A combined Kenya and Tanzania Safari is a unique exploration across two major ecosystems in East Africa. Visiting the Great Masai Mara in Kenya and the Endless Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is a great experience. They share an ecosystem that hosts thousands of wildlife and bird species.
These two destinations are most known for the great wildebeest migration in Serengeti National Park and Masai mara National Park.
The Great Wildebeest Migration also known as the Annual Wildebeest Migration the annual journey is one of the largest migrations of land animals ever seen and to witness it is a once-in-a life time experience.
The Great Migration also known as the Annual Wildebeest Migration refers to annual migration of over 2 million wildebeests and thousands of zebras and gazelles across the Mara- Serengeti plains in search for new grasses and water.
The migrating herds (wildebeests, zebras and other antelopes such as gazelles and elands) start their long trek north from Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park to Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya in search for greener pastures.
The journey runs in a clockwise following an old route. The journey covers approximately 2,900 kilometers and is filled with dangerous attacks such as Nile crocodiles in the Grumeti and Mara River as they try to cross and predators such as lions, leopards, cheetahs and African Wild dogs always following the herds.
An estimated 250,000 wildebeests and over 30,000 zebras and gazelles die en-route annual due to predators, exhaustion, thirst and diseases.
The Mara and Grumeti River Crossings are the most dangerous events of the Great Migration, herds usually gather in thousands to forge the waters of the Grumeti River in Tanzania and the Mara River in Tanzania and Kenya along the border of Serengeti national park and Masai Mara National Reserve. At all the crossing points, the herds face off with the strong currents and lurking crocodiles.
Some of the herds are washed away by the currents and the crocodiles kills the panicking animals which makes the river crossings not for the faint-hearted. However, it is the most dramatic wildlife encounters in Africa and some of the most rewarding events for wildlife photographers. Watching the plains of Serengeti National Park and Masai Mara National Reserve filled with millions of wildebeests and thousands of zebras, eland and gazelles is very exciting.
The plenty of flesh to feast on attracts lots of wildlife mammals such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas and many others seen following the herds providing visitors with the opportunity to see hunting action.
The Great Wildebeest Migration in Tanzania is from December – March, April – May, June and July. In this period of the year, the best places to stay at to see the great migration are Ndutu Safari Lodge, Kusini Safari Camp, Lemala Ndutu Camp and many mobile tented camps.
While in Kenya, between the months of August and December, the rains start in the South again which prompts the herds to begin their long trek back down to Serengeti plains in Tanzania to give birth to their young ones and this called “Calving season”. The calving seasons happens in the Lobo Area and is the best sight to witness it. Best accommodations to stay are Klein’s Camp and campsites in Lobo area.
