Safari to Tanzania – The Serengeti National Park

Posted at January 6, 2010

Serengeti national park, a world heritage site, is the oldest and most popular national park in Northern Tanzania with parts of it extending northwards to the south west of Kenya’s Maasai Mara a combination which produces one of the world’s greatest natural spectacle namely the annual wildebeest migration consequential to the name 7th wonder of the world.

To the south-east of the park is Ngorongoro Conservation Area, to the south-west lies Maswa Game Reserve, and to the western borders are Ikorongo and Grumeti Game Reserves and finally to the north-east lies Loliondo Game Control Area. This park dubbed a jewel in the crown of Tanzania’s protected areas covers an area of about 14,763 km² of grassland plains and savanna as well as riverine forest and woodlands.

The vast plains appear to be an ending a feature resulting to its naming, this was more so a reality to the Maasai people who for hundreds of years had been grazing their livestock in this plains, nomadic in nature, the Maasai move from one place to the next in search of greener pastures for their herds, Serengeti is so vast that they never seemed to get to the end of it and hence the name Serengeti which is an approximation of the Maasai name siringuti.

The first explorer to Serengeti was a German geographer and explorer Dr. Oscar Baumann who entered the area in 1892 followed by the Briton Stewart Edward White in 1913 who recorded his explorations of northern Serengeti. Stewart returned to the Serengeti in the 1920s, and camped in the area around Seronera for three months where he and his companions spend time hunting lions managing to shoot 50 of them.

Due to the hunting, the lions drastically reduced in number prompting the British who were by then the colonial power, to gazette a partial Game Reserve measuring 800 acres in 1921 and later to its current size in 1929. These actions became the basis for Serengeti National Park, which was established in 1951.

The works of Bernhard Grzimek and his son Micheal in the 1950s only added to the fame of the Serengeti through the book and film entitled “Serengeti Shall not die” important early pieces of nature conservation documentary. While this was taking place the resident Maasai were moved to the Ngorongoro highlands in a move looking to preserve serengeti’s wildlife; this move raised and continued to raise questions as to the real intentions of their relocation.

The park is today protected and hosts the greatest and most varied assortment of wildlife on the planet, most undoubtedly the big 5 namely Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Rhino and Leopard.

Today the park receive thousands of tourists from all walks of life all seeking to experience the wonder that is the Serengeti with lots on offer beginning with presence of a multitude of wildebeest each one frantically trying to survive the wild only suited for the most fit.

Their life is characterized by the continuous movement across the vast plains in search of greener pastures a move that is not only tiring but life ending at times as they are faced with the dangers of becoming prey to the numerous carnivores located at every corner, drowning in the Mara river or death in the jaws of crocodiles, not to mention a frantic three-week bout of territorial conquests and mating; a life cycle they undeniably can’t escape. Part of the migration includes more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson’s gazelle who join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing.

During the time when the a large number of the flocks have migrated, the park usually offers arguably the most dazzling game-viewing in Africa which includes great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of Elephant and Giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of Eland, Topi, Kongoni, Impala and Grant’s gazelle.

Common to this park is the daily exhibition of predator versus prey, a scene which especially keeps film makers coming back again and again. Nature has endowed each animal with its own unique survival tactics where the Golden-manned lion camouflages with the long golden grass making it easy to prey on the abundance of plain grazers while the lone leopard uses its tree climbing skills to haunt the acacia trees lining the Seronera River allowing it to feed at ease as there’s little disturbance from other preditors.

Cheetahs on the other hand lurk the southeastern plains confident that no animal is fast enough to out run them. Other preditors include all the three African jackal species, along with the spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf to the beautiful serval cat.

For those with a keen eye there is a high likely hood of spotting Gaudy agama lizards and rock hyraxes scuffling around the surfaces of the park’s isolated granite koppies; different varieties of dung beetle, over 500 bird species, ranging from the huge ostrich and peculiar secretary bird of the open grassland not forgetting the black eagles soaring above Lobo Hills.

The Serengeti plains are also a site to behold with its immense beauty exemplified by it long and wide stretches across sun burnt savannah to a gleaming golden horizon at the corners of the earth a scenery which changes upon the onset of rains which sees it transformed into an endless green carpet dotted with wildflowers. The landscape boasts of forested hills and towering termite mounds, rivers lined with fig trees and acacia woodland tainted orange by dust.

The best times to go on safari to Tanzania to the park would be December to July when the wildebeest migration occurs and June through to October for a chance to see predators at their best.

Tourism being one of the major foreign exchange earners in Tanzania, and with Serengeti national park providing a major draw to the northern circuit, the tourism infrastructure is of great consideration to its development and as such has had a tremendous growth over the years, with the emergence of new lodges, luxury tented camps among other accommodation types all of which conform to the international standards.

Examples include Kleins Camp, Lobo Wildlife Lodge, Migration Camp to the North of Serengeti; Faru Faru River Lodge, Grumeti River Camp, Kirawira Camp, Mbalageti Serengeti Lodge, Sabora Plains Tented Camp, Sasakwa Lodge on the Western corridor; Serengeti Serena Lodge, Serengeti Wilderness Camp, Seronera Wildlife Lodge in Central Serengeti and Kusini Camp, Ndutu Lodge on the Southern Serengeti. This is just a mention of a few.

Apart from game viewing in 4×4 safari vans, Hot air balloon safaris are also on offer affording you a bird’s view of this vast park; walking safari, bush lunch/dinner among others can all be arranged upon request either through the lodges or tour operators.

A safari to Tanzania on this vast plain of Serengeti is worth the time and money spent as it is never disappointing, on the contrary it is thrilling and satisfying experience exceeding your wildest dreams.