WHY DECEMBER IS THE BEST TIME FOR A GREEN SEASON SAFARI
December in northern Tanzania is when the landscape puts on its richest clothes. The Green Season arrives and, almost overnight, the southern Serengeti, Randilen Wildlife Management Area and Tarangire National Park swell with life. Rain softens the soil, grass shoots up, and flowers and fruit appear everywhere. For travellers, this is not a quiet, washed-out off-season, it is an incubator of abundance. Herds spread out across the plains, predators follow, and a chorus of birds and smaller creatures fills every ecological niche. If you are thinking about a December safari, now is the moment to imagine a different kind of Africa – vibrant, intimate and astonishingly generous in wildlife encounters.
What makes December so compelling for a trip is precisely this density of life. The southern Serengeti becomes a vast, green buffet. Wildebeest, zebra and gazelle graze across the plains while lions and cheetahs take full advantage of the openness. From camp, you can leave at dawn to be among herds that seem to roll to the horizon and by evening you’ll return to a small, comfortable camp where guides unpack the day’s stories and the night sky feels close enough to touch. For travellers who want drama plus solitude, December delivers both – big animal spectacles with far fewer vehicles than the dry-season crowds.
Tarangire and Olkeri Camp offer a different but equally powerful December story where the riverine and baobab landscapes flourish, elephants arrive in force and birdlife explodes. This season shows a side of East Africa that rewards slow looking. Caracal and serval reveal themselves in short grass, aardwolves and porcupines emerge at dusk, and a single, careful walk will pull back the curtain on dung beetle epics, termite mound architectures and an astonishing varietyof insects and amphibians. If you are curious about ecosystems rather than simply tick-box sightings, Tarangire in December is engrossing.
Birders and naturalists should pay attention. Tarangire and Randilen host more than 500 species, including endemic and Eurasian migrants that arrive from November to April. December is when the air carries wheeling flocks and unexpected, colour-rich visitors – lesser kestrels, rollers, warblers and a host of waders and raptors. It’s also the season when nocturnal life sings, night drives and guided walks reveal genets, civets and bush babies that are rarely seen in the busier months. For photographers and scientists alike, the Green Season offers colour, behaviour and moments of intimacy you won’t find when the plains are dusty.
If December sounds like the right moment for you, get in touch! Our team has designed an itinerary embodying the Best of the Green Season tailored to your interests, whether you want migration dynamics, birding depth, immersive walks, or simply the quiet thrill of watching a green plain come alive.
