Tanzania's Great Migration

Every year the Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania is the stage for one of our planet’s great wildlife spectacles. In October or early November, 1.2 million Blue Wildebeest, and hundreds of thousands of Plains Zebra, Thomson’s and Grant’s Gazelles, leave Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve, cross into Tanzania and then follow the rains south onto the short-grass plains of the southern Serengeti and neighbouring Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Here they gather in vast numbers between December and April, filling this wide open landscape as far as the eye can see, whilst feasting on the lush new growth of grass and giving birth to their young. In turn, these great herds are shadowed by prides of Lion and families of speedy Cheetah. Leopard take their cut too, as do ‘cackling’ clans of Spotted Hyena and the occasional pack of Wild Dogs. To be within, and surrounded by, this vast sea of life — the greatest gathering of large mammals anywhere in the world — is an experience never to be forgotten and one central to the design and timing of this exciting Naturetrek holiday.

The highlight of this safari will be the five nights we spend in the Ndutu region of the southern Serengeti short-grass plains, hopefully in the midst of the great herds. The animals are always on the move and wander continually back and forth across the vast grasslands of the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area. A vista devoid of mammals in the morning could easily be carpeted by tens of thousands of braying wildebeest and zebra by the early afternoon! Ndutu Kati Kati Tented Camp — our base for our time here — is set in a prime location for wildlife-viewing and even if the herds are not right on our doorstep they are very likely to be within easy reach.

Our tour starts, however, with an overnight flight to Kilimanjaro in northern Tanzania. Here we meet our safari guides and, after a night in Arusha, transfer to a comfortable lodge close to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. En route we will take a game drive into Lake Manyara National Park in search of our first mammals which may include Plains Zebra, Masai Giraffe, Hippo and Blue Monkey, plus birds such as White-headed Buffalo Weaver, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater and numerous iridescent Superb Starlings.

We will leave early the following morning for our day in the Ngorongoro Crater. Eight million years ago the cone of the then active Ngorongoro volcano suddenly collapsed forming a massive caldera, covering 260 square kilometres and creating one of the most scenic spectacles in all of Africa! Today, Ngorongoro is home to over 30,000 large mammals including Blue Wildebeest, Plains Zebra, African Elephant, Black Rhinoceros and plenty of Lions. Indeed, the Crater is one of the few places in Africa where the ‘Big 5’ (Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Lion and Rhino) can all be seen together. It is also home to an abundance of birds including Grey Crowned Cranes, Kori Bustard, Rosy-breasted Longclaw and numerous migrating storks, waders, chats, hirundines and swifts. We will have a full day to explore the Crater before returning to our lodge for a second night.

Next, we retrace our steps back past the Ngorongoro Crater and then descend out of the highlands for our five nights within the southern Serengeti grasslands. We are likely to see our first herds of Blue Wildebeest, Plains Zebra and gazelles before arriving at camp for lunch. Ndutu Kati Kati Tented Camp is a small temporary camp set up close to the border of the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area between December and April. It features 10 large, very comfortable, tents with king or twin beds and private bathrooms. The camp is very well appointed and surrounded by panoramic views of open grassy plains dotted with acacia trees, small islands of woodland and rocky kopjes. In addition to the huge herds of ungulates and attendant predators — Lions, Cheetahs and Spotted Hyenas, we will be looking for a variety of other mammals such as Bat-eared Fox, Golden Jackal, Kirk’s Dik-dik and Masai Giraffe. Flocks of Lesser Kestrels are a common sight overhead, whilst stately Secretarybirds stalk the grasslands alongside numerous other species including Martial Eagle, Lappet-faced Vulture and the endemic Rufous-tailed Weaver.

Our tour ends with a short, but spectacular, flight back to Arusha from where we must sadly leave the wide open vistas and abundant wildlife of northern Tanzania and connect with our international flights home.