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Kruger in December

December splits in two. The first ten days are green, hot and quiet; from about 10 December the school holidays and the festive season make it the most booked period of the Kruger year.

If you only want the answer

December is green and hot, with about 78 mm of rain over 8 days at the park centre, highs of 30.3°C and nights of 20.3°C. Young impala and wildebeest are everywhere and the birding is excellent. From about 10 December the camps are full and rates rise, so book months ahead, and take malaria tablets.

December weather: storms and heat

The normals give December about 78 mm of rain over 8 days at the park centre, with afternoons of 30.3°C and nights of 20.3°C. Skukuza averages 9.8 rainy days. December has the most hot days of the year in the reanalysis: about six days at or above 35°C at Skukuza and about nine at Shingwedzi in the north.

The bush is fully green and the game dispersed. Gates open at 04:30 (camps) and 05:30 (entrance) and close at 18:30, so you can drive in the cool before the heat and the afternoon storms.

The baby boom

December is when the young of the year are most visible. A Singita sighting report from December 2025 described a baby boom of impala lambs and wildebeest calves, and the predators work the herds. The summer birds are all present.

You trade the easy river sightings of winter for scattered, busier bush. For photographers the storm light and the green are a reason in themselves.

The festive peak: book early, expect quotas

The school holidays run from 10 December 2026 to 12 January 2027 (from 9 December in 2027), and the festive season is the busiest time in the park. SANParks applies day-visitor gate quotas every festive season; in 2024/25 pre-booked day visitors had to arrive within a booked time slot. SANParks opens accommodation 11 months ahead, and the camps sell out early.

Rates rise with the crowds. The reseller lists Skukuza campsites at R551 per site from 9 December 2026, Singita Lebombo moves to its peak rate of R60,470 per adult on 15 December, and Lukimbi to its high season from 20 December. Malaria tablets are recommended.

Sources