August 26-27: Northern Serengeti National Park

After traversing the Western Corridor of Serengeti National Park and then out of the Park through the Ikoma Gate, where I had my accident, I travelled north through Game Reserves and mostly tribal lands (i.e., settlements) to the west of the Park and reentered the Park at the very northwestern-most and litle used gate called Lamai, north of the great Mara River which drains a significant part of the Maasai Mara in Kenya (more on that later). This section of the Park is centered on the Mara River the grassland savannah’s on either side of the river. Here are a few photos to get you in the mood:

I was able to book a “special campsite” inside the Park along the Mara River at a place called Kogatende. This place is the major hub for Park acitivities in the northern section of the Park along the Mara River. There are many private lodges/camps in the vicinity and there is an airstrip to accommodate all the tourists that don’t want to make the painfully long drive to the area. Indeed, this place was an absolute zoo at times, with as many as 50-100 safari vehicles from the lodges/camps and mobile safari outfits concentrating at the airstrip to pick up and drop off guests. There were as many as 3 planes on the grass tarmak at times. Crazy busy! Needlesstosay, my time here was not private. However, this is the location of the famous migration crossing of the Mara River with the huge Nile crocs taking down wildebeest and zebra as they brave the crossing. And this area is where the Serengeti National Park of Tanzania extends into the Maasai Mara where most of the migratory herds are concentrated this time of year. SO, if you want to see the big migration, the Mara River crossing, or the herds out on the grassland plains of the Maasai Mara, and NOT have to go to Kenya, this is the place to go. Despite all this safari activity I had an amazing amount of privacy on my drives and wildlife observations. It is such a huge area and there are so many places to drive to see the wildlife that everyone disperses from the airstrip pretty quickly.

My “special campsite” wasn’t very special, unfortunately, and thus I didn’t even remember to take a photo, but it did not matter too much because I spent almost no time at my campsite other than to sleep. I won’t describe the landscape or my wildlife observations here as the video does the talking for me. I will say, however, that my time on the Mara plains was, well, how can I describe it, SUBLIME! The wildebeest herds on the grassland savannah was a wildlife spectacle unmatched, at least in my experiences. Although the video doesn’t capture the multi-sensory “gestalt” of the experience, it is the best I can offer.

Serengeti Maasai Mara composite video (30 minutes)

OK, I’m off to the Maasai Mara on the Kenya side of the border and to hook back up with brother Mark and Kirsten. See you there.

Photo Gallery: