Experience the wild wonders of Green Season at Ongava

Green is the colour of the wild in bloom.

In a bountiful year, the quenching rain brings new vigour to the land, topping up the waterholes and painting the bush with wildflowers.

The shift in season ushers teeming herds in from the wings, the skies abound with birdlife, and the air is alive with renewal.

In Namibia we call this Green Season. Subject to the whims of nature, it runs more or less from December to March, the hottest time of year, but also the quietest on the international safari calendar.

This makes it an ideal time for a visit to Ongava, where the season unfurls in a series of close-up encounters that stir the senses. Beginning with the rain itself.

Hoped-for, planned-for, prayed-for, it arrives with a tentative shimmer of cloud that shields the sun in the late afternoon.

Like an army on the march, the storm clouds gather and align, darkening the sky before the first heavy drops signal the start of the salvo.

From the comfort of our expansive viewing deck, a bushveld thunderstorm is a pulse-quickening experience that reveals nature's untamed fury, in the same light as its benevolence. Rain, in the wild, is a giver of life.

One of the great joys of Green Season at Ongava is the greater likelihood of seeing the new brood make their debut.

Tail-flicking young taking their first steps in an impala nursery, or an elephant calf, shielded by its matriarch, stomping its way to a waterhole.

At the same time, the greener the grazing, the more young on the land, the greater the prospects of seeing predators on the prowl.

A game drive in Green Season at Ongava heightens the adrenaline and clears the air for that perfect shot — on camera, of course.

Dampened by the rains, the earth is less prone to stirring up dust in the presence of wildlife, and the soft, diffuse light from overcast skies is ideal for capturing vivid detail, of a lion on the hunt or a bird on the wing.

Gone are the harsh shadows of a cloudless sky; instead, you’ll have a palette that is nuanced and rich, ideal for capturing the soul of Africa.

The days are longer in the light of Green Season, which means more time to explore the wild or revel in the sounds of nature around a campfire.

Any season is a good season to visit Ongava, but Green Season has a magic all of its own. Plan your visit now, and find out for yourself!

Photography: Neal Cooper