"Migration Serengeti"
(8 Days)

(Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays - (Mid January through end of June)

The migration of almost a million Wildebeest and Zebra as they quest for the new grass from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara is one of the most exciting sights in the world, let alone in Africa! Of course, weather patterns can change, and therefore, so can the migration, but generally the animals have tended to be fairly regular in their activity and their movement. By tradition the Zebras foal in the Ndutu area in January, and the Wildebeest calve between December and January.

By April the migration has started to shift towards the central areas around the Seronera Valley, and in early May it is up near the western corridor around the Grumeti River. It then slowly moves north west and starts to cross into the Masai Mara during June and July. Game drives are planned so as to spend as much time amongst the migration as possible, and thus could involve long drives and picnic meals. You stay in the centrally located Seronera Valley and accommodation may also be in Sopa Lodges.

Itinerary at a glance:-

"Migration Serengeti"
(8 Days)

Day 01   Arusha - Ngorongoro Crater [4 1/2 hours approximately] 
DBB

Leave Arusha after lunch and drive across the Masai Steppe to the Ngorongoro Conservation area  arriving at your lodge on the crater rim for dinner and overnight. "It is impossible to give  a fair description of the size and beauty of the Crater, for there is nothing with which one can compare it. It is one of the Wonders of the World." This is how the Crater is described by Bernard Grzimek in his classic "Serengeti Shall Not Die".

The area is given over to Wildlife Conservation and comprises 8300 square kilometers of which the Crater is 260 square kilometers, and consists of grasslands, swamps, forests , rivers, and even an arid area of shifting dunes. The Crater supports a year round resident population of varied wildlife, and as the game is concentrated into a relatively small area you are likely to see lion, elephant, hyena, jackal, cheetah, the very rare Black rhino, primates and many more. The area is also home to the proud and colorful Masai tribe. Dinner and overnight will be at the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge.

Day 02 Ngorongoro Crater    LDBB After an early breakfast you descend into the Crater in a 4 x 4 vehicle for a full day of game viewing with a picnic lunch taken on the Crater floor. Late afternoon you leave the Crater drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 03 Ngorongoro Crater - Serengeti  National Park[ 5 hours approximately ]                    LDBB

Leave after breakfast and drive via Ol Duvai Gorge to the Serengeti National Park, arriving for lunch and an afternoon game drive. The Gorge is about 50 kilometers long and in some places 90 meters deep . Commonly heralded as the " Cradle of Mankind" it was made famous by the discovery in 1959 of the remains of early man. Your stop includes a visit to the small museum overlooking the Gorge. The Serengeti National Park. is one of the most popular and spectacular game areas in East Africa, covering an area of 14,765 square kilometers, teaming with game.

A particular feature of the Serengeti is the annual migration of the wildebeest and zebra herds. Each year, after  the traditional " short " rains  in November the migration starts when the herds amass in their thousands on the plains below the Ngorongoro highlands. During February they move north and west following the rains and the new grasslands , and they start to move into the Masai Mara in July. In October they move back to Tanzania . This annual phenomenon involves more than 1.5 million animals, including the lion and other predators who follow the herds for easy pickings.

The whole process affects the lives of thousands of other species who rely on the passage of the migration for their survival , even the insects , not to mention the trees and plants which rely on the droppings for their fertilization. Dinner and overnight at the Serengeti Serena Lodge. 

Days   04 to 07  Serengeti National Park    LDBB Four days of morning and afternoon game drives tracking the Migration, and the predators and other animals which follow it. As game drives are planned to spend as much time with the Migration as possible this could involve long days and picnic meals.

Day 08 Serengeti National Park- Arusha

Morning scheduled service flight [one hour approximately] from Seronera to Arusha, and transfer for your ongoing or homeward arrangements.

(The Sunday departure operates in the reverse order, commencing with a flight to
the Serengeti, and with days 6 and 7 at Ngorongoro Crater)

African Safari Consultants
1042 Willow Creek Road # A101 - 240
Prescott, AZ 86301