Tremizzle

Well, we finally decided on our Feb. '07 itinerary, only to find that all of our first and second choice lodges are booked solid.

Since I'm not that comfortable with the "waitlisted" idea, we're thinking of postponing the trip to the first two weeks of March instead. (Staying at Mbuzi Mawe, Ndutu Lodge and Crater Lodge, followed by 4 nights at Fundu Lagoon)

Will March be very rainy? Is this a bad time to go? Should we just postpone until June?

Any help much appreciated.

Bill_H

"Well, we finally decided on our Feb. '07 itinerary, only to find that all of our first and second choice lodges are booked solid"

Patience ... there may be cancellations if people aren't allowed to bring cameras and laptops as carry-on ...

"Will March be very rainy?"

You mentioned Ndutu, here's the link to their 20 year weather history ... March is their rainiest month by far ... http://www.ndutu.com/pages/weather.html Keep in mind Ndutu is under the Ngorongoro Highlands "rain shadow" so gets less rain than areas further into the Serengeti, where the rains seem to form over Lake Victoria and roll in each afternoon during the 'long rains'. The guide we used in January and April had a camping party near Ndutu in March and got stuck in the mud for over 5 hours, fwiw, so it's not a great place to be during heavy rains.

Also, we skipped the Crater in April because our guide told us there were usually areas around the Hippo pools and the big lake that you can't drive to during the long rains, so maybe limited access there as well, though I later wished we had spent a couple of days at the Crater in April after all.

"Is this a bad time to go? Should we just postpone until June?"

We visited Serengeti during the first week of April this year, a time with a great deal of rain (we were gambling the drought would continue, a gamble we lost). It was, uh, interesting to say the least ... on the plus side you'll likely see massive herds on the short grass north of Ndutu and many species of birds ... on the negative side you may find some areas are impassable (we were turned back 3 times), the flies are fierce and incredibly numerous, and some days you won't get to do much if the rains are heavy. June should typically be much drier but the grass will be very high so you can't see as much and the flies are probably worse, plus the wildebeest are typically off the short-grass plains and moving north along the Mbalageti River so you won't see the huge masses (still plenty of animals, just different compared to the more open short-grass areas).

If you want to gamble on the weather March is a more interesting time, but "interesting" can sometimes mean "a whole lot of trouble".

Here are some of the images we took April 1-10 2006, I think a rainy March will be very similar. http://members.aol.com/bhilton665/ta...2006/index.htm

I would personally probably go in March or April because I like photographing birds and because the wildebeests on the short grass are pretty inspiring, but June is probably a safer bet, weatherwise.

Bill

Roccco

Tremizzle,

The Serengeti is BEAUTIFUL in the first two weeks in March, especially in the Ndutu area. Have a look...I was just there this past March:

www.kodakgallery.com/rocco/tanzania

I stayed with Nomad Tanzania (www.nomad-tanzania.com) but any quality mobile oerator such as CCAfrica's Tanzania Under Canvas or other may provide a similar experience. I did like having my own guide & vehicle with Nomad.

Tremizzle

Thanks! I think I will check availability for early March and hope for the best! If not, I'll be back soon for June/July recommendations ;-)

countingdown

Tremizzle,
I was in Tarangire, Ngo Crater and the Serengeti last March (17-29). I was pleasantly surprised with the astounding beauty as well as the gloriouw weather. Temperatures were never unbearable and several afternoons we had wonderful thundershowers roll in. I only remember a couple of times between game drives, while in camp, being hot, other than that, I was truly surprised at how pleasant it was. The parks were beautiful, wildlife was abundant. I have no other point of reference, but for me, I can't imagine it could have been any better.
Teri