Wednesday 28 February 2018

TANZANIA: Serengeti Like Nowhere On Earth, With Highest Concentration Of Large Mammals On This Planet



Serengeti National Park is a large conservation area located in the north of Tanzania. The park flows over into neighboring Kenya where it's known as the Masai Mara.

The Serengeti National Park is a Tanzanian national park in the Serengeti ecosystem in the Mara and Simiyu regions.

It is famous for its annual migration of over 1.5 million white-bearded or brindled wildebeest and 250,000 zebra and for its numerous Nile crocodile and honey badger.


The park is but one of several conservation areas within the Serengeti region of East Africa, though a vitally important one.

s well as conserving wildlife, flora and iconic landscapes, Serengeti National Park has emerged as a major traveller and tourist destination, many making the journey there to engage in safari.

The name Serengeti comes from the Maasai language, meaning endless plains.

Serengeti National Park is most famous for its migration. 1.3 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebras move from the northern hills to the south every October and November during the short rains.

They then move toward the west and north from April to June when the long rains progress. The instinct to migrate is strong. Hence, no drought, gorge, or river infested with crocodiles can prove to be a deterrent.

The Serengeti ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa. It is located mainly in northern Tanzania and extends into south-western Kenya between 1 and 3 degrees south latitudes and between 34 and 36 degrees east longitudes.

It spans approximately 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi). The Kenyan part of the Serengeti is known as Maasai Mara.

The Serengeti hosts the largest terrestrial mammal migration in the world, which helps secure it as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, and as one of the ten natural travel wonders of the world.

The Serengeti is also renowned for its large lion population and is one of the best places to observe prides in their natural environment.
The region contains the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and several game reserves.

Approximately 70 large mammal and 500 bird species are found there. This high diversity is a function of diverse habitats, including riverine forests, swamps, kopjes, grasslands, and woodlands.

Blue wildebeests, gazelles, zebras, and buffalos are some of the commonly found large mammals in the region.

Much of the Serengeti was known to outsiders as Maasailand. The Maasai are known as fierce warriors and live alongside most wild animals with an aversion to eating game and birds, subsisting exclusively on their cattle.

Historically, their strength and reputation kept the newly arrived Europeans from exploiting the animals and resources of most of their land.

A rinderpest epidemic and drought during the 1890s greatly reduced the numbers of both Maasai and animal populations.

The Tanzanian government later in the 20th century re-settled the Maasai around the Ngorongoro Crater.

Poaching and the absence of fires, which had been the result of human activity, set the stage for the development of dense woodlands and thickets over the next 30–50 years.

Tsetse fly populations now prevented any significant human settlement in the area.

By the mid-1970s, wildebeest and the Cape buffalo populations had recovered and were increasingly cropping the grass, reducing the amount of fuel available for fires.

The reduced intensity of fires has allowed acacia to once again become established.

In the 21st century, mass rabies vaccination programmes for domestic dogs in the Serengeti have not only indirectly prevented hundreds of human deaths, but also protected wildlife species such as the endangered African wild dog.

The Maasai people had been grazing their livestock in the open plains of eastern Mara Region, which they named endless plains, for around 200 years when the first European explorer, Austrian Oscar Baumann, visited the area in 1892.

The name Serengeti is an approximation of the word used by the Maasai to describe the area, siringet, which means the place where the land runs on forever.

Because the hunting of lions made them scarce, the British colonial administration made a partial game reserve of 800 acres (3.2 km2) in the area in 1921 and a full one in 1929.

These actions were the basis for Serengeti National Park, which was established in 1951.

The Serengeti gained more fame after the initial work of Bernhard Grzimek and his son Michael in the 1950s.

Together, they produced the book and film Serengeti Shall Not Die, widely recognized as one of the most important early pieces of nature conservation documentary.

To preserve wildlife, the British evicted the resident Maasai from the park in 1959 and moved them to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Two World Heritage Sites and two Biosphere Reserves have been established within the 30,000 km² region.

Its unique ecosystem has inspired writers from Ernest Hemingway to Peter Mattheissen, filmmakers like Hugo von Lawick and Alan Root as well as numerous photographers and scientists.

The Serengeti ecosystem is one of the oldest on earth. The essential features of climate, vegetation and fauna have barely changed in the past million years.

Early man himself made an appearance in Olduvai Gorge about two million years ago. Some patterns of life, death, adaptation and migration are as old as the hills themselves.

It is the migration for which Serengeti is perhaps most famous.

Over a million wildebeest and about 200,000 zebras flow south from the northern hills to the southern plains for the short rains every October and November, and then swirl west and north after the long rains in April, May and June.

So strong is the ancient instinct to move that no drought, gorge or crocodile infested river can hold them back.

Over 90,000 tourists visit the Park each year.

Wildlife viewing in the Serengeti Ecosystem with its Great Migration is tremendous. Nowhere on earth is there a sight rivalling the spectacle of 1.5 million hoofed animals on the march.

Serengeti has the highest concentration of large mammals on this planet and is famous for its 2,500 lions, the highest concentration found anywhere.

Unlike in Kenya and with the exception of the Ngorongoro Crater, you rarely see other tourists or vehicles on a game drive in the Serengeti National Park.

Wild animals can be dangerous and you should not wander off on your own, especially at night, while on safari in Swahili simply means journey.

However most animals are rather frightened by humans and will flee instead of attacking unless cornered or provoked. Keep a sensible distance and treat them with respect.

Early and late daylight hours are usually the best times to observe the more than 518 species of birds which have been identified in the Serengeti.

Some of them are Eurasian migrants who are present in the European winter months from October to April.

Each year around the same time, the circular great wildebeest migration begins in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area of the southern Serengeti in Tanzania and loops in a clockwise direction through the Serengeti National Park and north towards the Masai Mara reserve in Kenya.

This migration is a natural phenomenon determined by the availability of grazing. The initial phase lasts from approximately January to March.

When the calving season begins a time when there is plenty of rain-ripened grass available for the 260,000 zebra that precede 1.7 million wildebeest and the following hundreds of thousands of other plains game, including around 470,000 gazelles.

During February, the wildebeest spend their time on the short grass plains of the southeastern part of the ecosystem, grazing and giving birth to approximately 500,000 calves within a 2 to 3-week period.

Few calves are born ahead of time and of these, hardly any survive. The main reason is that very young calves are more noticeable to predators when mixed with older calves from the previous year.

As the rains end in May, the animals start moving northwest into the areas around the Grumeti River, where they typically remain until late June.

The crossings of the Grumeti and Mara rivers beginning in July are a popular safari attraction because crocodiles are lying in wait.

The herds arrive in Kenya in late July / August, where they stay for the remainder of the dry season, except that the Thomson's and Grant's gazelles move only east/west.

In early November, with the start of the short rains the migration starts moving south again, to the short grass plains of the southeast, usually arriving in December in plenty of time for calving in February.

About 250,000 wildebeest die during the journey from Tanzania to the Maasai Mara National Reserve in southwestern Kenya, a total of 800 kilometres (500 mi). Death is usually from thirst, hunger, exhaustion, or predation.

The Serengeti has some of East Africa's finest game areas. Besides being known for the great migration, the Serengeti is also famous for its abundant large predators.

The ecosystem is home to over 3,000 lions (Panthera leo), 1,000 leopards (Panthera pardus), and 7,700 to 8,700 spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta).[

It is interesting to note that wild dogs are relatively scarce in much of the Serengeti.

This is particularly true in places such as Serengeti National Park where wild dogs became extinct in 1992.

In which lions and spotted hyenas, predators that steal wild dog kills and are a direct cause of wild dog mortality, are abundant.

The Serengeti is also home to a diversity of grazers, including African buffalo, warthogs, Grant's gazelle, eland, waterbuck, and topi.

The Serengeti can support this remarkable variety of grazers only because each species, even those that are closely related, has a different diet.

For example, wildebeests prefer to consume shorter grasses, while zebras prefer taller ones.

Similarly, dik-diks eat the lowest leaves of a tree, impalas eat the leaves that are higher up, and giraffes eat leaves that are even higher.

The governments of Tanzania and Kenya maintain a number of protected areas, including national parks, conservation areas, and game reserves, that give legal protection to over 80 percent of the Serengeti.

The southeastern area lies in the rain shadow of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area's highlands and is composed of shortgrass treeless plains with abundant small dicots.

Soils are high in nutrients, overlying a shallow calcareous hardpan due to natrocarbonatite eruptions from Ol Doinyo Lengai.

A gradient of soil depth northwestward across the plains results in changes in the herbaceous community and taller grass.

About 70 kilometres (43 mi) west, acacia woodlands appear suddenly and stretch west to Lake Victoria and north to the Loita Plains, north of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.

The sixteen acacia species vary over this range, their distribution determined by edaphic conditions and soil depth. Near Lake Victoria, flood plains have developed from ancient lakebeds.

In the far northwest, acacia woodlands are replaced by broadleaved Terminalia-Combretum woodlands, caused by a change in geology.

This area has the highest rainfall in the system and forms a refuge for the migrating ungulates at the end of the dry season.

Altitudes in the Serengeti range from 920 to 1,850 metres (3,020 to 6,070 ft) with mean temperatures varying from 15 to 25 °C (59 to 77 °F).

Although the climate is usually warm and dry, rainfall occurs in two rainy seasons: March to May, and a shorter season in October and November.

Rainfall amounts vary from a low of 508 millimetres (20 in) in the lee of the Ngorongoro highlands to a high of 1,200 millimetres (47 in) on the shores of Lake Victoria.

The highlands, which are considerably cooler than the plains and are covered by montane forest, mark the eastern border of the basin in which the Serengeti lies.

The Serengeti plain is punctuated by granite and gneiss outcroppings known as kopjes. These outcroppings are the result of volcanic activity. Kopjes provide a microhabitat for non-plains wildlife.

One kopje likely to be seen by visitors to the Serengeti is the Simba Kopje or Lion Kopje. The Serengeti was used as inspiration for the animated Disney feature film The Lion King and subsequent theatrical production.

The area is also home to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which contains Ngorongoro Crater and the Olduvai Gorge, where some of the oldest hominin fossils have been found.

There is still considerable controversy surrounding this move, with claims made of coercion and deceit on the part of the colonial authorities.

The park is Tanzania's oldest national park and remains the flagship of the country's tourism industry.

It providing a major draw to the Northern Safari Circuit encompassing Lake Manyara National Park, Tarangire National Park, Arusha National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

It has over 2,500 lions and more than 1 million wildebeest.

The park covers 14,750 square kilometres (5,700 sq mi) of grassland plains, savanna, riverine forest, and woodlands.

The park lies in northwestern Tanzania, bordered to the north by the Kenyan border, where it is continuous with the Maasai Mara National Reserve.

To the southeast of the park is the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, to the southwest lies Maswa Game Reserve, to the west are the Ikorongo and Grumeti Game Reserves, and to the northeast and east lies the Loliondo Game Control Area. Together, these areas form the larger Serengeti ecosystem.

The park is usually described as divided into three regions-

Serengeti plains: the almost treeless grassland of the south is the most emblematic scenery of the park. This is where the wildebeest breed, as they remain in the plains from December to May.

Other hoofed animals zebra, gazelle, impala, hartebeest, topi, buffalo, waterbuck also occur in huge numbers during the wet season.

Kopjes are granite florations that are very common in the region, and they are great observation posts for predators, as well as a refuge for hyrax and pythons.

Western corridor: the black clay soil covers the savannah of this region. The Grumeti River and its gallery forests is home to Nile crocodiles, patas monkeys, hippopotamus, and martial eagles.

The migration passes through from May to July.

Northern Serengeti: the landscape is dominated by open woodlands predominantly Commiphora and hills, ranging from Seronera in the south to the Mara River on the Kenyan border.

Apart from the migratory wildebeest and zebra which occur from July to August, and in November, this is the best place to find elephant, giraffe, and dik dik.

Human habitation is forbidden in the park with the exception of staff for the Tanzania National Parks Authority, researchers and staff of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, and staff of the various lodges, campsites and hotels.

The main settlement is Seronera, which houses the majority of research staff and the park's main headquarters, including its primary airstrip.

The park is worldwide known for its abundance of wildlife and high biodiversity.

The migratory and some resident wildebeest, which number over a million individuals, constitute the largest population of big mammals that still roam the planet.

They are joined in their journey through the Serengeti Mara ecosystem by 200,000 zebra, half a million Thomson's and Grant's gazelle, and tens of thousands of topi and Coke's hartebeest.

Masai giraffe, waterbuck, impala, warthog and hippo are also aboundant. Some rarely seen species of antelope are also present in Serengeti National Park, such as common eland, klipspringer, roan antelope, bushbuck, lesser kudu, fringe-eared oryx and dik dik

Perhaps the most popular animals among tourists are the Big Five, which include:

East African lion, the Serengeti is believed to hold the largest population of lions in Africa due in part to the abundance of prey species. More than 3,000 lions live in this ecosystem.

African leopard, these reclusive predators are commonly seen in the Seronera region but are present throughout the national park with the population at around 1,000.

African bush elephant: the herds have recovered successfully from population lows in the 1980s caused by poaching, numbering over 5,000 individuals, and are particularly numerous in the northern region of the park.

Eastern black rhinoceros:, mainly found around the kopjes in the centre of the park, very few individuals remain due to rampant poaching.

Individuals from the Masai Mara Reserve cross the park border and enter Serengeti from the northern section at times.

African buffalo, the most numerous of the Big Five, with around 53,000 individuals inside the park.

Carnivores, aside from the Big Five include the cheetah which is widely seen due to the abundance of gazelle, about 4,000 spotted hyena, two species of jackals.

African golden wolf, honey badger, striped hyena, serval, seven species of mongooses, two species of otters and the recently reintroduced East African wild dog which was locally extinct since 1991.

Apart from the safari staples, primates such as yellow and olive baboons and vervet monkey, patas monkey, black-and-white colobus are also seen in the gallery forests of the Grumeti River.

Other mammals are include aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, ground pangolin, crested porcupine, three species of hyraxes, cape hare.

Serengeti National Park has also great ornithological interest, boasting about 500 bird species, including Masai ostrich, secretarybird, kori bustards, helmeted guineafowls, southern ground hornbill, crowned cranes, marabou storks, yellow-billed stork, lesser flamingo, martial eagles, lovebirds, oxpeckers, and many species of vultures.

Reptiles in Serengeti National Park are include Nile crocodile, leopard tortoise, serrated hinged terrapin, rainbow agama, Nile monitor, chameleons, African python, black mamba, black-necked spitting cobra, puff adder.

Because of its biodiversity and ecological significance, the park has been listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a World Heritage Site.

As a national park, it is designated as a Category II protected area under the system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which means that it should be managed, through either a legal instrument or another effective means, to protect the ecosystem or ecological processes as a whole.

The administrative body for all parks in Tanzania is the Tanzania National Parks Authority. Myles Turner was one of the park's first game wardens and is credited with bringing its rampant poaching under control.

His autobiography, My Serengeti Years: The Memoirs of an African Game Warden, provides a detailed history of the park's early years.

Snapshot Serengeti is a science project by the University of Minnesota Lion Project, which seeks to classify over 30 species of animals within the park using 225 camera traps to better understand how they interact with each other and lions.

In July 2010, President Jakaya Kikwete renewed his support for an upgraded road through the northern portion of the park to link Mto wa Mbu, southeast of Ngorongoro Crater, and Musoma on Lake Victoria.

While he said that the road would lead to much-needed development in poor communities, others, including conservation groups and foreign governments like Kenya, argued that the road could irreparably damage the great migration and the park's ecosystem.

The African Network for Animal Welfare sued the Tanzanian government in December 2010 at the East African Court of Justice in Arusha to prevent the road project.

The court ruled in June 2014 that the plan to build the road was unlawful because it would infringe the East African Community Treaty under which member countries must respect protocols on conservation, protection, and management of natural resources.

The court, therefore, restrained the government from going ahead with the project.

Government officials have proposed expanding the Serengeti National Park to reach Lake Victoria because increasingly intense droughts are threatening the survival of millions of animals.

- The park was the location of filming for The Grassland Landscape Of Planet Serengeti along with Masai Mara

- The Fictional Gigantogiraffa was based on the Giraffe of the Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti falls into the classic bimodal rain pattern of East Africa. The short rains are concentrated in November/December, the long and heavier rains in March - May.

Mean monthly maximum temperatures are relatively uniform throughout the year being constant around 27 to 28 degrees centigrade or 75 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit at Seronera.

At Ngorongoro Crater the nights can be very chilly due to altitude.

Any time other than during the long rains in April and May is a perfect time to be on Safari in Northern Tanzania.

Game viewing and the number of other tourists varies widely according to the seasonal concentrations of wildlife . Most Safari operators will adjust their itineraries accordingly

The nearest international airport to the Serengeti is Kilimanjaro Airport near Arusha. KLM and Qatar Airways offer flights directly into Arusha daily from Amsterdam and Doha.

Other airlines such as Swissair will fly into Nairobi, Kenya, from Zurich or Dar es Salaam, from where you can get a connecting flight to Arusha.

The main access road into the Serengeti from Arusha passes the gate of Lake Manyara National Park, mounts the Rift Valley Escarpment, goes on through communal farming lands to the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, drops down onto the plains past Olduvai Gorge to the east, and enters the Serengeti through Naabi Hill Gate.

The distance is 325 km and the drive takes around eight hours. At Seronera and Lobo, garage facilities are available to refuel cars. Breakdown facilities, however, are virtually non-existent.

Internal flights by small aircrafts from Arusha to the Seronera Airstrip in the heart of Serengeti or to Kirawira Airstrip in the Western Corridor cost 135 US$ per person one way.

The cost of charter flights varies widely. Limit your baggage to 10 - 15 kg (25 - 30 pounds) per person.

It is advisable to carry your luggage in soft bags rather than hard sided suitcases. Auric Air operates daily flights between Arusha and Serengeti, Serengeti and Zanzibar.

Park fees can be very expensive in Tanzania. If you book your trip through a travel agent they are generally included in the overall trip cost.

In Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation area the park fee is US$ 50 per person per day, for camping US$30 per tent per day and US$ 30 per vehicle per day.

There is a number of definite don'ts in the Serengeti.

These include approaching too close and disturbing animals, making an unacceptable noise, picking flowers or destroying vegetation, discarding litter, exceeding 50km/h speed limit, bringing pets or firearms into the Park, and going off the roads within 16km of Seronera.

From December to May, depending on the rains, the large herds are concentrated on the low lying grass steppe between Olduvai, Gol, Naabi and Lagarja.

A base on Lake Masak or Lake Lagarja is then ideal because one can travel from there in all directions.

Day excursions take one into areas that are little known so that you can enjoy in peace an animal paradise: for example Hidden Valley, the Soito Ngum Kopjes or the Kakesio Plains.

You will enjoy the freedom of travelling cross country in order to be able to find the best places and thus have the chance to see rarer animals such as honey-badgers, wild cats, porcupines. In the right season, Southern Serengeti is not to be surpassed.

Here the savanna animals are joined by species that have adapted to living in the rocky cliffs.

From here, or whilst in transit, you visit Seronera in the centre of the park searching for rare leopards and cheetahs. You can also enjoy the ever changing landscape with gallery forests, kopjes and water holes.

The North Serengeti is very different from the grassy plains in the South. As there is always water present the big herds retreat there in the dry season.

In addition there are many species that live here permanently and you will also fairly regularly see elephants. A world for itself are the Bologonja Springs on the border to Kenya. The Corridor, West Serengeti

This is a special area which is seldom offered on safari tours. Long distances, poor communications,few vehicles are equipped with a radio and the frequently difficult road conditions still keep away most visitors from this part of the Serengeti which stretches almost as far as Lake Victoria.

An important aspect of the Serengeti is therefore lost to them. This area is very different from the other main zones of the park.

In the dry season large stretches of the route westward can be practically empty of animals. The last quarter of the route is however ideally suited to be the home for thousands of animals the whole year round.

Gnus and zebras who are resident here do not join their migratory relatives who pass through every year on their way northwards.

Big herds of giraffes, buffalo, eland, topis, kongonis, impalas, waterbuck and Thompson's gazelles live here together with them.

All the big cats and hyenas are present in a good number as well. The end of May through August is the time to view the annual migration of zebra and wildebeest in Western Serengeti.

This is also the rut season for wildebeest and the plains are noisy with male wildebeest defending their temporary territories.

A special attraction, that has become quite famous, is the crocodile population of the Grumeti River.

This is particularly large at Kirawira, where the river does not dry up. The time spent at this life-giving water source can be among the most interesting.

Here there are not only crocodiles and hippos to observe but also a large number of varieties of birds.

Those tourists with a lot of time or luck will be able to discover the Black and White Colobus monkey in the crowns of the trees.

On the wooded savannahs of the Ndabaka plains there is always something to see. You will always feel at peace at the calm pools and mysterious korongos.

During your excursions in this least visited part of Serengeti, you can stay at the most luxurious and exclusive camp near Kirawira, the Kirawira Serena Camp, at Conservation Corporation's Grumeti River Camp.

Also very exclusive or at the cheaper, but good and charming new Speke Bay Lodge right on the shore of Lake Victoria 4 km outside the park, an hour's drive from Kirawira.

Mbalageti Serengeti is also in the Western corridor and offers an unparalleled view over the vast plains due to its stellar location.

Meru Wellness Retreat, Arusha. A responsible, eco and fair pay company for safaris ranging from budget camping to luxury lodging.

Take photographs. A good zoom and a large memory card make the results so good you'll be looking at the photos months and months later.

Save them on high quality image and you can do amazing things with your photo program when you get home.
Take a balloon safari which will give you best views.

Shopping in the Serengeti naturally is extremely limited due to the absence of human settlements.

In Arusha, however, and other major towns you will find curio markets where you can buy all sorts of carvings, masks, Maasai spears, textiles, drums, tinga-tinga paintings, batik work, silk shawls, locally made jewelry, coffee, etc.

The Arusha Heritage Centre offers a large variety of souvenirs and crafts. Also, The Sayari Camp had arrangements with locals to supply a little gift shop and the money goes right back into local programs.

Tipping at restaurants is at your discretion is 10%. We recommend tipping US$5 for each traveller per day at lodge based safaris; US$ 20 per person per day for your driver guide.

Most of them are not paid well with their employer so they depend on your tip for their survival and US$10 each per day for the camp staff when camping on mobile safaris.you

Eat fresh roasted cashews, drink watermelon juice, try the tiny sweet bananas.

Most visitors are surprised by the quality and the variety of the food available on safari.

No matter whether you are staying in a lodge, a tented camp or a mobile safari camp, you will be served freshly prepared food according to international tastes and standards.

Bottled water can be purchased at all the lodges and camps and is provided by all Safari Operators. Non alcoholic drinks are often included in the all inclusive rates. It is wise to stick with bottled drinks.

Drink Coffee, bungo juice, Tusker lager, Amarula.

If you go on an organised Safari with a tour operator you will mostly sleep in mobile camps. Here facilities are more limited.

The tents usually have simple beds with lining and duvets, camping toilets and showers depending on the Safari Operator.

Many lodges and tented camps operate their own generators or solar lighting systems providing intermittent electricity.

The term and the concept of the Safari Lodge are of Tanzanian origin. Here you will find buildings of exciting design, specially build to fit in with the wild landscape of the parks, yet with all the amenities of a luxury hotel, such as swimming pools and fine food.

As you eat, drink, laze by the pool or sit on your private veranda, you will be able to observe game, often at only a few yards distance.

Seronera Wildlife Lodge, Serengeti. One of the oldest lodges, located on a cliff with panoramic view over Serengeti plains.

The are a few Luxury Tented Camps in the Serengeti offering an absolutely unique Safari experience.

The tents usually offer fully equipped en-suite bathrooms, private verandas and elegant furniture. At night you can listen to the wild sounds of the Serengeti cuddled up in a warm and comfortable bed!

Mapito Tented Camp, Serengeti. Mapito Tented Camp provides its guests with the most authentic Africa experience due to its colonial, old days hunter’s camp ambience.

Sitting snugly in a clearing surrounded by Acacia trees its 13 spacious walk-in tents create an intimate atmosphere for only 30 guests while indulging them with the amenities of a big lodge, as all tents are equipped with running water, flush toilets, hot and cold water showers, electric lights and mosquito nettings.

Mwanga Moto Mobile Luxury Camp, Serengeti. Mwanga Moto Mobile Luxury Camp is repositioned several times each season to track the Great Migration.

The luxury East African-styled tents in the camp provide king-sized beds, fine linens, and en-suite bathrooms with flush toilets and hot showers. Screened doors and windows look out onto breathtaking natural landscapes.

Serengeti Migration Camp. Hidden among the rocky outcrops or kopjes of the vast, internationally renowned Serengeti plains is a camp that exudes a decadence reminiscent of old Africa.

The Serengeti, is synonymous with low impact high action game viewing in a landscape untouched since the dawn of time.

Richly furnished throughout, the camp provides a haven of sumptuous indulgence among the raw splendor of the surrounding bush.

It’s spacious tents have been carefully placed to provide privacy and blend into nature’s architecture, overlooking the Grumeti River and its resident hippos.

Surrounded by a 360 degree verandah deck and with a capacious, 45 square metre, internal floor space, each guest pavillion is a private sanctuary.

The split level lounge, cigar bar, restaurant, sundecks and swimming pool are perched among the outcrops and overlook the vast and rugged landscapes that are home to the world’s greatest mammal migration.

Kensington Camps. Kensington Tented Camps bring together the breathtaking beauty, teeming wildlife and cultural splendor of Africa in an intimate and elegant setting.

Echoing with the sounds of the herds, rustling grasslands and crackling campfires, these exclusive camps offer the privacy of only 8 tents.

Each camp is strategically located to host guests as they discover and follow the wildlife migration and clients can transfer conveniently between camps as part of a day’s game drive.

Mbalageti Serengeti. Tented Camps Located off the beaten track in the Western Corridor. The Lodge enjoys breath taking panoroma view of the Serengeti Plains.

Mbalageti offers 24 Safari Style Tented Chalets, 5 Family Excutive Rooms and 14 Standard Rooms with a budget option.

The Swimming Pool Deck, Bar, and Restaurant Located on the tip of the Hill, perfect venue for relaxing after a day of game viewing.

A much cheaper alternative is to stay on one of the Serengeti's nine campsites. If you wish to stay at them you must obtain permission from TANAPA or the nearest park warden.

Health care is limited in the region, but if you have a problem seek help with your lodge. For more serious emergencies, you may end up in Nairobi, or being evacuated to your home country.

Enjoy Serengeti



Tourism Observer

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