Live Update From Bill in Tanzania!

1st game drive in beautiful n. serengeti pride of 13 lions including 6 cubs about 6 months old, a serval and wildebeest by the thousands! Masai Mara has been very dry while serengeti has had some rains so a large portion of the herds are here. Laying in my tent with the lions roaring.

I received the above message hours ago (on August 25th here in Colorado).

Bill is now in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. He's staying at the Lemala Mara Camp which is in the northern part of the Park. For his full itinerary and links to his entire trip, click on the appropriate link below:

• Leg 1: Arrival in Nairobi, Kenya (Aug. 24th)


• Leg 2: Serengeti National Park, Tanzania - Lemala Mara Camp (Aug 25-28)
• Serengeti National Park August 27th Text Update
• Serengeti National Park Videos
• Lemala Mara Luxury Camp
• Final Serengeti Game Drive
• Leg 3: Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda (Gorilla Trekking!) - Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge (Aug 29-31)
• About Gorilla Treks
• Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge
• Leg 4: Overnight in Johannesburg (Sep 1st)


• Leg 5: Victoria Falls, Zambia - Tongabezi Safari Lodge (Sep 2-3)
• Tongabezi Lodge, Zambezi
• Leg 6: Okavango Delta, Botswana - Mapula Lodge (Sep 4-7)
• Mapula Lodge Accommodations and Guiding
• Leg 7: Okavango Delta, Botswana - Sankuyo Bush Camp (Sep 8-9)

Alright - Bill has now moved on from Nairobi Kenya and into Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. He is on the extreme northern edge of Serengeti National Park and is staying at the Lemala Mara Camp.

Above, you can see Bill's progress for the 2009 Summer Safari. He is currently in Serengeti National Park and has officially kicked off the game viewing part of his safari. He'll be in Serengeti National Park until September 28th - then it is on to Gorilla trekking in Rwanda. Please note that the map is interactive - you can click on markers to get details about Bill's safari trip - and you can also zoom in and zoom out on the map.

Serengeti National Park Wildlife

The Great Migration

While there is much to talk about when it comes to Serengeti National Park, this blog post will focus primarily on the wildlife that Bill will see - and as we can tell from his update - the wildlife that he has already seen.

The region that Bill is currently in features kopjes, open plains - along with some woodland. It is very much like Kenya's Masai Mara. The nice thing about this part of Serengeti National Park is that the human traffic is signifcantly less than what you'll encounter just over the border in the Masai Mara. The big draw here is of course the wildebeest along with all of the predators who look to benefit from the Great Migration.

Following the Rains

This year, the rains have been sparse in many parts of Eastern Africa. The northern Serengeti region has received some rain, while the Masai Mara has been considerably more dry. As a result, according to Bill's message, the wildebeest herds tend to be favoring the northern Serengeti region as opposed to the Masai Mara at the present time.

Wildebeest Mara River Crossings

One of the sights people particularly hope to see is the wildebeest crossing the Mara River. Between late July and October, depending on weather, the herds actually spend a good deal of time crossing the Mara back and forth in search of the best grazing. It's an impressive sight to see hundreds of thousands of animals plunging into fast flowing water and braving some very large crocodiles in the process. Actually finding a crossing is very difficult and largely a matter of both luck and patience as a herd may look as though they're about to cross, only to decide to head off the other way but it is typical to see very large portions of the herds on the Tanzania side of the river. The varied habitat is great for all of the predators and the area is well known for its big cats.

Bill took the video below on a previous safari to the Serengeti. As you can tell from the thunder and moisture in the video, rainfall was even more plentiful on his last trip.