I am often asked what the “good” and the “bad” season is in this area, and to be honest, there is no such thing here. Every season is different, and there is no “wrong” time to visit here. All seasons are very different, and they offer their pros and cons.

The dry season lasts from June to early October, but sometimes first rains set in in late September, but this is rare. May is usually also mostly rain-free, but the odd short showers to occur now and then, but we have many years with no rain at all in May.

Now “rain” in this area means usually relatively short and very strong bursts of rainfall, often at night, followed by clear skies shortly thereafter. It can rain a whole day or two, but this is quite rare as a matter of fact. The sun shines 90% of the time during rainy season too! (so for all our guests from Britain, the rainy season here is very, very different from the British winter!). The rainy season is also in the summer, so temperatures are very high then. The winter is the dry season, and so one gets cooler temperatures with lots of sun, in fact sun is quasi guaranteed in the dry winter months.

Please see some photos below that were taken over recent days. One can see that the foliage of the bush has dried up to a large extent, and that it is thinning out too. The dry season is well and truly upon us! This is a popular time for photographers, as the pictures are the sharpest given the very low air humidity levels and also the heightened visibility as the bush is much thinner. Of course the mornings are a little colder, as well as the late evenings, but that said, the daytime weather is glorious and the sightings recently are as good as ever. And we have had some spectacular sightings over recent days, that’s for sure! Photos are going to follow over the next few days to show what our guests have seen on their safaris.

I would like to introduce a beautiful bird, as seen a few days ago: the Verreaux’s Eagle, also known as the Black Eagle! (see the photo below)

Its official name commemorates the French naturalist Jules Verreaux, who visited and explored Southern Africa in the 18th century. Now this is a BIG bird. It measures up to 90cm in length, with a wingspan exceeding 2m. It preys on large game: guinea fowls (another bird), rodents of a similar size, but there are reports of it even hunting and killing monkeys and small antelopes! The way they hunt is similar to modern warfare: it uses cliff corners to avoid detection and surprises its prey by its sudden appearance. These eagles mate for live, and their nests are usually located in cliffs, only rarely in trees. It is not the rarest of birds, but to see one this close is a real treat!