AREA & ACTIVITIES

Habitat & Wildlife

With an area of some 14,000 sq. km, Serengeti is probably the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world. The ecosystem includes the National Park itself, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Maswa Game Reserve and Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve, together forming one of the most complex and least disturbed ecosystems on earth. The landscape was originally formed by volcanic activity in the Ngorongoro highlands and it varies from the open short grass plains in the south, to savannah and scattered acacia woodlands in the centre, to extensive woodland and black clay plains in the west, to hilly wooded grassland in the north. Most of the permanent water is found towards the northern and western areas, the lack of permanent water and food in the south being the main reason for the annual migration.

The park is home to approaching 2,000,000 wildebeest, 500,000 Thomson’s gazelle and 250,000 zebra: the largest concentration of plains game in Africa. More than 30 species of herbivores are found here, as well as all the major predators and nearly 500 species of birds.

The southern reaches of the park consist of endless ‘short-grass’ open plains. In the heart of these plains on the border of the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is an area known as Ndutu, where a series of partial soda lakes and marsh areas are surrounded by woodland. Many of the camps and camp sites in the southern Serengeti are located in this area. To the west the open plains are bordered by the woodlands of the Maswa Game Reserve, and a secondary hub of camps can be found along the edge of woodland, known as the Kusini area. To the east the plains are endless, stretching south-east through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and north-east towards the Loliondo Game Controlled Area which borders the eastern Serengeti.

The hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, gazelles and zebra congregate on these southern short grass plains from December to April, usually calving around the end of January when the nutritious grass is at its best. During this time the ‘migration’ is restricted to local movements according to rainfall and grazing, though even within the southern Serengeti region the distances are vast. This southern region is exceptional for lion, cheetah and spotted hyaena sightings, all of which thrive on the open plains, whilst leopard, serval, African wild cat, elephant, buffalo, giraffe, eland, topi, jackal, ostrich and impala can also be seen. Wild dogs are making a comeback in the region and are occasionally encountered to the south of Ndutu in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Depending on grazing conditions and water supply, the start of the Serengeti annual migration begins at the end of this period, and the herds begin to march north/westwards, ‘lowing’ incessantly so that the air hums like a dynamo (zebra first, then the wildebeest and gazelles). Lion, cheetah, hyaena and wild dog follow, ensuring that only the fittest survive, while jackals trail behind and vultures circle overhead.

Activities

Game viewing in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area is almost entirely vehicle based, between the hours of sunrise and sunset. Driving off road is only permitted in certain zones, predominantly in the far south of the park.

From Kusini game drives are flexible across the southern Serengeti Plains (and if necessary extend into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area), with each group of guests being provided with a private guide and vehicle.

Seasons

Serian Serengeti Kusini operates from December through to March each year.