10 reasons to go on a green season safari in Southern Africa

Colour, drama, new life in all its forms. Southern Africa’s ‘green season’ from November through to March is too often overlooked by safari travellers. Warmer days and scattered showers may not appeal to everyone, but what’s on show is a technicolour world with just a handful of explorers to witness it all. It’s a season of silver linings, if you know where to look. 

When the first rains fall in green season, Southern Africa’s yellow grasslands, open savannah and leafless woodlands explode with greenery – sometimes overnight, bringing a flush of new life to the landscapes. In Botswana and Zimbabwe, carpets of grass spread across the land, while in Namibia, unpredictable showers bring profusions of greenery to the otherwise arid desertscape. 

What could be more lovely than more daylight hours? In green season, the sun lingers until around 7pm in the evening, compared to earlier dusk of 5 or 6pm during the dry season months. That extra light stretches every moment: more time to quietly observe wildlife, explore our vast concessions, or enjoy your sundowner stops in the bush. With such a visual feast around you, safari days always feel longer, and in green season – they actually are.   

Shades of emerald everywhere make this time of year the ideal season for photographers – particularly for those who have experienced the dry months already, and are looking to discover the dramatic contrast of the seasons. Think impala feeding in tall, green grasses, giraffes peeking from behind revived jackalberry trees, and the Pantones of countless flora across the wilderness.  

Crisp light, clean air, and remarkable views overhead; anyone who’s ventured into the wilds of Africa knows that the skies put on a display year-round. But green season has a particular magic to it. With nothing but open space surrounding you, rain and storms here can put on quite a show. In short, the concept of ‘bad weather’ is moot in the wild, as its beauty outweighs all else.

Clouds cluster unexpectedly and turn blue skies a moody charcoal. With no skyscrapers interrupting the skyline, one can watch as columns of rain draw nearer from a distance. Lightning glimmers occasionally behind heavy clouds or cuts through the sky like fault lines. Thunder is more appealing when it echoes through unspoilt landscapes. 

The vision of the skies clearing cannot be understated, either. When the clouds part and the showers pass, there’s an undeniable electricity and warmth in the air. Sundowners in the bush are many people’s favourite moments on safari. When they happen just after a storm, the blush and orange sunsets feel more earned, more gratifying. 

Birders adore this time of year for the migrants that arrive and present in their colourful breeding plumage. Hundreds of southern carmine-bee eaters flock to Botswana and the riverine belt of the Zambezi. Set against brilliant green backdrops with dramatic skies above, their splashes of colour play an inextricable role in green season’s mise en scène. 

New life comes from the fauna as well as the flora, with all sorts of antelope, giraffe, and zebra dropping their young during the overlapping calving season. While young giraffes and wobbly impalas are a wonder to see, the predators they attract make for interesting sightings, too. Predators stalk and hunt relatively undetected in green season’s longer grasses, and capitalise on inexperienced prey for an easy meal.

Of course, with temporary waterholes replenished by the rains, animals no longer need to congregate around permanent water and disperse more widely. Thicker vegetation also makes wildlife harder to locate and identify, but our guides are well-versed in reading the land, and the search is part of the thrill. 

Another gift of green season is the solitude; relishing in an experience otherwise overlooked. With most travellers preferring to visit in the dry season, our camps are quieter from November through to March. You may find yourself on a game drive without other guests, or at a sighting without other vehicles. Our camps are intimate spaces at most times of the year, but in green season they feel that much more secluded – as do the wildlife experiences. When it’s just you and your guide in a sea of green, sightings strike a deeper chord. 

While some travellers in the northern hemisphere squeeze into ski towns and crowded shopping streets in December, you could be relishing the warm African sun. For those in-the-know travellers who venture here when the rest of the world settles into winter, your reward comes in colour, in space, in privacy – and all at a slightly friendlier rate. 

There will be moments on your green season safari when the scenery looks as you had imagined it. A gorgeous sunset, wild animals in the distance, a drink in your hand – Africa as it appears on Instagram. But I can tell you from personal experience: there’s an ‘unexpected’ that resonates just as much, if not more. When there are wet and grey moments on the continent you thought invented sunshine… when the plains are vibrant and green rather than the sweeping yellow savannah you pictured… when the pink sunsets are swapped for pewter skies – only to return again brighter than ever – that’s when you start to appreciate each wild place for what it truly is. Ever-changing, and never black or white. When it rains, it pours, the saying goes. And on safari – for the true purists, at least – that can only mean good things.