Escape winter for a festive season safari

December in Botswana marks the height of summer in the southern hemisphere, offering a warm escape from winter's grip up north . Daytime temperatures are hot , exceeding 30°C, and there is plenty of sunshine, making it perfect for relaxing by the pool at siesta time. At camps like Wilderness DumaTau , with its private plunge pools, indoor and outdoor showers, and multitude of wellness offerings at Osprey Retreat, you relax in sublime comfort during the midday heat. With cooler mornings and evenings, at a comfortable temperature for game viewing, the summer days allow for the perfect balance of relaxation and safari action here in our Linyanti Wildlife Reserve in Botswana’s north-east.

December in Botswana also brings the rainy season and the potential for spectacular cloud formations, explosive thunderstorms, and dramatic skies.  With the air charged and carrying the unmistakable smell of petrichor as rain meets soil, it becomes an all-encompassing safari for the senses.

Perhaps the most exciting event during this time is calving season, when thousands of young animals take their first tentative steps into the world through synchronised breeding – a remarkable survival strategy where species like impala, wildebeest, and zebra simultaneously give birth when the rains arrive, and grazing conditions are optimal (normally early December). Female impala can even extend their pregnancies to wait for the rains if they are delayed, a remarkable evolutionary trait that demonstrates nature's adaptability.

This co-ordinated timing overwhelms predators who simply cannot target all the vulnerable newborns at once, ensuring species survival while filling the landscape with cute scenes of wobbly-legged antelope calves, zebra foals, and warthog piglets. This abundance of new life set within a greening landscape makes for an unforgettable festive season safari experience, and there is nowhere better to experience it than Wilderness Mombo in the Okavango Delta.

Set on the northern tip of Chief’s Island in Moremi Game Reserve, Mombo is ideally situated. Due to the southern flowing waters depositing fertile sediment over many years on the northern side of the island, Mombo has excellent grazing, attracting game from far and wide. With eight elevated tented suites, you can quietly watch the wildlife and their young congregating on the greening landscape in front of camp from the comfort of your deck. And when it's time for this aggregation of abundant but vulnerable cuteness to move, just know that predators like leopard, lion, spotted hyena, and African wild dog are waiting. There will be action…

With calving season come endless opportunities to capture every wildlife moment, from unsteady wildebeest calves to leopards catching warthog piglets. Equally special, however, is the transformation of the landscape. Grass springs (thick and fast), trees burst with greenery, and the landscape teems with new flowers and scents. The dramatic skies and frequent thunderstorms provide photographers with rich light, while the green foliage creates stunning contrasts against the dark clouds.

As professional safari guide and photographer James Tyrrell puts it,

 ‘For me, summer is THE best time for wildlife photography. The sheer variety of opportunities you are presented with is astounding, as this is the time that the bush truly comes to life. Migratory birds, dramatic clouds, newborn antelope everywhere… and all of it set in a lush environment of verdant green. You are spoiled for choice’.

Perhaps more subtle, but equally important, is the emergence of millions of flying termites after the rains. When conditions are ideal and the soil is soft, these winged reproductive termites, known as alates, leave the colonies in huge swarms to mate, disperse and establish new nests. These mass termite irruptions  offer a seasonal feast and source of protein for many animals, particularly birds like barn swallows, bee-eaters, rollers, lesser kestrels, and tawny eagles, all of which can be seen in great numbers. For photographers and birders alike, witnessing these aerial ballets is truly special. Add to this the arrival of migratory birds such as the brightly-coloured southern carmine bee-eaters and the distinctive orange-billed African skimmers, as well as the waterbird rarities of the Okavango Delta, such as the slaty egret, and you have a true birding paradise at its peak in December.

Camps like Wilderness Jao, in the Delta’s north-west, offer brilliant access to this paradise. Here, when water levels allow, you’re poled on a mokoro that silently moves along the crystal-clear channels, cutting through the profusion of summer greenery. If you're lucky enough, waterbird specials like the lesser jacana can be seen delicately stepping across water lilies, or a Pel's fishing owl swooping down to catch a tasty tilapia. With rarities like wattled cranes and slaty egrets present here, combined with seasonal migrants, Jao provides the ultimate summer haven for birds – and visitors escaping the cold.

With fewer crowds than peak (dry) season, you'll experience nature's magic unfolding daily in intimate, undisturbed moments.  This is a time when the remote corners of Botswana's wilderness reveal their most spectacular secrets – chief among them the creation of new life, which can be witnessed at a slower and quieter pace.

Ashley Brown, Wilderness Reservations Manager notes: ‘While a festive season safari might look very different to your typical northern hemisphere December festivities, there are certain traditions that we unquestionably uphold – particularly that of offering a gift.

‘Our gift to you is our Kids Stay Free offer for the 2025 festive season. When staying in a family room during low, shoulder, or festive season, one child (under 16) stays free per full-paying adult – up to a maximum of four free kids per booking. With family rooms at camps like Wilderness Mombo and DumaTau, the whole family can experience the very best of an African safari in summer. For the terms and conditions for this offer, please check with one of our Travel Designers ’.  

With this festive season fast approaching, we encourage you to trade your cold grey skies for the sun, and experience the holidays as nature intended – surrounded by new life, dramatic landscapes, and the raw beauty of Africa's green season. With fewer crowds, spectacular photography opportunities, wildlife at its most abundant, and the fascinating natural phenomena that only occur during the rains, a festive season safari might become your new favourite holiday tradition.