Seronera or Ndutu
 

I will shortly be leaving Africa for good after a year in DR Congo. So I decided to make one final attempt to catch the migration and if lucky the calving season.
Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of time and all I am able to manage is three days (just a wekend and a day thrown in) (09 to 12 Feb). So I decide to spend 2 days in Serengeti and one in Ngorongoro crater.
I had intially thought it was a good idea to stay at Seronera camp site being a central location and then make a drive around to wherever we get news from once there. But many posts here and the postings at Ndutu Lodge / Nomad websites later... I am a little confused and apprehensive.
With such short time and probably my only chance in a long long time ot vist Serengeti, I would like to maximise my chances... the rest of course is luck. So should I renegotiate with my operator to camp near Ndutu instead which is where all the action seems to be happening? Or is this plan to put up at Seronera workable? Which is the better option of the two? Please advice...

Has anyone had any experience with Mr Andrew of Jackpot Safaris? I have been negotiating with him and have finalised my itinirary with him. So far his communication and responses have been pretty good. I hope the safari is as good too.

Here is a chart with the migration position and the rain statistics but migration don´t know about dates so is never exact,however in February the wildebeest should be closer to Ndutu than Seronera.Probably a mobile camp could be the best option for the best position,good luck.
http://www.africadreamsafaris.com/na...migration.html

You could also find this update interesting,is from late December 2006 and comes from a passionate about the migration.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34935519

Deep, your plan of staying at Seronera and driving south to find the migration WILL work, but you might have to drive 2-3 hours each day just to get there (and double this to get back), so I personally think you'd be better off staying closer to the short-grass plains, like at Ndutu or one of the mobile camps a bit north of Ndutu.

You may still have to drive a bit from Ndutu (we were there for a week recently and the bulk of the migration was in two places, 30 minutes SE and 90 minutes NE beyond Gol kopjes) but you'll most likely be much closer.

Some other considerations ... you'll see more leopards at Seronera (we saw 8 or 9 last April in 4-5 days here and have yet to see a leopard near Ndutu in 12 days) ... you can drive off-road at Ndutu, which enhances the experience immensely IMHO and tends to spread out the jeeps. We rarely saw another jeep once we got a few minutes from the lodge. Near Seronera there are usually many jeeps near any cat sightings.

Also we saw a LOT more lions near Ndutu than at Seronera (127 sightings of 71 unique lions) and also saw many cheetahs there, 14 this last trip plus 3 more at Gol, which is easily reachable from Ndutu. Seronera is more woodlands than short-grass and we haven't seen a cheetah there yet.

Bottom line (based on a week near Seronera last April and two trips to Ndutu area in Jan 06 and 07) is that at this time of year Ndutu offers more, especially since you want "one final attempt to catch the migration".

Bill

Thanks Paco and Bill.
Paco:Yes I have read that thread by Eben and it was very very interesting reading. I am eagerly looking forward to his next post.
Bill thanx for that info on the driving time from Seronera. Let me see if my tour operator can fix something up in Ndutu area in this late hour in the peak season. Atleast it is comforting that even Seronera is not really way out and may just work. Eagerly counting days to start the trip. But it is so short that the thought is already depressing me. :( I can just hope I get real lucky in the two days I have. thanks again

Deep

<b>Let me see if my tour operator can fix something up in Ndutu area in this late hour in the peak season.</b>

Deep, Ndutu usually books solid for Feb thru mid-March about 8 months in advance but they have a generous cancellation allowance, so this year many people cancelled because of the Dec rains (bad move in my opinion, as it turns out).

You can see from this link that there are rooms at Ndutu lodge for many days in Feb, hopefully one of them coincides with your dates ... http://www.ndutu.com/upload/Availability.html

It's a big help if your driver has been there several times already, otherwise you might struggle to find stuff. At Seronera it's easier to find game since many just drive around looking for parked jeeps :)

Good luck!

Bill

Thanks Bill, My operator was able to get a special campsite in the Ndutu area so that puts an end to this Dillema. Thanks for all the info that helped me make these last minute adjustments. Just three more days to go and Hoping for the best now.

Have a great trip and please report back!

Yes, please let us know how it turns out. Have a fabulous time!

Hi all,

Thank you all for all the valuable inputs. I am leaving tommorrow. Will be at Ngorongoro Crater rim by this time day after. Will definitely report how it went when I get back....

Deep