jweis

The flood for 2010 is showing early signs that it may be a big one.

So far the flood waters are arriving a lot earlier this year compared to last year and they have already reached Seronga at the bottom of the panhandle.

It is obviously still too early to tell what the flood levels will be, but keep in mind that there has been a substantial amount of local rain in northern Botswana and that the Okavango Delta is already relatively full of water for this time of year.

Rain can also be expected for another two months (up through the end of March), locally and in the catchment area in Angola.

Charts and satellite images on the website.

Cheers,
James

HariS

James, how much rain did you experience during your recent visit? Saw the Selinda Lions article of yours on the WS site.

jweis

Hi Hari -

We had a very small sprinkle while we were at Kalahari Plains and then a decent little storm out on drive at Savuti the same day as the Selinda lions.

Then while at Mombo (the last 2 days of our trip), we had a seriously heavy storm during midday, with major wind and lightning... This was welcome there because the place looked awful - like mid October it was so dry. The areas 10-20 minutes from the camp looked like they had been getting plenty of rain - strange how localized the rains in the Delta can be.

We also went to Rocktail (brought our 4-year-old) and did some turtle drives and diving... they had been getting weeks of rain, but we were fortunate to have a dry 5 days (other than a small storm one night) while we were there.

As for the Selinda lions, that was a really cool sighting. Earlier that same day we visited a leopard den between Zarafa and Selinda - a female with two tiny cubs - she was called "Amber" previously I think (they stopped using that silly moniker now). I did a write-up on the leopards with pics too and it should be up on the Wilderness site this week I would guess.

James

HariS

Thanks, James.

I'm really glad for Amber's den ....... this way, the Selinda guides won't have the need to barge into Twin Pools to sabotage the sightings at Lebala

Jokes apart, sounds like more flood waters in the delta and beyond. I heard that the rains in Angola were pretty heavy this year.

Hari

atravelynn

The flood always offers some suspense this time of year. Thanks for the info.

cary999

Thanks James.
Do I remember - last year, 2009, saw very heavy flooding? If so, what was impact of that, compared to normal? And this year may be heavier??

regards - tom

jweis

Hi Tom,
Yep, you are correct in that 2009 was a big year for the flood...

Last year was also a "big" year for local rains and the combination resulted in water levels far above average, with the Delta and the Chobe-Zambezi systems spilling over onto land that had not been flooded in many years.

The impact is that if this year is again above average, it will supplement what occurred last year and many camps will again have to use boats and new roads once the flood waters reach them again in the coming months.

Not sure what this year will look like, but if you have a look at the charts on the website, you can see that this year has started off very strong.

Regards - James

safarimama

I was at Ntwala Island and Impalila, then at Tongabezi last April and it was the biggest flood in 50 years. The Chobe-Zambezi system was at an all time high. We canoed around our bed at Tongabezi!!! We were the last clients at Ntwala before it sank!! Are we looking at those levels again ... so soon? It happens only every 50 years.

cary999

Thanks again James.
Please keep us informed of it all.

BTW, very nice, very informative on every aspect of safari, web site you have, I sure would like to do one of your photo safaris

regards - tom

Elizabeth_S

We are scheduled to be in the Caprivi in Namibia in late February and Chobe in early March - based on this information should I consider adjusting our itinerary? Any thoughts appreciated.

jweis

Hi Elizabeth - I guess the answer to this depends on your expectations and where you are staying in Chobe and Namibia... can you provide a bit more info?
J

jweis

Tom - Sorry, just saw your post also... thx for comments on the site - new Bots maps about to go up (been working on them for a while now).
We would love to have you on one of our digital trips!
J

Elizabeth_S

J - we arrive in Namibia on February 18 (Windhoek) and pick up a 4x4 (Kia Sportage) then go to Sossus Dune Lodge for a few nights, then 3 nights in Swakop, and about a week around Etosha.

Then we drive to Rundu (staying at n'Kwaze) for one night then drive to Mazambala Lodge for 2 nights (near Kongola - on an island on the Kwando River) - then we return the car to Katima Mulilo and transfer to the Garden Lodge on the Chobe River near Kasane for 3 nights - then to Vic Falls for one night.

Re our expectations - my eyes were always open to the fact that we are traveling during the rainy season - but if it's likely there will be massive road flooding that will make the drive very difficult or if our accommodation will be difficult to reach I could cut off the Caprivi drive portion (maybe fly from Windhoek to Vic Falls?)

Opinions are welcome - thank you!

Elizabeth_S

ttt