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Month by month

Chobe in February

February is still deep in the rains, 122 mm over 17 days, but it is the month the Chobe River's flood begins its journey: by the end of February the Zambezi pulse is entering the wetlands upstream, ready to be pushed down the Chobe in March.

If you only want the answer

February is wet, green and cheap: 122 mm of rain over 17 days, highs of 29.1°C and game spread through the interior. It suits birders and value-seekers with flexible plans; fishing stays closed until 1 March and the Savuti clay tracks remain unreliable after storms.

February weather and the flood on its way

The thirty-year normals for the middle of the park give February 122 mm of rain over 17 days, afternoons of 29.1°C and nights of 20.6°C. The rain eases from January's peak but still falls on more than half the days, and the bush is at its thickest.

The month's own event happens out of sight. Peer-reviewed work on the Chobe basin shows the Zambezi's annual flood pulse entering the Zambezi wetlands at the end of February after passing Katima Mulilo. From there it is pushed east and down the Chobe from about the start of March, and the best single predictor of how far the Chobe floods is the Zambezi's discharge about 64 days earlier. February's Zambezi, in other words, decides the riverfront you will see in April.

Game, birds and young animals in February

Game stays dispersed. The pans hold water, the zebra are still at Nxai Pan on the migration study's ten-week average, and the riverfront carries fewer elephants than at any time after June. What February offers is young animals in lush country and the birding, with SafariBookings counting it among Chobe's best birding months, November to April.

A cruise in February runs on low water among hippo, crocodile and waterbirds, with fewer elephants coming down to drink because the inland pans still hold rain.

Closures, rates and the rules in February

A reseller lists Savute Safari Lodge as closed from 1 to 14 February 2026 and from 25 January to 8 February 2027, and &Beyond Chobe Under Canvas as reopening around 7 February. Nogatsaa Pans Chobe Lodge stays closed until 31 March. Elsewhere green-season rates apply: Ghoha Hills Savuti Lodge at $636 per person per night and Chobe Bakwena at $653 for a two-night stay, on their own rate pages.

Recreational fishing remains closed nationally until 1 March. Gate hours are 05:30 to 19:00, malaria risk is high, and the Savuti clay tracks can become impassable after a storm, so ask at the gate before heading inland.

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