11-Day: Migration Safari & Casa del Mar, Zanzibar
Every year, the vast herds of wildebeest embark on a long-distance migration that coincide with the annual rain fall patterns and grass growth. Following the short rainy season in November, the herds of wildebeest arrive to the short-grass plains of the Serengeti around November. The short-grass plains are located in the area east and south of the Seronera, around Ndutu and the northern Ngorongoro Conservation area. Herds of wildebeest and zebra can be seen across these plains as they feed on the nutrient rich grasses. The majority of the wildebeest calve around February. They normally stay in the area till April and then start moving west towards to the Western Corridor of the Serengeti National Park.
Our 6-day Migration wildlife safaris, tours, holidays and travel packages, have been designed specifically to focus on and to increase your chance to see the great Serengeti wildebeest migration. We have designed the itinerary to include the Lake Ndutu area, southern Serengeti and central Serengeti National Park where the majority of the wildebeest migration can normally be found from December through to April. To save on unnecessary travel time and to increase your game viewing time, this itinerary has been designed that you fly from the Serengeti National Park to Arusha town on the last day. The itinerary also include a visit to the world famous Ngorongoro Crater.
The travel itinerary below is a suggested or sample Tanzanian migration safari itinerary – it can be adapted to suite your own personal needs and preferences or to any seasonal changes and migratory animal movements. As with all our Tanzanian Africa safaris, tours, holidays and travel packages, we have offered you a wide variety of accommodation options – directly impacting on the total safari travel costs – in order to offer you the widest possible tour budget options. Please do not hesitate to contact one of our travel consultants directly, should you require any further assistance or more detailed information, regarding any of our Africa safaris, tours, holidays and travel packages.
Please note that it is difficult to predict the exact timing and location of the migration at any time, as this can vary considerably from year to year, depending on factors such as rainfall, water availability, food abundance, predators and the phosphorus content in the grasses.
Day 1 – Moshi – Ngorongoro
Non game-viewing travel time: 4 hours
Distance: 190 km
Pick up from Arusha and transfer to the Ngorongoro Conservation area. We arrive in time for lunch at the lodge and after lunch we will descend over 600 meters into the crater to view wildlife for an afternoon safari tour.
Supported by a year round water supply and fodder, the Ngorongoro National Park supports a vast variety of animals, which include herds of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog, hippo, and giant African elephants. Another big draw card to this picturesque national park, is it’s dense population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard, which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot. We will visit Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the south western corner, which is one of the main features of the crater. A large number of flamingos, hippos and other water birds can usually been seen here.
Dinner and overnight as per the standard and type of accommodation option requested.