 |
| Photo by Freeimages.com/Eva Schuster |
by Trisha Andres, The Daily Telegraph, May 17, 2016
The Great Migration is considered one of the world’s greatest spectacles. Over a million blue wildebeest and thousands of zebras and eland and topi antelopes journey from the Serengeti in Tanzania to Kenya’s Maasai Mara and back.
One of the best ways to see the greatest wildlife show on earth is on an escorted tour, led by a team of experts and at a time when you are most likely to see these magnificent creatures. Here, we select five of the best:
Local knowledge
An 11-day Great Migration tour from Kuoni is led by Kenya residents Warren Samuels, a wildlife TV documentary filmmaker and Dave Richards, a wildlife writer and the author of Wildlife of East Africa. This trip to Kenya stops at Nairobi, Amboseli, Samburu and two different locations in Maasai Mara, including the Bushtops conservancy and the Mara River where herds cross the crocodile-infested water, and lions and leopards hide in the tall grass and reeds on the riverbank. There are stays at Little Governors’ Camp – part of the real-life Big Cat Diary territory in the Mara – which has tents strewn around a large watering hole teeming with birds and wildlife. Departs August 14, from £8,849 full-board including flights. An optional hot-air balloon safari costs from £365. Kuoni (01306 747008; kuoni.co.uk ).
Naturetrek is offering a 10-day Tanzania’s Great Migration tour which includes visits to Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park, including five nights in the southern Serengeti timed to coincide with the annual migration of the blue wildebeest. In southern Serengeti, you will stay at Ndutu Kati Kati, a small temporary camp set up close to the border of the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area between December and April. It features 10 well-appointed tents surrounded by grassy plains dotted with acacia trees, woodland and rocky kopjes. There is also a game drive into Lake Manyara National Park in search of zebras, giraffes, hippos and blue monkeys. Departs February 23, 2017, from £3,395 full-board including flights. Naturetrek (01962 733051; naturetrek.co.uk ).
Ndutu Kati Kati Safari in style
A 14-day Great Migration Safari in Style from Abercrombie & Kent stays in some of the best boutique hotels and luxury safari lodges and includes six nights in the heart of the Great Migration – three in the Serengeti and three in the Maasai Mara. Highlights include a private visit to Amboseli Elephant Research Project and a chance to meet a Maasai elder for insights into the nomadic tribal culture and traditions. Your journey is on board an A&K custom-made vehicle driven by one of the company’s expert driver-guides. Between drives in Tarangire National Park, you‘ll have the chance to join a cooking demonstration and tasting of local delicacies such as ugali, makande and kahumari and stop at Olduvai Gorge, one of the world’s most important paleoanthropological sites where the earliest hominid fossils were found. Departures between June and October, from £10,549. Abercrombie & Kent (01242 547 892; abercrombiekent.co.uk ).
Travelling from Tarangire National Park, via the Ngorongoro Crater and into the heart of the Serengeti, you will stay in superb private camps and lodges, while enjoying the company of two great wildlife experts: Jonathan Scott, zoologist, photographer and presenter of television’s acclaimed Big Cat Diary and Brian Jackman, one of Britain’s foremost writers on African wildlife. In addition to staying at luxury lodges, including a boutique hotel built on a coffee plantation, a treetop hotel and an upcountry farmhouse, you’ll also be treated to traditional bush lunches and dinners cooked over an open fire on this 11-day Great Migration trip from Telegraph Tours. June 5, from £5,995 full-board including flights. Telegraph Tours (0333 005 9128; telegraph.co.uk/greatmigrationtour ).
Led by wildlife photographer Paul Goldstein, this nine-day Kenya Safari from Exodus includes several game drives and photographic coaching from Paul. Aimed at wilderness fans and photography enthusiasts, this whirlwind tour makes the most of your trip by spending it in the reserves. You will spend six nights in Kicheche, a camp with luxury en-suite tents, solar electricity, hot showers and meals taken al fresco. Departures between August 2016 and January 2017, from £4,199 full-board including flights. Exodus (0203 811 6417; exodus.co.uk ).
This article was written by Trisha Andres from The Daily Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
