8 Days Great Migration – Calving Season

Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, receive a VIP meet and greet before fly to Soranera (central Serengeti) Airstrip where your guide will be waiting for you. Our guide will brief you about the Safari and The Serengeti ecosystem in general followed by short game drive as you drive to the lodge.

After your early morning breakfast, you’ll head for a game drive. The sheer volume of animals in Seronera is extraordinary. The Seronera River weaves its way through the Serengeti, providing waters for all species of wildlife. You’ll see the distinctive rocky outcrops, the famous kopjes which characterize the Serengeti landscape. Kopjes are very hard and often granite. They have been aged at maybe 600 million years old and created even before the earth’s surface was pushed up from the ocean. Lions and other cats frequent these stony places and they are also home to snakes and hyraxes. Slowly weathering in wind and rain, they are peeling off in layers, which you may see on close inspection.

Immerse yourself in the splendors of the Serengeti on an intimate new level during a 90-minute guided walk that shines a light on the wildlife sanctuary’s most subtle and unusual characteristics. Led by local Naturalist, Maasai guides and national park rangers, explore the beautiful landscape of Serengeti National Park as your guides point out animal tracks, insects and medicinal plants.

After breakfast, drive towards the south,  about an hour commencing the drive, you will enter the Ngorongoro Conservation Area  where you will notice the landscape changing from hilly forests to plain and green grasslands as you drive further. Once you reach Ndutu you will begin your day game drive and later proceed to the lodge for lunch and afternoon relaxation. Later you will go for evening game drive.

Spend these days game viewing in Ndutu area with either on full day or on morning and afternoon game drive and see the fertile plains turn into calving grounds and nursery for the great migration. Ndutu is a famous calving ground of more than 2 million animals, wildebeests, Zebras, Thomson Gazelles, and Grant Gazelles of the Great Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. The vast herds of migratory wildebeest make their return to the short-grass plains of the southern Serengeti in ndutu area. Roughly 960,000 of these wildebeest are pregnant females which will drop their calves over 14 days between late December, January and early March.  Calves are delivered and nurtured over the nutrient-rich grass to gain the necessary energy to complete the 500 km migration circuit for the next generation. An approximately a total of 400,000 thousand wildebeest calves are delivered in just 3 weeks. The newborn calves make the place a hunting ground for hunting lions, opportunistic hyenas, and the stealthy leopards looking to make a quick meal of the newborns. Return to the lodge and relax at the verandah; the perfect place to end your perfect day, watching the hot sun sink over the vast Plain of Ngorongoro.

After breakfast, drive to Lake Manyara National Park. The park is known for its diverse landscape; not only open grassy plains but also primate-filled woodlands and baobab dotted cliff. It is home to thousands of flamingos and other region 500 bird species. Go for a short game drive and later unwind in a tree house suite that offers privacy and exclusivity in the cool, leafy surroundings, with elephant visitors passing through.

Swap out a local community experience by relaxing at the sparkling pool in the heat of the afternoon. Unwind with a massage in the massage sala, the ultimate spot to rejuvenate mind, body and soul .Enjoy healing therapies, organic practices and connect with nature.

After breakfast, you will drive to Lake Manyara airstrip for your flight to Kilimanjaro Airport to connect with your international flight home