Northern Serengeti

Savanna, acacia tortilis trees with their iconic flat tops: I felt like I was in a living advertisement for safari. The stars aligned and we’d also arrived in the thick of the Great Migration. We were a small speck in an ocean of grunting, grazing, galloping herds that were in the foreground, middle ground, far distance – driven by instinct to move.

Seeing wildlife in such numbers is moving in a way that is difficult to relate in words and pictures, but it is something with a universal pull. The magnetism of the experience draws people from around the world every year. It’s as if millions of moving, migrating animals ignite some impulse within us – explore, explore, explore: the heartbeat of footfall and distance as a vital life force for every living thing. →

Gnus in the View
Action-packed game drives and exploring beyond the Migration are amazing ways to fill your days on safari.

For us, from decades of wildlife documentaries, the Mara River was as renowned as the migration itself. Draped across the migration paths, river crossings have become a sought-after part of the spectacle for visitors to Northern Serengeti. Sitting in wait among the herds with other patient game viewers, it didn’t take long for us to witness our first adrenaline-pumping crossing.

Crossings are chaos. The pandemonium of collective movement of so many animals is an experience of sights, sounds, smells. The high-octane nature of it all is heady and we came to know what to look for – the beating hooves of so many animals lift a giant dust cloud into the sky. Watching the course of the herds gain momentum, the power and endurance of these animals is astounding.

At this volume, views of the migration were almost abstract. Repeated patterns of curved horns, striped pelts, bearded dewlaps. Wildebeest in single file crossing the river, walking the plains. The shape of wildebeest in the splash of the river, against the haze of dust. However, after our first couple of crossings, it was hard not to be disturbed by the ‘river of death’. You can read more in the Great Migration story here.

We watched the river change once the drama of the crossings had passed. Bloated bodies of the animals that didn’t make it dotted the river like rocks and the stench grew as the days went by. Giant crocodiles lay in the shallows. Marabous stood on the dead and fed on the carrion in the river. We even watched a hippo flinging a carcass about in the water. The plains are busy with cycles of life and death, lightly seasoned with pockets of human endeavour. →

Mara River Crossings
The Mara River is full of danger for crossing wildebeest. The flow of animals into the river is breathtaking - long minutes of noise and drama.

Who's the Boss
Breaking free from the Migration crowds is an opportunity to explore the wonderful, expansive landscapes of the Serengeti and view wildlife - often with the luxury of solitude.

We had been in the Serengeti a few days and hadn’t seen a sign of lions. ‘Among the rocks,’ is the advice we were given by local guides, which we found out meant among the Lemala Kuria Hills near Lemai Camp. It was at the heat of midday that we decided to check this out. Up into the kopjes we went. From the bottom of a rock that I swear was Pride Rock from The Lion King, a single paw extended over the edge. Among the leaves of trees growing from the rock, lion cubs stretched and stared. For the next hour, we watched lions move around the brim of the rock, edging out of the shade and out of view.

In the afternoons, the skies turned deep plum and thunder rocked the world. The wildebeest hardly stirred. Something in them must have been alert to the rains, compelling them to move in this great cycle yet again. On our final day in Kogatende, we went on a final drive and watched thousands and thousands of vultures drift in silhouette against the sky. More multitudes.

Anita Desai has a beautiful quote about travel that says, “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” I love to think that Tanzania has become a part of who I am – this country filled with fairytale wild places. While we were in the Northern Serengeti in particular, I loved to find the lone trees in the middle of such vastness. Some had been pushed to angles by elephants. Others stood tall and became umbrellas of shade for wildlife in the heat. This is a part of me somehow. It is said that earliest man may have observed the Great Migration – this natural spectacle reflected in our modern eyes, becoming part of who we are. →

Pride Rock
Look carefully among the rocks for dangling paws or twitching tails of big cats.

Serengetree
The form of the acacia tortilis on savannah is perhaps one of the most iconic representations of African safari - a freckle in such a large, wild place.

Kogatende Air Strip
This small, dirt strip in the Northern Serengeti must be one of the wildest in the world - with spectacular views of the Serengeti from the sky.

Who Gnu?
At the height of the Great Migration in Northern Serengeti, the wonder of this number of wildebeest is not limited to Mara River crossings. It is incredible to see landscapes brimming with game.

Say hy-ena
We were told that hunting hyenas have a higher success rate than lions in the Serengeti. During the Migration, it is not uncommon to see them wandering among the herds or sleeping out in the open.

Striped Pathfinders
Around 300 000 zebra accompany over one million wildebeest in the Great Migration. Zebras feed differently to wildebeest - leading the way to crop the long, coarse grass.