Europe and elsewhere in Africa;
•
Weavers begin breeding;
•
Knob
thorn acacia trees begin flowering indicating a change in season. |
06h12
18h12 |
| Oct |
• Hottest month of the
year, often known as suicide month because it is so hot;
•
Building up
towards the start of the rainy season, with the occasional storm taking
the edge off the heat;
• Eastern cataract usually dry.
•
White water rafting
still excellent. |
• Breeding plumage
appears in certain birds and heightened courtship displays;
•
Marulas in
flower;
•
Long tail cassias display beautiful yellow flowers;
•
New mopane
leaf growth. |
05h48
18h17 |
| Nov |
• Usually the start of the
rainy season although rains may be late or early;
•
Days are very hot and
nights are warm;
•
The Victoria Falls is at its lowest ahead of the upstream
rainy season.
•
White water rafting still excellent |
• Baobab trees in flower;
•
Mopane trees exhibit new growth;
•
Blood lilies in flower;
•
White gardenia
flowers are out;
•
Elephants begin to disperse back to Zimbabwe and
Chobe;
•
Impala calving season;
•
More migrant birds arrive;
•
Dramatic increase in
insect activity. |
05h33
18h30 |
| Dec |
• Hot and humid as the rainy
season works towards its peak;
•
Cooler than October because of
cloud cover;
•
Can get several days on continuous rain;
•
Falls are still
quite low but levels are starting to rise with rains from the localised
catchment area.
•
Eastern cataract still exposed.
White water rafting
still excellent. |
• The Lwindii ancestral
worship ceremony at the Falls;
•
Dragonflies at their most active in the
rainforest;
•
Flame lily and other rainforest flowers in bloom;
•
Wildebeest
breeding season |
05h36
18h48 |
