Serengeti NP


Giraffes on the Serengeti plains

Read about our trips to the Serengeti here
December 2013 - Serengeti in the wet
August 2014 - The Mara crossing!
December 2014 - Serengeti for Christmas
September 2016 - Back after a 2 year absence


 Overview
The iconic national park of Tanzania, and one of the most famous parks in the world.  Home to endless grass plains, the Serengeti offers plenty of both predators and prey.  With the high number of predators around, you have a high chance of seeing some good action.  And of course there's that small issue of a million and a half wildebeest.... one of the most spectacular migrations in the world.  For more information, check out the official TANAPA website http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/serengeti.html

Hunting cheetah mom and cub
When did we go? 
September 2010, dry season (self-drive)
August 2011, dry season (guided)
Feb 2012, short rains (guided)
August 2012, dry season (self-drive)
February 2013, short rains (guided) 
December 2013, short rains (self-drive) 
August 2014, dry season (guided)
December 2014, short rains (self-drive)
September 2016, dry season (self-drive)

Getting there
There are many ways to get to the Serengeti, including flights, so I'll just stick to the 2 options that we've done, which is driving...

When we didn't have a car (or when we go with others) we will fly to Kilimanjaro International Airport, stay over in either Moshi or Arusha, and then the safari tour will pick us up in the morning and take care of us from there.

Lions on Simba koppies
When self-driving, we drive from Dar to Arusha (which takes us about a day give or take a couple hours) and then drive into the Serengeti gate the next day.  The drive from Arusha to the Naabi Hill Gate takes about 4-6 hours which gets us there around midday, which is normally the plan.  Because of the 24 hour permit story, we rather get there a couple hours later, so that we can have a morning game drive as well the day that we leave.

Bear in mind, you drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (which houses the Ngorongoro crater) to get to the Serengeti.  You need to pay to drive through the NCA!  Yes, for tourists you pay $60pp and $40 for a foreign car just to drive through the NCA (no, this does not mean you get to go into the crater - that costs another $200... more about that under the Ngorongoro link).  And remember, that's only one way - to get out of Serengeti and back to Arusha, you go back through the NCA... and need to pay again.

 And the graded road is CRAP...  It's highly, highly corrugated because of the sheer numbers of cars (and buses) that drive along it fast to get to the Serengeti gate on time. It's bone-crunching - you have been warned... 60km never felt that long ;)

Elephant on the plains
Roads in the park
The main road from the Naabi Hill Gate, to the main area (Seronera) is much the same as the road leading to the gate.  Around the main viewing area of Seronera, the main roads are graded but still corrugated, otherwise fine.  Off the main roads, the roads are okay in the dry.  Towards the Lobo area the smaller roads are black cotton soil, so beware in the rain. 

Leopard looking up
Accommodation
There are all kinds of accommodation from big hotels to secluded 5 star luxury tented camps, just check up online depending on what you're looking for.  Be aware - there is no cheap accommodation in the Serengeti... if you're not camping you'll be lucky to find something under $250 pppn (excl park fees) and we think it's probably more expensive trying to book yourself rather than a tour company who can get deals.  If you do book through a tour guide, my advice is find out where you'll be staying and do a bit of research on the internet.  Sometimes the company will book a lodge that is actually outside the Serengeti national park, which - if you're into getting up early to chase the animals - is a waste of time.

Camping facilities
There are 2 types of campsites available - special campsites, and public campsites.  Special sites are reserved for you alone, have no facilities and are $50pppn.  I think they're also reserved quite far ahead of time, so we've never bothered with them.  The alternative is the public campsite (which you don't need to book ahead for), and if you're used to the Southern African way of camping, this is a huge letdown - come to the Serengeti for the wildlife, not the camping ;)
Giraffe eating from Acacia tree
In Seronera, there are 4 big campgrounds, which hold up to probably 60 or 70 tents if needed.  We've never seen it that busy - probably about 30 tents in one site at once is about the biggest.

Overall, the setting is this - most people are on guided safaris, and will have a guide and a cook with them.  So there is a big enclosed area that all the cooks will prepare the food, and then another enclosed area where everyone will have dinner.  Tents are set up next to each other (about 3 or 4 meters apart) - Most campgrounds have only one ablution block - it's about 2 toilets and 2 showers (always cold) for men, and the same for women.  Some toilets are squatting toilets, depending which campground you end up at.  The ablutions were cleaned every day when we were there. 

We've looked at them all, and find that Dik-Dik campground is the best - they've just built a new toilet block with more showers and toilets (Aug 2012) and the campground is probably the smallest, when we were there last, there were probably 4 or 5 tents at most. And they were quite far away from us... mainly because...Now here's the real kicker... if you have a rooftent, there are no facilities for you to camp... welcome to the parking lot :) 
Camping at Dik-dik campsite
There are no designated sites to drive in or anything like that - so you end up in the only place where you can get a car, in the parking lot with the other safari vehicles.  There's also no braai facilities so you'll have to cook in the kitchen or on gas. The Serengeti really doesn't cater for self-drivers at all.  Having said that, we camped at Dik-dik in the parking lot and had the best view of the veld.  Since it wasn't too busy (or loud as it can sometimes get) it was nice - all depends on the luck of the draw.  We have seen cars with rooftents drive into the campground, but that's also when there aren't any guided tours there, so assess when you get there. 

 Update September 2016: They now seem to be lumping the self-drive rooftenters with the Overlander trucks, and it seems only a matter of time we will be no longer allowed to camp at Dik-Dik campsite. 

If you can't face that, you can head to the Lobo campsite, which is further north, and the only other public campsite.  When we were there, there was only one guided tour there, so they allowed us to drive the car onto the ground. 

 Facilities were the kitchen, no dining area, old toilet block which was sufficient. But with a very low volume of traffic there, if you want the peace and quiet, you may want to check it out. (It may be a bit busier when the wildebeest migration passes thereabouts). The first time we went to the Serengeti (Sep we stayed there for a night.  It was very cool, but since then we've always opted for Seronera.  We've got used to the fact that camping in the Serengeti is crap, and would rather be where the animals are most - Seronera ;)

Marabou stork at sunrise
Wildlife viewing
There's a reason it's iconic... the best wildlife viewing we've ever had, and why we keep going back ;)
 
Yes, it's going to be seldom that you see something on your own - the traffic can get very congested the more rare the sighting becomes. Just makes it more special when you do see something awesome on your own.  And yes, it is possible ;)  What we found was as well, is that the lions are active in the day as well, so it's not just sleeping under trees - we've seen them hunting during the day, which was a pleasant surprise for us. 

Lions are so used to cars, they often use them as shade
Essentially, we've seen leopard, lion and cheetah on every trip that we've done (5 days each) and normally some action as well.  Of the other big 5, we've seen buffalo and elephant, but not rhino as they're only in certain areas.  The main area for all this viewing and most of our best sightings is around the Seronera river.  It's popular for a reason - the animals are chilled around the cars, the lions pay no attention, and you can spot a sighting from far away based on the number of safari vehicles clustered together ;) 

And of course then there's the migration...

Wildebeest kicking up dust while running
1.5 million wildebeest basically circle the Serengeti and the Masaai Mara in the space of about a year. Most of their time is spent in the Serengeti, with about 2-3 months in the Mara, to get there and back is when they cross the Mara river and all those world famous photos are taken.  

They move in a clockwise direction through the year, so cross from the Mara to Serengeti in October, head down the eastern side of the Serengeti savannah, calve in the south in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) and then move upwards again along the west once the calves are strong enough and head back to the Mara reaching there about August.  

These are NOT exact months, it's all based on the rains - please don't plan your safari based on my estimations!
The other big migration - zebra
We saw them in early March 2012, on the western plains heading northwards, and it really is pretty spectacular.  And the one that I didn't know much about - there are about 250,000 zebra that migrate as well, just ahead of the wildebeest.  So while we caught the wildebeest further south, the zebra were already in Seronera - fabulous sightings...  

The Mara river crossing is everything you see in National Geographic docos!
But you truly appreciate the migration when you see them cross the river, which we finally saw in August 2014.  Absolutely spectacular! While it's very difficult to capture the migration when they're on the plains, here they're all bunched together ready to cross - it's amazing...

All in all, if you're a wildlife enthusiast and especially if you love to photograph - this is the place for you - even if you need to camp in the parking lot ;)

Lion chases a Thompson's gazelle
Wildness factor
Odd one this... considering there are so many cars around and you're never quite alone, you'd think that it wasn't.  But the Serengeti still manages to feel wild, especially if you travel the roads a bit less traveled and drive into the plains...  and of course the fact that you're camping without fences, even if there are plenty of others around, always makes you feel like you're in the wild.

Other logistics
There a visitors' centre and a little shop that sells basics like water and sodas - don't expect much more than that.  There is also a basic garage where the mechanic can do some basic or tyre repairs (He may have to borrow your wheel spanner and jack like when we were there!).  

 You can also pick up diesel, although it's rather expensive.  But we have chosen to rather fill up there, after hearing that the fuel stations in Karatu were selling dirty fuel.  For more serious repairs, there is another garage at the Research centre- check with the parks board headquarters at the Seronera visitor's centre for directions.

The very basic garage at Seronera
You need a TANAPA card to get in, but we carry the equivalent in USD just in case the network is down.  You can also apparently pay in Visa or Mastercard, but we have always rather organised the TANAPA cards.  You need to pay at the Exim Bank in Arusha, Moshi (or Karatu I think) and then receive your prepaid card from them. Make sure you have the correct amount based on the days you intend to stay, and get the balances to be able to show in case something goes wrong.  Also, you need 2 cards - 1 for humans, 1 for the car...

 Update September 2016: You can now deposit money at the Exim in Dar es Salaam as well, which we did on our last trip and they were able to give us the cards then.  It saved us having to spend an extra day in Arusha trying to get it sorted out, but they don't know the exact amounts that need to be paid so it's up to you to make sure you get the amounts right.

Also be aware that because you need to travel through the NCA to get to Naabi Hill gate, you will also need to get a pre-paid NCA card, which is different from the TANAPA card.  They need to both be arranged beforehand, otherwise you'll be in for a very frustrating time! (Update Sept 2016: They've changed their process AGAIN - Check here for the details.)

Costs:  $60pppd park entry / $30pppn camping / $40pd for a foreign car
Payment is in USD but through pre-paid TANAPA cards.  Residents can pay in Tanzanian Shillings, and (hoorah!) as at July 2013, residents now get about 50% discount (on park fees only).  Entry fees for all parks increased in July 2016 - check out Tanapa's website for the latest costs.  You can also pay with credit cards - VISA and Mastercard.  We believe they accept VISA Electron as well, but we stick to the card system, so not sure.

Permits:  Permits are valid for 24hours only and are also only single entry.  So leave the park and you won't be allowed back.  (Not really a problem for the Serengeti).  They will charge you if you stay later than the permit allows - they are very fussy with checking it.  Also keep it handy - they have been coming around to the campsites in the evening to check and record the permits, guess there have been people camping illegally.

Leopard in tree

TANAPA cards:  You need a pre-paid TANAPA card to enter the gate, just like all the northern national parks.

Map:  The Serengeti map is pretty good - it shows the dry season and wet season migration routes of the wildebeest, which is handy.  We picked up one at the Naabi Hill gate, where they also have a little kiosk.

Our impression
How many times have we been? Just finished our 10th trip - we love it ;)

Would we go again?
Any time and every time.  We love the Serengeti - the photo opportunities, the sheer quantity of animals, and the quality of the sightings, make it hard to resist for us.  

Lioness walking in the plains


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