Just like East Africa, the DRC experiences a short break in the rains in December. In a landlocked, equatorial country, high temperatures are to be expected and there’s always a certain degree of frizzy-hair inducing humidity, but gorilla trekking in Virunga is just as good in December (if not better) than in the typical dry season months. We wouldn’t exactly describe the DRC as ‘busy’, but if you’re looking to combine a Virunga visit or a Nyiragongo climb with a classic East Africa safari, you’ll avoid some of those pesky crowds in Kenya and Tanzania’s popular parks by travelling in December.

Kenya

The short rains in Kenya and Tanzania are usually over by mid-December, and those quintessential blue skies and green, grassy plains return. In Kenya, game viewing is particularly good all over the country and in Tanzania, the northern parks (Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire) are in full swing with excellent animal densities all round. For a Christmas to remember, combine your bush with a few days at the beach. A particular highlight is the whale shark migration around the Zanzibar Archipelago, but the weather up and down the Indian Ocean coastline in both Kenya and Tanzania is pretty peachy.

Zimbabwe

Some people may say that the wildlife in Zimbabwe’s parks is too dispersed for good game viewing in December – but that’s not strictly true. The animals may not be congregated around the waterholes, and you may have to drive a little further, but they’re still there and seeing a leopard with her cub, or watching elephant amble across the landscape without lots of other 4x4s in the way is heaven. In addition, the sunsets are superb, the thunderstorms are spectacular, and the scenery is green, fresh and glorious.