It’s the evocative name that likely first drew you to Tanzania – and the Serengeti can be as iconic as you imagined. It is – in documentaries and real life – a place of big, open plains punctuated by flat-top acacia trees. Look closer and you might see a solitary leopard sprawled in the shady branches. Stately giraffes pick their way across the plains, from tasty tree to tree. Cheetahs are in their element, with plenty of space for them to reach their electrifying top speeds as they race after unfortunate gazelles.
The great migration.
And then there is the wildebeest migration; at any given moment on earth, millions of animals are on the move, whether to feed, breed, or find a new home. The largest of these migrations, and one of the most extraordinary, occurs in the Serengeti. It’s a spectacular journey of almost 3 million antelope, mostly wildebeest, migrating in search of fresh grazing.
It also attracts a few thousand bristling telephoto lenses, especially around July and August, when these khaki-clad safari-goers flock to the northern Serengeti in an annual migration that’s becoming more (in)famous than that of the wildebeest. They’ve come for the Mara river crossings. We’re not saying avoid it like a vegan triathlete at a cocktail party. There are smart ways to enjoy the Serengeti.
The good news is you can see the migrating wildebeest herds throughout the year. After the rains of November and December, the migration heads to the southern Serengeti to feast on the fresh grasses. Some consider this the best time to experience the migration. February is when the calving season kicks off. The area is looking beautifully green, colourful migrant birds have returned, and every day, over 8000 new-born babies arrive – and blinking step into the sun (sorry, couldn’t resist) – and, keeping it real, the predators that follow the herds – is a secret migration highlight.
April (after the rains end) is when they leave the south, and the migration officially starts. This is when the herds are at their most impressive. The animals move northwest some years into the area around the Grumeti River and remain there for much of May and June. While in years of plentiful rainfall, they tend to linger in central Serengeti.
Are you coming?
In the Serengeti, wake early to a pride of lions roaring in camp and unwind around the campfire (bush TV) under starlit skies. Feel the earth rumble with the wildebeest migration. This isn’t just a safari; it’s the setting for epic stories you’ll tell for years.
