Migration Update: Central Serengeti and Loliondo

The migrating herds are in the central Serengeti, moving south through Seronera and Loliondo towards the Ndutu plains. There are still some herds in the Masai Mara, but these will probably remain as resident herds or trail behind later. A smaller group of wildebeest and zebra, which form the Loita herds, have also moved towards the eastern Masai Mara. These will eventually end up on the Loita Plains in Kenya and not migrate into the Serengeti. The migration has left the Mara slightly earlier than usual this year, but this seems to have been the trend in 2008 as they arrived early too.
The Mara River is flowing strongly causing problems for the remaining wildebeest trying to cross. Thousands have perished try and getting caught in the strong currents.
The Serengeti has seen good rains over the past week. There is new green grass throughout the southern Serengeti. It has had a chance to recover while the wildebeest have been in the north.
The wildebeest are heading to the short grass plains of the Ndutu as quickly as possible. Ndutu has the best grazing in the region, with short rich grasses. They will stay in this area as long as they can and will foal here later in the year. Eventually, towards March or April 2009, they will reluctantly be forced to move away from the Ndutu plains as the area is overgrazed. But, until then they will be in the southern Serengeti.
The best place to be based at the moment is around Seronera. There are a few large lodges (e.g. Sopa Lodge) in this area, but we recommend one of the smaller mobile camps that are now all set up in the private camps in the Seronera area. There is also a mobile tented camp in Loliondo that is ideal for the migration at moment.