Migration news: Wildebeest are in the Southern Serengeti

The migration is located in the Southern Serengeti. They have been around Ndutu, Gol Kopjes,Naabi Hill and into Ngorongoro Conservation Area for the past few weeks. Grazing conditions are ideal with decent rain and good grass.

This is where the migrating wildebeest and Zebra will be based for the next few months and where they will foal.

Ndutu Pleins is the favoured grazing location across the entire eco-system, and the place where the wildebeest prefer to be based. This is the best place for them to foal due to the high nutrition short grasses of the southern Serengeti. They will remain here until they are forced to leave due to changing rainfalls and weather (normally around April/May).

Sunsafaris can arrange your safari to see the annual migration in 2014. Happy New Year!

Migration heading south

There has been rain in the southern and south eastern Serengeti and this has started to pull the migrating herds south. Although the herds are still spread across vast parts of the Serengeti, the main movement is southerly. There are large herds in the central Serengeti and Loliondo. Herds have arrived at Moru Kopje and are continuing south. Most guides are predicting they will be in southern Serengeti for the next few months, as occurs every year at this time. This is where the grasses are the most nutritional (on the Ndutu Pleins) and where the herds prefer to foal.

There has been an interesting (and misleading) debate going on about the migration. Around June last year there was a comment emanating from Tanzania that the migration may not reach the Masai Mara in 2013. This proved to be completely incorrect and the Masai Mara experienced a fantastic migration this year. The reverse argument now seems to be happening. Could it be a bit of retaliation? Yes, the migration did turn back at some point, but does it mean they will not migration - absolutely not. Their path will vary widely from year to year, but the overall migration routes will remain. Climate change is impacting the migration, but the general movements are likely to be roughly the same, for now. Watch this space.

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Migration have turned back!

Due to the lack of rain in the Serengeti, the migration has turned back and is heading north into the Masai Mara. This is a very rare event. The herds should be in the Southern Serengeti by this time. They are due to foal soon so the impact of them being in the Masai Mara could have a big impact on the migration and the herds this season.

Migration News: Eastern and central Serengeti

The wildebeest and zebra are moving south along the east Serengeti and Loliondo Game Controlled Area. They are located from Ikoma in the northern Serengeti and as far south as Seronera in the central Serengeti. The migration is heading towards Ndutu pleins and should start arriving around Ndutu in the coming weeks. This is where they will remain until around April next year.

 

Best camp in the next few weeks:

Dunia Camp: Exclusive mobile tented camp in the south between Seronera and the Moru Kopjes

Lemala Ewanjan Camp: A great location to see the migration passing through the central Serengeti

Migration heading out of the Masai Mara

The main herds have left the Masai Mara and are heading south along the eastern corridor of the Serengeti and Loliondo Game Controlled Area.

Weather is dry and clear.

The best place see the migration is along the eastern border of the Serengeti and north eastern Serengeti.

Best camps:
Klein's Camp : A fantastic luxury private camp in Loliondo Game Controlled area. Beautiful location, expert game guides and walking possible.
Some of the mobile safari camps are ideal for this time of year. Try Serengeti Under Canvas or Serengeti Safari Camp

Migration still in the Masai Mara

Large herds of wildebeest and zebra are still spread across the Masai Mara and northern Serengeti. It has been a spectacular high season, with huge herds and some dramatic predator activity. The Mara has receive a fair amount of rain, making it difficult to get around at times. The herds are now getting restless and are likely to start moving south soon.

Migration News: Central migration and heading north

The migration is moving north quickly. The herds are spread widely across the central Serengeti and towards northern Serengeti. The herds can be found from southern Seronera up as far as Ikoma in the north. This a ahead of their normal schedule for this time of year.

 

Recommended camps for the coming month:

 

Sayari Camp: A fantastic luxury tented camp on the Mara River. Perfect for the migration crossing in July.

 

Serian Serengeti North Camp: A migratory camp open from June to October only

For expert advice on the annual migration, contact Sunsafaris

Migration spread across central and western Serengeti

The migration is located in the central and western corridor of the Serengeti. Herds have been seen crossing the Grumeti River and scattered around the central Serengeti heading north around Seronera.

Direct flight: Kenya to Victoria Falls

We have many enquiries from people wanting to visit Africa once and see two of the most famous highlights in the same trip, namely the great annual migration and Victoria Falls. Kenya Airways have now made this possible by offering a direct flight from Nairobi to Livingston. Why not combine the migration in the Masai Mara (July-Oct) with a visit to Victoria Falls.

Here is the announcement:   Kenya Airways is to launch new flights to Livingstone Zambia, it's second destination in the country.Flights start on June 2, 2013 and will operate three times weekly via Harare. The city of Livingstone joins the airline's network of destinations as it works on growing the routes to over 115 by the year 2021, as forecast in the airline's 10 year growth strategy. Kenya Airways already flies to Zambia's capital, Lusaka.

The new route mainly targets tourist traffic to Victoria Falls whilst also strengthening Kenya Airways' presence in Africa.The lack of strong national carriers in the southern region has created an opportunity for KQ to connect passengers from these countries to other cities in Africa and beyond. The main competitors in the region include South African Airways and Ethiopian Airways. Both airlines already serve Zambia with Ethiopian Airways expected to launch flights to Ndola later this year. (Ndolais the third largest city and commercial capital of Zambia).

Sunsafaris can assist in arranging a your safari

Migration 2013: Controversy about migration

The Tanzania and Kenyan wildlife communities are once again in conflict after allafrica.com quoted some senior Tanzanian wildlife officials claiming that the migration may not enter the Masai Mara this year or in the near future. This is a view we don't share and seems more like a fight over tourism than anything substantiated. It is an incredibly one-sided article, without any balance from the Kenyan side.

"Increasing human activities at Maasai Mara, which is the Kenyan side of the Serengeti eco-system, is what causes the annual migration of wildebeest to reduce and eventually stop going into the vicinity altogether," said Godson Kimaro the Senior Park Warden at Serengeti National Park. See the full article at: http://allafrica.com/stories/201303110277.html

Kenyan and Tanzanian tourism authorities have never been able to agree to open up the border crossing (except under stringent criteria) to allow tourists to move between the Serengeti and Masai Mara. Instead, visitors have to go out of the parks, travel many miles and hours and re-enter the same eco-system, but in a different country. There is extremely limited direct access. We feel this is more to do with short-sighted tourist protectionism than providing the best experience to their joint customers, the tourists. This latest criticism seems like more of the same. Some reasons why we disagee:
- You can't judge the migratory patterns based on  one season. There are a huge number of factors that influence the migration, mainly weather
- At least some of the Masai Mara herds migrate south from within Kenya. Not all the Mara migration comes north from the Serengeti
- The Masai Mara has generally had good migration seasons in the recent past. Generally, the migration will enter the Masai Mara in July and leave in October. Some years they arrive earlier or/and leave earlier, but this rule-of-thumb has been accurate the last few years.
- Evidence from last year's migration refutes the claims of those quoted in the article.

Migration update 2013: More rain and more foals

There has been a lot of rain in the southern Serengeti. A number of the road are impassable or extremely muddy. Game viewing has been good although challenging in the wet conditions. There are thousands of foals making hunting easy for the predators. The wildebeest are mostly around the outer Ngorongoro slopes and Ndutu. There is plenty of grazing in these conditions, but the herds are quite static.

The rich soil that makes the grasses so attractive also tends to hold water making dark thick mud. This makes it an adventure to move around at this time of year. Even the best Landrover with the most experienced driver can find the going tough! Safari visitors are rewarded with excellent game viewing across spectacular plains with very few other tourists around.

At the time of year we generally recommend the permanent structure camps like Ndutu Safari Lodge or one of the hotel-style lodges in the central Serengeti around Seronera.

Migration 2013: News from the Southern Serengeti

The wildebeest are grazing and fowling in the Southern Serengeti. The Ndutu Plains are covered with grazing herds. The short grasses of the Ndutu are a favourite with the migration and it is their annual home during the fowling season. They are moving between Ngorogongo, Lolionda, and further west towards Kusini Camp.

For more details about the annual movement of the migration, see Sunsafaris' migration summary

 

 

Update 2013: Migration in Southern Serengeti

The wildebeest are milling around the southern Serengeti. They will be based here for the next couple of months while they foal and enjoy the lush grasslands of Ndutu Plains. They are stretched from the outer slopes of Ngorongoro Crater in the east past Ndutu to the west.
Millions of wildebeest and zebra can be seen grazing (and not much more) as far as the eye can see. There has been a lot of rain and the ground is wet and soggy. Safari guests should expect to have rain, but in return get some exceptional (and quiet) game viewing. There are few visitors to the Serengeti at this time due to the weather, but for those that do go it can feel like safaris of a bygone era where you share the Serengeti with only the local Maasai.
A number of the wetter tracks have been closed off by the park rangers.
We recommend the permanent camps, like Ndutu Lodge or the central Serengeti hotels, like Serengeti Serena Lodge as these are set up to deal with the rain.