The Serengeti national park is the largest and most famous conservation area in Africa. It is one of the last natural places on Earth which is not fully controlled by the human. We’ve had a chance to watch wild animals in their natural habitat and the experience was unforgettable.
The whole park’s area is about 15,000 km2. Its impressive size makes it the largest park, and it is, also, the oldest and most popular one. There are up to 70 species of big mammals and 500 species of birds. The Serengeti Park offers a unique spectacle – the greatest animal migration in the world. Millions of wildebeest migrate to search for food, followed by predators. The migration is absolutely one of a kind, repeated every year in regular intervals. The website full of interesting facts, can be found here.
Some practical information before you go
Before you decide to set off, it is important to make clear what you expect from your stay in the Park. A traditional safari, so-called game drive, is perfect if you stay for 2-3 days, in order to have an opportunity to watch various kinds of animals. It is possible to manage a flight over the vast plains, either in a plane or in a hot-air balloon. If you desire to see the Great migration, we recommend to stay for longer, definitely. Since the location of the animals is changing and due to the size of the Park, it takes some time to find them. But if you get this opportunity, definitely make use of it. And don’t forget to visit a Maasai village.
The Serengeti safari can be enjoyd in various ways – even in a hot air balloon
Where to look for a safari
The best choice is Safaribooking.com or at GetYourGuide.com. You can combine your Serengeti visit with other parks located along the way to or nearby Serengeti. Except for Serengeti, we also visited the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara National Park – Check out Travel Guide to Tanzania. On the website, you can choose between various possibilities of how to make trips to national parks. From the length of your stay, through transportation possibilities, up to accommodation. Be sure to carefully read through what is included in the price and what is not. And learn as much as possible about the provider. Expect that you will need to make a down payment, but there is nothing to worry about. We’ve had the best experience. It is necessary to remember that you will need to tip the locals – such as your cook or driver.
Absolutely, try to negotiate a little lower safari price. It is totally fine to do it via email. There is plenty of companies offering trips to safari in Serengeti and they compete. In this manner, we managed to get the trip for fairly lower price.
When it’s the best time to set off
Before visiting Serengeti, it is advisable to realize that there are dry and humid periods alternating in East Africa. The best time to go is when there’s summer in Europe.
- January – February = a dry period
- March – May = a humid period
- June – October = a dry period (the most suitable time for predator-watching)
- November – December = a humid period
Hippo pool – in the dry season is not too much water, so hippos do not have much space
What to take with you
Travelling in the national park is not too demanding because you spend most of time in a car. So, absolutely pack up comfortable clothes. But! Even though you travel through the continent of Africa, it can be really cold in some places. Especially in the morning. That’s why a warm jacket or a sweatshirt is necessary. Also, expect that if you sleep in a tent, there’s no chance to charge your camera or cellphone battery. So, take extra batteries with you. We did find it very useful.
Another discussion that we had featured a topic of antimalarials. You are coming to the area with a higher incidence rate of malaria, so every decent vaccination center should recommend you to equip yourself with these pills. Regarding that we haven’t needed them during our travels yet, we’ve been quite sceptic about whether we really need them. Because there are side effects and the liver is not too happy about antimalarials either. In the end, we decided that we wouldn’t run the risk of crowning our Park visit with a hospital stay. So, if you are heading to Africa for a few weeks only – better take the medications with you.
You can get so close to the elephant herd
The Greatest Migration of Terrestrial Animals in The World
There’s only one place where you can see this exceptional, unique spectacle -Serengeti – Massai Mara. Millions of wildebeest and zebras travel in search of food in repetitive cycles. Scientists assume that the reason of such migration is not a lack of food only, but also a sophisticated strategy to protect baby wildebeests from predators. In the same period, there are many pregnant cows and it is favorable for them to give birth at the same time. Predators will be fed in short time and there won’t be a chance for them to kill as many babies at the same time. For such synchronized birthing, the cows need minerals which can be found in the southern part of the Serengeti Park. The ground there is of volcanic rock origin, rich in phosphorus and calcium. During this incredible journey hundreds of thousands of calves die, but about the same number of them is born. The most dramatic moment of the migration is crossing of the Mara River where hungry crocodiles prey on them. It really is a fascinating spectacle, full of fighting for life.
In order to get an opportunity to see the Great Migration with your own eyes, it is necessary to reserve enough time for your stay in the Park and to plan properly from what place you want to watch it. The animals’ location depends on a particular season of the year. See the overview of the migrating animals here. In any case, contact your provider in advance and make an arrangement that you want to see the Migration. We spent two nights in the Serengeti Park, hoping to enjoy safari and see the Migration as well. But it was a very naïve assumption because you need even more time to do so.
Wildebeest – lives in herds numbering thousands of pieces
Our experience from safari
We spent just two nights in the Serengeti park, but even so, the atmosphere was incredibly etched under our skin. When you watch a large herd of elephants wandering down to the river from afar, when the majestic lion is walking in front of you or when you notice the sleeping crocodile on the riverside. These moments literally took our breath away. In fact, it is difficult to talk about and simply must be experienced.
A Lion Attack On Cheetah Babies
The first time we encountered a female cheetah was really emotional for us. She was just taking care of her new born babies when lions attacked them. Our guide explained to us that the lion is a true king of the jungle, and all animals have respect for lions. They attack other predators’ babies, so that they eliminate the potential hunting rivals.
The moment the lions attacked the young cheetahs, the first safari car arrived, causing all of the cats to flee in all directions. The female cheetah lost all of her babies and she was calling and looking for them in consternation. Our guide said that we should leave so that she could find them, they might be hiding in the grass. We came back to that spot after some time and saw that all was well at the end. The female cheetah was lying under the tree, cleaning her lost babies.
The Hippo Intimidates Lions
Hippos were the most surprising discovery. These seemingly peaceful, herbivorous creatures are said to be the most aggressive animals in Africa. We didn’t manage to imagine that until we saw a hippo in action for the first time. In the evening, we arrived nearby water and watched hippos as they fed. They lay in water the whole day to protect their skin which is not sun-resistant enough. They only get out to graze in the evening, when the sun rays cannot burn them. When we watched them getting out of water, a group of lions got in close proximity.
Lions were lying near the body of water in such way that almost no one could spot them. But one of the hippos did and obviously didn’t like it at all. It opened its huge mouth and screamed so loudly that everyone started to freak out. A few lion babies rushed away in terror. The adult lions came to attention, looking at each other for a while, until two lionesses attacked the hippo. He did not hesitate for long and started to rush away furiously. It is necessary to note that it was just a “who’s stronger” game. Lions do not hunt hippos because they are too big and aggressive and lions don’t like their meat.
Dodging Zebras
Another animal which surprised us, was the zebra. We never understood how the zebra’s stripes can provide crypsis. When we watched young male lions laying in the shadow of the tree, a group of zebras got into close proximity. They were heading for a watering place, but the lions were in the way. The zebras were walking slowly until they spotted the group of predators.
In that moment, they clustered together looking out for what would follow. Our guide called it a waiting game. The zebras were unsure whether they were surrounded, which prevented them from escaping right away. So, they were waiting whether the lions would attack first or no. But the male lions weren’t showing much interest. It took around fifteen minutes until the zebras decided to run away. They were running in a cluster and dodging. Their stripes blended and the group looked like one animal from far away. It wasn’t easy to differentiate between them and attack just one of them.
Thank you for sharing this Eva! It was really helpful in getting an idea of what to expect when it came to travelling around the Serengeti National Park area. My favorite part was when you wrote about the animals. It was interesting to read about your experience observing these animals. Who knew lions would be intimidated by hippos. I was always under the impression that lions ruled all animals and that they feared nothing. It’s pretty interesting to see that it isn’t the case.
Hi Ana, thank you for nice comment. I am happy you like my part about animals in the article. I wrote it, because in that moment it was huge advantage and you never know what can happened while you travel in the wildness. I was beautiful experience and i am happy I can share it with others.