Traveling to the GREAT UNKNOWN!

This is probably your first encounter with the "Zambezi". 

And consisting one of the most unknown and untamed rivers, nature creates this mysterious and wild region. You soon you will see why the these flooded savannas are considered one of the most stunning and diverse ecoregions of the world!!! Inland from the Mozambique, the grasslands and woody areas and freshwater swamps create a mosaic type of ecosystem and allow great diversity in the Zambezi delta region.

And even through the construction of dams like Kariba and Cahora Bassa, the massive floods are still able to occur in the wetlands and  contribute to the diverse habitat. Though there has been a huge loss in population of large mammals, Reedbucks, elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, and the spotted hyena are still spotted and a large part of the ecosystem here, along with marsh birds like the Wattled Crane and the Great White Pelican.
    And in the Zambezi delta we most certainly can not forget the fierce and wild wading Nile crocodiles and hippos. These are all the animals that have adapted to the wild and changing flow of the Zambezi and have learned to thrive or at least survive in the habitat of changing seasons.


In fact there are three very important seasons on the Zambezi:

1.) The Hot Rainy Season: Lasting from December to March, this is the season in which temperature is at least 82°F (28°C) and the weather is humid, hot, and rainy. 

2.) The Cool Dry Winter: Lasting from May to September, it is not as hot as the previous season and is about 75°F (24°C).

3.) The Hot Dry Season: Lasting from October to November, the days are hotter (95°F).
Animals do their best to find water and migrate to areas away from the dry river. Most tourists visit during this time during June to November. 

Elephant along the Zambezi river

(http://www.game-reserve.com/zambia_lower_zambezi.html,2002)

a crocodile basks on a rock along the river
(http://www.game-reserve.com/zambia_lower_zambezi.html,2002)

huge carnivorous hippos in the hot sun 
(http://www.game-reserve.com/zambia_lower_zambezi.html,2002)

wild dogs in the grasslands area of the Zambezi
 (http://www.game-reserve.com/zambia_lower_zambezi.html,2002)

This is the great  ZAMBEZI RIVER, along the coastal regions of Mozambique, which eventually drains out into the Indian Ocean:

(http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/image/44802735,2005)

"junction of Nambia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana" 

(http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/image/44802734,2005)

The Zambezi coastal flooded savannas consist of seasonal temperaments, allowing it to be unrecognizable starting in the summer months of June, with the huge Zambezi river dried to the ground by Novermber. However, the magic ultimately occurs annually along Northern Zambia. Here,  the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone creates southward-moving thunderstorms and heavy rains , finally flooding the Zambezi Basin, bringing a huge wave of thriving life and movement back into the Zambezi.

(http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=12856,2004)

References from this page: 

 (http://www.feow.org/ecoregion_details.php?eco=556, 2008) 

(http://worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/at0906, 2011)

(http://www.game-reserve.com/zambia_lower_zambezi.html, 2002)