The Saturday Telegraph – 17 July 2010 – Travel Section

Wildebeest migration: where to watch it

Serengeti Soroi Lodge

Tanzania

Newly opened on June 1, Serengeti Soroi Lodge sits on a remote hill overlooking the plains of Musabi and the western corridor of the famed Serengeti plains, and offers front-row seats for the migration in May and June, and again in November and December. Owned and operated by the family-run Mbali Mbali Camps and Lodges, which has an excellent reputation, the lodge has been designed to maximise the glorious ‘stretching for ever’ 360-degree views. It has 25 strategically positioned stilted thatched chalets boasting hardwood floors, Turkish baths and outdoor showers tucked away among the thorn and acacia trees and linked to each other by timber walkways to minimise impact on the landscape. There is a communal living area and dining-room with an open-plan kitchen, an infinity rock pool, Nomadic African Spa and multiple viewing decks for watching the action.

• A six-night Soroi Migration Package with five nights’ full board (excluding alcohol) at Serengeti Soroi and one night at RiverTrees Lodge in Arusha, flights, transfers and Flying Doctor’s membership, costs from £3,850 pp with African Explorations (0844-504 1907; africanexplorations.com).

Wildebeest Migration – Where to Watch it?

The wildebeest migration actually occurs right throughout the year and is all related to water – whether the rains come early or not, governs the movement of the wildebeest and zebra in their quest for water.

Wildebeest migration Serengeti with AfricanExplorations.com

As a very general rule, the ungulates move south from the Masai Mara in Kenya to the Grumeti region which is the western corridor of the Serengeti in Tanzania and south to the Ndutu region in southern Serengeti and then back up to the Masai Mara in Kenya.  July is always a great month to see the migration, whether one is either in Kenya or in northern  Serengeti. August and September are fabulous months for seeing the wildebeest in the Masai Mara, right through to mid October, whilst June is an excellent month to see them in the western Serengeti and January through to the beginning of March is a wonderful time to watch them calving in the short grass plains region of the southern Serengeti.

Wildebeest Migration Serengeti with AfricanExplorations.com

Both Tanzania and Kenya offer equally good viewings, but they are different experiences. Is one after the much publicised crossings over the Mara River in Kenya, where the crocodiles lie in wait, or does one want to wake up and look out over the Serengeti plains and see two million wildebeest and zebra, for as far as the eye can see?

Migration Masai Mara with AfricanExplorations.com