The vast game reserves of Tanzania and Kenya offer incredible opportunities to see wildlife - including the famous wildebeest migration
~ Bernadette Chua
Seeing Africa’s “big five” is one of the top bucket-list things to do for the well-rounded Singaporean travelers. An adventure through Tanzania and Kenya offers a good opportunity to see the big five – lion, elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard and the endangered black rhino. You can also see herds of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle, and pink flamingos taking flight over Lake Nakuru and experience the culture of the Maasai people.
In Tanzania, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area centers on Ngorongoro Crater which is rich in wildlife. The crater floor is the place to see animals such as lions, buffalo, gazelles, black rhinoceros, zebras, wildebeest, cheetahs and hyenas. The conservation area is also archaeologically important. At Laetoli, west of Ngorongoro Crater, hominid footprints preserved in 3.6-million-year old volcanic rock represent some of the earliest signs of mankind in the world. Even more significant discoveries have been made some 100km to the north oat Oldupai Gorge (originally misnamed as Olduvai). Here the bones of four different kinds of hominids and stone tools have been uncovered and visitors can see the site where excavations are ongoing.
Continue north to the famous Serengeti National Park, also abundant in wildlife. The seemingly endless Savannah plains are home to lions, cheetahs, elephants, buffalo, warthogs, gazelle, zebras, jackals and hyenas. Visitors can also spend time at the hippo pools to see mother hippos and their calves in their water habitat.
In neighbouring Kenya, the Maasai Mara Game Reserve encompasses the northern part of the Serengeti Plains and offers more chances to see the big five as well as giraffes and thundering herds of zebras and wildebeest.
Visit between June and August for a chance to see the great wildebeest migration when up to two million animals are on the move. Between December and March, herds of wildebeest, zebras and gazelle gather in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This is the calving season – a perfect time to see the newborn wildebeest calves. During April and May, prompted by the onset of the rainy season, the herds start to move to fresh pastures, but heavy downpour makes it difficult for tourists to witness the migration due to the closer of most camps.
In June, as the rainy season subside, huge herds of wildebeest and zebra start moving north and the Western Serengeti is the best place to watch the migration unfold. By July the herds reach Grumeti River, water levels rises if the rainy season was good. It’s considered to be one of the hardest parts of the migration as the animals cross crocodile-infested waters.
By August, the surviving animals reach Lamai Wedge and further make a second dangerous crossing – the Mara River, which is also filled with hungry crocodiles. Finally, they cross the border into Kenya’s Mara Triangle and from September to November, the plains of the Maasai Mara game reserve are filled with grazing herds.
Overall, Tanzania and Kenya offers visitors a great way to experience wildlife and also the culture of the aboriginal tribes who have lived here for thousands of years.
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