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Month by month

Chobe in April

April is high water on the Chobe: the floodplain lies under the Zambezi's backflow, the rains have all but stopped at 14 mm, and the lodges and the gates both change their timetable on the first of the month.

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April is green, quiet and good value. Rain drops to 14 mm over two days, the river runs high across the floodplain, and shoulder rates start on 1 April. Game is still spread out, but Expert Africa rates Savuti the best area for wildlife this month, and the cool mornings begin.

April weather: the rain stops, the river stays high

The normals for the middle of the park give April 14 mm of rain over two days, afternoons of 30.4°C and nights of 18.6°C. The model smooths out the cold river valleys, and Chobe Game Lodge says early mornings from April to June can be as cool as 4°C, so bring a fleece for the first drive of the day.

The Zambezi water that arrived in March keeps spilling over the floodplain through April, and in many years the peak falls in this window. In 2026 the river ran unusually high: Botswana's Daily News reported on 8 April the highest Chobe readings in five years, driven by strong inflows from the upper Zambezi, and on 16 April the state news agency described the overflow pushing water down the Chobe through the park to the Satau floodplains. In years like that, low-lying riverfront tracks can flood.

Game and birds in April

Game is still dispersed, but the pans begin to dry and the country opens up. Expert Africa rates Savuti as the best area for wildlife viewing in April. On the riverfront, the puku are at the tail of their March and April calving peak, and BirdLife's second raptor passage of the year runs through these two months.

From a boat the river is at its widest, with flooded grass and open water; the herds that will crowd the banks from June are not yet back. Expert Africa calls April the beginning of the shoulder season, with visitor numbers starting to rise.

Rates, gate hours and roads in April

Shoulder rates begin on 1 April at the Savuti and Nogatsaa lodges with published tables: Ghoha Hills Savuti Lodge moves to $841 per person per night and Nogatsaa Pans Chobe Lodge reopens at $607, both until 30 June. Chobe Game Lodge calls April to June its shoulder season. Chobe Bakwena, on the river outside Kasane, keeps its low rate of $653 for a two-night stay until the end of April.

Winter gate hours start on 1 April: 06:00 to 18:30 until 30 September. The clay tracks are mostly passable again in April, and malaria risk stays high until the end of May.

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