Christmas in Africa. It may not be the most traditional of destinations; certainly you’ll be struggling to find sleigh rides in the snow. Any snow for that matter, except at over 17,000 feet on Mt Kilimanjaro and even this is predicted to have gone by 2025. Despite its wonderful wildlife, sightings of reindeer are very rare and elves are renowned for not liking too hot a climate.
Many people head to Africa not for the traditional Christmas experience but for the sun. Kenya and Tanzania are clear, bright and warm. The small rains finish at the end of November, leaving the Parks and reserves fresh, rivers replenished and the game content. The Masai Mara and Serengeti temperatures range from approx. 10 degrees at night to the mid 20’s during the day. It’s perfect game-viewing weather.
Most lodges and camps have discreet Christmas trees and decorations, most menus will tip a nod at the traditional Christmas dinner. Your guide may wear a Santa hat at the start of the drive. Some lodges will do more and advertise so, others will do nothing. Depending on whether you want to celebrate or escape, you can choose your accommodation accordingly.
The main concern for my daughters was always the availability of chimneys. Happily for them and for Father Christmas, most lodges have large flues above roaring log fires. Smaller camps have open air fire pits around which stockings can be left. Just because you are away from your normal bed and home certainly doesn’t seem to confuse Father Christmas or his elves. Presents find their way on schedule to their intended recipient.
For the animals of course it’s a normal day. The carnivores will be looking for a meal, the grazers will be hoping to survive. Can you remember what you did on Christmas day five years ago? That’s 2007. If you spent Christmas on a safari you will remember it for the rest of your life. Watching the sun rise over the African Savannah and the animals as they come to drink or graze in the first warmth of the day. If you are lucky you may see a leopard sleeping in a tree or a pride of ions resting in the shade. A herd of elephants may bustle past, shepherding the young along in their midst.
You can enjoy sun downers (most likely not eggnog) as the sun sets and then enjoy the night sky as it emerges to reveal probably more stars than you’ve ever seen before. There is still plenty of time to open presents, maybe around the pool while resting in the afternoon, or around the camp fire in the evening. Everything will be different from what you’ve experienced before, but that doesn’t mean it’s not Christmas, and a Christmas you will enjoy and long remember. You won’t be eating up Turkey for days afterwards either…
Christmas in Cape Town, South Africa
A Christmas in Cape Town offers you the opportunity to experience a traditional Christmas in a beautiful city while enjoying great weather. At the southern tip of Africa and well inside the southern hemisphere it’s the middle of their summer so you get the familiar Christmas trappings from home and be warm. The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront will be dripping fake snow and Christmas trees, there are carol singers and choirs singing festive and African songs, a blend of the familiar and the exotic. Then you can go wine -tasting or hiking in the wine lands or take the cable car up Table Mountain. It’s Christmas, but not as you know it.
