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.

News: Rain in the southern Serengeti

The main wildebeest herds are grazing on the lush grass of Ndutu plains, but the migration is spread across the southern Serengeti. The seasonal rains have set in and are providing good grazing across the south. Going is soft and wet for safari vehicles, but game viewing has been good with lots of predators circling the static herds.

Update: Migration in Southern Serengeti

Wildebeest are spread across the southern Serengeti. Rains across the region means that grazing is good over a wide area, from the outer slopes of Ngorongoro Crater, across Ndutu Plains and Gol Kopje. The migration is scattered and enjoying the nutrition rich grasses. They are fairly static and will only move around the southern Serengeti following the rains and new grass shoots. They will remain in this region until after the calving season and until the rains dry up in March/April.

Going on safari at this time can be rewarding for the hardy. The rains mean that it is not a typical African safari experience...sun and safari. But, gameviewing is excellent and tourist numbers are low, at times giving one the feeling that you are alone in the Serengeti!

Calving season in the Serengeti

This is the rainy season in the Serengeti and this season has seen its fair share of rain. The southern Serengeti is green and lush with excellent grazing for the wildebeest herds. There are literally wildebeest as far as the eye can see on the Ndutu Plains. The herds stretch from Oldupai in the east, Ndutu and towards Seronera, the Golini Plain and Lake Masek.

This is calving season in the Serengeti and there are young foal everywhere. The wildebeest pick this time of year to foal as the conditions are perfect with lots of lush grass and water. The foals will have a month or two to gather their strength before beginning to long migration north to the Masai Mara.

Due to the heavy rains, the ground is muddy and moving around is hard going. A safari at this time of year is challenging with a lot of tracks too muddy to traverse. It can be a rewarding time for the safari die-hards as you will have the Serengeti to yourself. But expect rain!

The best safari camps to be based at are the permanent camps rather than tented camps - for obvious reasons - the tented camps can get quite muddy without permanent footpaths and structures. Having said that, a number of mobile operators do do a great job in setting up robust camps.

Recommended locations include: Seronera, Ndutu

Migration on the short grass plains of Ndutu

This video show the migration in the south eastern Serengeti. The video shows the wildebeest scattered over the short grass plains around Ndutu. The video was filmed in January.

It also shows some of the big cats that track the migration. Watch out for the vehicles in the background at about 2 minutes into the video. These are the typical stretch 4x4's that most tour operators use. The vehicles have closed sides, but large windows, allowing everyone a good view. The roof normally pops up. Only a few of the camps use open-sided vehicles (e.g. Kusini, Klein's Camp, The camps in the Grumeti).

Migration News: 2009 has started off dry

The migration remains in the south eastern Serengeti. The wildebeest and zebra are moving between the short grass plains of Ndutu and the surrounding areas. At the moment, the main herds favour the area around Naabi Hill and east towards the outer slopes of Ngorongoro Crater. The grasses are green and nutritious. This is mostly from December rains. January has been relatively dry so far.

Migration update: Sporadic Rain over Ndutu

The wildebeest are now spread across a wide area in the south eastern Serengeti from the slopes of Ngorongoro Crater (east); to Loliondo (north) and past Ndutu (west). November and December are commonly referred to as the “short rains”. This is generally followed by a drier period (January/February) before the “long rains” start. This season has been variable with quite a lot of rain in November, but little rain in late December. This has meant that the herds have now moved away from their preferred grazing on the short grass plains of Ndutu. These plains have not yet received enough water to fully florish. Ndutu has short nutritional grasses and this is where the wildebeest prefer to calve. They will return to this area as a few days after decent rains as the grass will quickly shoot at the first sign of rain.

The wildebeest are about to start foaling with lots of heavily pregnant wildebeest. The number of wildebeest and zebra appears large this year, mostly due to the excellent conditions in 2008. The 2009 annual wildebeest migration has once again started the year in Ndutu and will remain here until the foals are born (January/February) and strong enough to start their trek westwards.

The best place to be based to see the migration is around Ndutu or Loliondo. Kusini Camp or one of the mobile tented camps are ideal at this time. Most of the roads in the area can be travelled as the drier conditions have meant that the roads are not swamped. The recent rain over the past few days and today may quickly change the road conditions though.