Serengeti Park Wildebeest Migration is the Greatest Show on Earth

Serengeti Park Migration Safari

Serengeti Park Tour Company Used:

Wildersun Safaris

Duration: 6 days, 4-9 February 2003

Journal Author: Tim Clark, London, UK

Black backed Jackal Picture by Bruce Whittaker (c)

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Tim lives in London and is a wildlife enthusiast with a great love of the natural world who spoils himself every now and then with a trip to the Serengeti Park and it never fails to exceed his expectations.

Accommodation:

Stayed at the Ndutu lodge which has a resident pair of semi tame genets. The lodge is perfectly situated in the heart of the Serengeti Plain, at the head of Olduvai Gorge to take advantage of the great migration.

Highlights:

Thirty minutes after landing in the Serengeti, Tim spotted a female leopard lounging in a sausage tree and soon after a herd of forty elephant. And that set the tone for the rest of this amazing trip.

The annual migration is in full swing with hundreds of thousands of wildebeest moving to better grazing and they are in the process of giving birth as they do. Tim sees many baby wildebeest born and some even "adopt" the safari vehicle for a short period of time.

The predators are particularly active around migration time with all the food on offer so lion and hyena are seen every day. Even the very rare striped hyena puts in an appearance and a serval cat. Not to mention the cheetah mother with three cubs.

It's not just the big cats that are on display. Several herds of the shy giant eland antelope appear and actually let vehicles approach within 200m which they don't normally do because they were hunted in this area for many years.

Four black rhino at the Ngorongoro Crater. (One is normally an achievement to see but four is really amazing).

Lots of out of the ordinary animal behaviour which is a result of the extraordinary migration period such as a hyena 'playing' with a herd of wildebeest drinking at the river by jumping to it's feet every now and again and charging to cause a stampede through the water and also a lioness up a tree.

Serengeti Park Tips & Recommendations:

The Serengeti during the migration is one of the top wonders of the natural world. If you can make the trip between January and March (the exact time is difficult to predict because it depends on when the rains appear) you should be right in the thick of things.

If you can't make it during the migration period, don't worry. It's still very much a place to go and visit and you will still have an exceptional wildlife safari experience.

While you are in the Serengeti Park, pay a visit to the Ngorongoro Crater area which is close by and well worth seeing. It's one of the few places left in Tanzania where you can still spot the endangered black rhino.

Find out who the Top Three Serengeti Park safari companies are