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Trip Operator:
Eco Tours (Moshi),
booked through Adventures Within Reach (USA)
Accommodation:
Keys Hotel; tented camping
December 2007
Bill & Barb Straka, USASource: Trail Space |
Recently Added Review!!:
After taking all the necessary precautions against insect borne diseases, Bill & Barb set off on their photographic safari to northern Tanzania. They feel their shaded vehicle helped a lot with regards to capturing better shots than they would have in an open top vehicle.
They saw some great sights including leopard, cheetah and a fight between three young lions and a buffalo. Interesting for Bill was learning that migration works according to a system of weather conditions in that migrating animals follow the rain as opposed to other myths and tales he had read in some travel brochures.
After their safari, Barb returned home while Bill climbed Mt Kilimanjaro which he also documents in his journal. (Some of their great photos are included.)
 
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Trip Operator:
Good Earth Tours
Accommodation:
Pimbi campsite
Trip Duration:
7 Days
July 2007
Arik Kershenbaum, IsraelSource: African Safari Journals |
Recently Added Review!!:
Arik and his son went on a private safari, which meant they had flexibility in their daily schedule and while out on game drives.
Of course the quantity and variety of wildlife you see on safari depends on what nature delivers, but an excellent guide like the one Arik had, makes all the difference and contributed to them seeing a cheetah kill, lions hiding in the grass, and leopard on 4 occassions.
Arik's trip report shows you don't have to go deluxe to have a fantastic wildebeest migration safari on the Serengeti plains. He shares a number of valuable tips including his recommendation to take a video camera (also view his migration video clip).
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Accommodation:
Simba's campsite
Trip Duration:
3 Days
11 August 2006
Marco Source: TravelPod |
This was Marco's first major safari and not only did he get to see long columns of wildebeest trekking along the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater, he also spotted all the big cats on more than one occasion (seeing a leopard two days in a row is very lucky). The campsites don't have any fences around them so the animals are free to come and go as they please and it was a bit disconcerting to hear them sniffing around the tents. In the morning elephant and zebra droppings gave evidence as to what was there in the darkness...
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Destination:
Serengeti during the wildebeest calving season
Trip Duration:
4 Days
18 February 2006
Bex, UKSource: TravelPod |
Your chances of seeing predators in the Serengeti are vastly improved during the wildebeest calving period for the simple but unfortunate reason that the baby wildebeest are easy prey. Bex sees a female cheetah hunt down a newborn wildebeest but the fast feline doesn't go for the kill immediately and only holds the young antelope down. A cheetah cub responds to its mother's birdlike calls and pounces on the wildebeest in a fascinating display of hunting training. On the second day in the Serengeti they spot a leopard holding down another baby wildebeest but the antelope manages to wriggle free and proceeds to head butt the cat a total of 10 times in an attempt to escape its fate. Amazing stuff...
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Trip Operator:
AV-ToursAccommodation:
Riverside campsite Trip Duration:
5 Days 26 August 2005
Matt & Amy Source: TravelPod
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Matt and Amy were in the right place at the right time and they managed to see an estimated 500 000 wildebeest on the first night of their safari which was an astonishing sight. But that was only the beginning. They came across a pride of 7 lionesses that were shadowing the herd of wildebeest intent on getting a meal. They isolated one of the antelope from the main herd, encircled it and went in for the kill all within metres of the land cruiser that Matt and Amy were in...
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Accommodation:
CampingDestination:
Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater Trip Duration:
5 Days 10 June 2005
Julie Source: Realtravel
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As far as the eye could see in both directions, Julie watched thousands of wildebeest in a long line trudging through the park and the constant grunting noise that the herd generated was deafening. And as usual during the Serengeti migration season the predators were around in numbers. They saw both lion and leopard lying in trees, a lioness chasing a wildebeest, a hyena hunt and kill a zebra and more lion wandering around close to the truck. Julie was amazed by the sheer amount of wildlife that it was possible to see in the Serengeti...
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Destination:
Serengeti during the wildebeest calving season
Accommodation:
Ndutu Lodge
Trip Duration:
6 Days
04 February 2003
Tim ClarkSource: WildlifeTravel |
The wildebeest migration was passing by Ndutu lodge while Tim was there and he was privileged to be able to see hundreds of thousands of wildebeest dotting the plains for miles around. Many of the wildebeest were also giving birth and he managed to film the whole sequence as it happened and amazingly the baby could stand within 5 minutes after birth and run with its mother after ten. The enormous wildebeest herd moves reasonably quickly in their quest for fresh grazing and water. So every day it is necessary to drive further to find them and the ever present lion and hyena that shadow the herd to hunt down stragglers and the newborn...
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Accommodation:
Camping Trip Duration:
3 days 24-26 August 2007
Leslie MacKeen Source: Travel Blog
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Recently Added Review!!:
Leslie's trip report illustrates the reason that it is important to carefully choose the safari company you book your migration safari with. She and her two friends booked a cheap safari in Nairobi, on the spur of the moment, and were quite disappointed by the way the trip was organised.
Apart from the negative aspects of the company and group of people they joined, she enjoyed the park and its wildlife - especially lions with cubs feeding on a fresh kill, a cheetah sitting peacefully on the open plains and the awesome landscapes of the Masai Mara.
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Trip Operator:
Africa Travel Co (ATC)Accommodation:
Acacia campsite Trip Duration:
4 days 15-18 August 2007
Michael, UK Source: Get Jealous
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Recently Added Review!!:
Michael and Sharon enjoyed the wildebeest migration as part of their overland trip.
Sometimes you just want to see what kind of trip and game viewing you might expect on an overland safari... well this photo journal trip report is the answer - showing animals, landscapes, the vehicle, accommodation and more.
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Trip Operator:
Another LandAccommodation:
Mara Sopa Lodge Trip Duration:
A few days 12 July - 3 August, 2007
K.C. Rautiainen, Canada Source: African Safari Journals
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Recently Added Review!!:
As part of her 3-week safari to East Africa, K.C. visited the Masai Mara where she took to the air in a hot air balloon to view the migration from above.
Apart from seeing a myriad wildebeest and zebra, she also saw a wide variety of other game including the three big cats: lion, leopard and cheetah. A bonus was seeing the rare and endangered black rhino as well.
Despite having rain each day but the last while in the Masai Mara, K.C. rates her total safari "20" on a scale of 1-10! She is full of praise for her trip operator.
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Trip Operator:
Ebright TravelAccommodation:
Cottar's 1920's Camp Trip Duration:
2 weeks August, 2006
Connie Ebright, CA, USA Source: African Safari Journals
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Recently Added Review!!:
The great migration must be seen to fully appreciate it, says Connie. No Discovery Channel program can prepare you for the sight of hundreds of thousands of animals (not only wildebeest) visible at a single glance. The river crossings were something to behold. She thinks going a few days later, (September) would have afforded them an even bigger "show".
She stayed at the super luxurious Cottar's 1920's camp which she and her husband christened the "Taj Mahal".
Her journal is pure inspiration and her passion and appreciation for Africa evident through her writing.
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Trip Operator:
Adventures AbroadAccommodation:
Mara Sopa Lodge Trip Duration:
5 Days 16 July 2005
Judith Siess and Stephen Bremseth Source: IBL
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One of the best ways to see the full extent of the wildebeest migration is to go up to 1000 feet in a hot air balloon and get a ringside view of the antelope trek as it happens. This is exactly what a couple who were on the same safari as Judith and Stephen did and they managed to see the migration very well. Back on the ground in the Mara they saw so many animals that they lost count and they also watched a pride of eight lions stalk a herd of buffalo and then scatter as the massive bovines charged them...
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Destination:
Masai Mara and Ngorongoro Crater
Trip Duration:
3 Days
02 August 2003
Sharad and SusanSource: TravelPod |
Predator game viewing is at its best during the wildebeest migration, as the 18 lions, two cheetah, and leopard that Sharad and Susan saw on their safari seems to prove. One of the highlights for Sharad, apart from the massive wildebeest migration, was to see a cheetah feeding on a wildebeest and how quickly ten vultures cleaned up the carcass once the cat had eaten its fill and walked away...
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Destination:
Masai Mara Game Reserve, KenyaTrip Duration:
6 Days 10 December 2002
Bob Riel Source: BootsnAll
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Visit the Masai Mara during the wildebeest migration and you are most likely to see a line of these strange looking antelope stretching for miles towards the horizon as they march single file to get to their destination. This was the amazing scene that Bob experienced on his safari and he also saw cheetah, lion and hyena with the remains of wildebeest that they had recently killed...
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