There’s a moment in the Lowveld when everything changes. One day the bushveld still holds the soft golds and browns of winter, and the next, almost overnight, the world bursts into green. This is the Emerald Season at Tulela Safari Lodge, where summer’s first rains breathe life back into the land and the African bush transforms into something altogether different: lush, vibrant, and pulsing with new energy.
The air feels alive. Cicadas hum so loudly you can almost feel the vibration in your chest. The scent of wet earth rises, and sunlight filters through new leaves, painting patterns on the decks and poolsides of the lodge. It’s a sensory kind of magic.
The Return of Life
After the first good rains, everything changes quickly. The dry grasses have given way to green, and the trees have exploded in leaf. Jordan, one of Tulela’s experienced guides, calls it “the classic sound and colour of summer”, migrant birds are returning and the bush is teeming with movement.
The European bee-eaters have arrived at the lodge, flashes of turquoise and orange against the fresh green canopy. Wahlberg’s eagles circle overhead, calling out in pairs, staking their nesting spots. Down at the lodge’s waterhole, the daily rhythm has picked up pace. Elephants, their skin slick with mud, visit often to cool down in the midday heat. Buffalo take their turn after dark, the night air filled with grunts and splashes.
For the guests who gather quietly on the viewing deck at the main lodge with a cold drink in hand, it’s theatre in real time.
A Season of Expectation
Summer is also the season of birth. The impala herds, sleek and alert, are ready to drop their young, a synchronised natural event. With that comes a rise in predator activity. The leopards, always Tulela’s quiet icons, are thriving.
Jordan mentions one of the big local males who has been seen mating with a known female. “It’s a great sign,” he says, grinning, “there might be cubs on the way.”
It’s a reminder that the Emerald Season is nature at its most dynamic: birth, growth, survival. Everything is moving, changing, beginning again.
Why the Emerald Season Belongs to You
If you’ve only ever visited the bush in the dry winter months, the Emerald Season is something you owe yourself to experience.
It’s not about dramatic storms or endless rain. The showers are often short, powerful bursts that cool the air. Within minutes the sun returns. The light is sharper and the wildlife stands out in vivid contrast against the green.
And then there’s the space. Fewer guests mean more solitude, more moments where it feels like the wilderness is yours alone.
Final Thoughts
Tulela Safari Lodge invites you to see it all for yourself. Come for the green, for the warmth, for the easy summer days by the pool. Come to be a part of something beautiful.
Because here, in the heart of the Lowveld, life doesn’t slow down in summer. It flourishes.
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