Things to Do in South Sudan in December

December is the only month these flat-bottom cargo boats accept passengers without cancellations. You'll share deck space with sacks of sorghum and jerry-cans of diesel. But the 6-hour drift past papyrus channels and Dinka cattle camps is the closest thing South Sudan has to a river safari. Morning departures (7 AM) beat both the heat and the afternoon head-wind that can add two extra hours.

The laterite tracks that swallow vehicles from June-October have hardened into corrugated ribbons by December. You can reach the Boma escarpment viewpoints (1,200 m / 3,937 ft) without winching, and the short grass makes it possible to spot white-eared kob migrations that can number half a million animals. Sunrise here is 5:45 AM - start early before dust devils rise.

December water levels are low enough to walk the granite outcrops along the Uganda border without thigh-deep wading. Hippos cluster in deeper pools, so sightings are concentrated and predictable before noon. Fever-planes (tsetse flies) have thinned out, meaning you won't be swatting every thirty seconds like you would in October.

Sun angles in December are lower, so the tarpaulin alleys inside Juba's largest market get slanted golden light instead of harsh overhead glare. Spice piles (fenugreek, dried okra) photograph red rather than bleached beige, and the meat section's smoke fires start later in the day when butchers feel the chill.

Pastoralists stay put in December because grasses are grazed down and water is reliable. You'll sleep on a cow-hide cot, wake to the smell of smoked milk and acacia fires, and learn why every long-horn has a name sung in morning prayers. Night skies are crystal - the Milky Way looks like spilled sugar across black marble.