Deciding when to come on safari to the Zambezi/Kariba area depends on what you are looking for. There are four seasons in the Kariba/Zambezi area:

November - March:  Summer rainy season:  Hot days (30^oC+), and nights (22^oC) strong possibility of showers or thunderstorms especially afternoon/evening.  Rain cools the temperatures. High winds can occur on Lake Kariba and along the Zambezi River.  Dirt roads are muddy and tricky without a 4x4.  River crossings are sometimes impassable due to floods. Mosquitoes and other insects are prevalent.  Vegetation is lush and green with new growth.  Baby animals are in evidence.   Butterflies everywhere.  Long grass makes game viewing less rewarding.

April - May: Autumn post-rainy season:  Limited rainfall.  Pleasantly warm in the day (28^oC) but temperatures cooling off at night (15^oC).  Mosquitoes still prevalent.  Dirt roads now passable.  Vegetation attractively green from the rains, but long grass still obscures game viewing.

June - August:  Winter cool-dry season:  Dry, sunny, clear days, (26^oC) but can get very cold at night and in the early morning (8^oC).  No rain.  Few mosquitoes.  Dirt roads now dry and hard. Good game-viewing as bush and grass now brown and eaten down and animals seek out water sources.

September - October:  Spring hot-dry season:  Very dry and very hot in the day (35^oC) and at night (25^oC).  Roads very dry, hard and dusty. Air can be hazy because of dust and the smoke from bushfires.  Fewer mosquitoes.  Excellent game viewing as the land dries up and wildlife congregates at water sources.  Bush parched, brown and leafless, but some vegetation coming into flower.