While the northern hemisphere is gripped in the icy chill of winter, here in Southern Africa the air is thick with the hum of cicadas and the calls of a myriad colourful birds… The bush is lush and green and filled with life and the sky above is an incredible shade of blue... The sun is shining and it's warmth filters into everything... This is summer in Africa - the most incredible time of year.

The annual arrival of the rains brings with it amazing transformation and relief from the long, dry season that saw the bush become tinder dry, uniformly brown and extremely sparse. While the dry season is great for game viewing because there's so little cover, it's the green, or emerald season that sees it bursting with energy, overflowing with new growth and baby animals and covered by wonderful grasses.

All of the herbivores have babies at heel, from lovely little impala lambs to wildebeest calves and zebra foals. Dams and waterholes are at good levels and it's lovely to just stop in the shade of a tall tree and watch life unfold around the water, with a variety of birds and water fowl active on and near the water and animals regularly coming down to drink. 

Summer traditionally starts on 1 December each year and lasts to 1 March. The temperatures get up into the mid to high 30s (centigrade) and if you don't mind the heat, it's a wonderful time of year to spend in the bush. Our summer thunderstorms are a sight to behold, and that wonderful, rich, earthy smell after fresh rain (it's called petrichor) is an experience in itself! 

For birding enthusiasts the summer months represent the chance to see a variety of migrant species both from other parts of Africa and Europe. You'll see European bee-eaters taking to the skies over South Africa at the moment, with their gorgeous, colourful plumage a real treat to see.

The tall, riparian forests on the edge of rivers and dams are also filled with the calls of the paradise flycatcher, whose distinctive rust-red tail feathers and bright blue eye wattles set it apart and make it a wonderful bird to both spot and photograph. 

No matter whether you choose to travel to South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia or Mozambique at this time of year, a summer safari is an absolute feast for the eyes. So chat to us about your options and let's put together a summer safari just for you!