Following the Wildebeest Migration

The sound arrives first: a deep, rolling grunt made of countless voices, drifting over the plain like an approaching storm. Climb a low rise and the grass appears to be walking. Wildebeest fill every direction, moving with the steady single purpose of animals obeying something far older than memory.

This is the biggest overland movement of animals anywhere on Earth. More than 1.5 million wildebeest, accompanied by large numbers of zebra and gazelle, circle the Serengeti and Mara ecosystem in a loop with no beginning and no end. Because the herds are always somewhere, the whole craft of a migration safari is to be in the right corner of the ecosystem during your week.

How a migration trip differs

Game drives remain the format, yet the route trails the animals instead of ticking off a stock list of parks. Nights are not split evenly; they are placed wherever the herds happen to be moving. That may mean the Ndutu plains in the south during calving season, the Western Corridor while the columns push north, or the far northern Serengeti once they mass beside the Mara River.

Camps that follow the animals move too. Mobile camps shift a few times a year to stay close, and a well-made itinerary often pairs one with a permanent lodge: the mobile tents for proximity, the lodge for comfort.

Why plan an entire trip around it

• Scale beyond any photograph: one frame holds a few thousand animals, while standing inside the herd means being surrounded by more than a million.
• Predators trail the herds: lion, cheetah, hyena and leopard cluster wherever the wildebeest are, which makes this quietly one of the finest big-cat safaris you can take, especially at calving time when hunts unfold in the open almost daily.
• Two different shows: calving, roughly late January to March, is green and crowded with new life, while the river crossings from about July to October are dusty, tense and dramatic. Many travellers return to see the other.

Where the herds are, month by month

Which chapter you want decides everything. The loop follows a rough yearly pattern, but the rains move it by weeks from one year to the next.

From late January to March the southern Serengeti and Ndutu host the calving. Hundreds of thousands of calves arrive within a handful of weeks on the short-grass plains, hunting is at its most intense, and the light is wonderful. The catch is occasional afternoon showers and a busy Ndutu.

July to October brings the crossings in the northern Serengeti and Masai Mara: herds backing up along the Mara River, crocodiles lying in wait, then the sudden surge into the water. It is unforgettable and entirely unpredictable. The herds may cross three times in a day or loiter for a week, so patience and a guide with a strong radio network count for more than anything else.

The months in between are far from empty. April to June sees long columns crossing the central and western Serengeti with few vehicles and gentler rates, and November to December finds the herds streaming south on the short rains. If you value uncrowded wildlife over one headline event, these windows are excellent.

How the days run

The framework is the usual safari day: early start, long morning, midday pause, afternoon drive. On crossing days, though, everything bends around the river.

1. 5:30 AM

   Out at first light

   You leave camp before sunrise. At calving time, overnight hunts are often still unfolding.

2. 7:00 AM

   Locating the columns

   Your guide reads tracks, listens to the radio net and places you where the animals are streaming past.

3. Late morning

   Waiting at the bank

   In crossing season the herds assemble at the water. You park, switch off the engine and wait, sometimes minutes and sometimes hours.

4. Afternoon

   Where the action is

   Crossings, predators working the herd's edge, and a million animals grazing slowly northward.

5. Sunset

   Back among the tents

   Sleeping in a mobile camp, you will frequently hear the herds grunting around your tent until morning.

What shapes the price

Final costs depend on the season, the camp type and how you travel. Lemala Safaris will confirm figures for your dates when you enquire.

• Place and month: camps in the northern Serengeti during crossing season charge the highest rates of the year and sell out furthest ahead.
• Mobile camp or lodge: tents placed on the migration route cost more than a comparable lodge further away, because you are paying for closeness.
• Flying or driving: bush flights into Kogatende or Ndutu save about half a day each way and add cost, whereas the overland option trims the price and shows you more landscape.
• Number of nights: the migration rewards time, and two or three nights in the right area beat one rushed night, particularly during crossings.

Packing for the herds

The normal safari kit applies, with two additions: the best binoculars you can lay hands on, since the action often plays out far off, and good dust protection for cameras in the dry months. For calving season, bring a warm layer, because mornings on the short-grass plains are chilly.

• Good binoculars
• Dust-proof camera bag
• Neutral-coloured clothing
• Warm fleece for early drives
• Light rain jacket
• Spare batteries and memory cards