I have to disagree (respectfully) with the over-simplification that
the migration is over-rated. If you are planning your first safari to
East Africa (and maybe your only safari for years to come), it is
smart to plan around the migration.

I was in the Western Serengeti a few weeks ago and was amazed to see
Landcruisers filled with tourists desperately searching for wildlife.
They were staying at camps in the West and were driving to back and
forth to Seronera to find animals! They were sick of all the driving -
and the road there is not even that bad! Some of then decided to fly
back to Arusha - the thought of driving back in the dust to Ngorongoro
with little hope of seeing anything was too much for them!

I even saw a few vehicles driving up through the southern Serengeti!
These poor people appreciated the wide open spaces and lack of other
vehicles but they saw exactly one animal - a lost jackal - in the
distance after 4 hours of driving!

Meanwhile, my partner was on safari in the Mara and they hardly drove
anywhere. They parked the cruiser on a hill, picnic and sat there all
day watching the action in all directions. They saw hyena's chasing
some limping wildebeest, lions facing off against elephant, jackal
sniffing out a baby impala, cheetah strolling by, while listening on
the radio for a crossing! They were on the Western side of the Mara
and saw very few other vehicles - except for the crossing areas as you
stated. While they did not see a crossing, the whole day was filled
with anticipation anyway.

Who do you think had the better safari?

I agree that there is more to an East Africa safari than the migration
- but for most people a safari is a once-in-a-decade experience. For
them, planning to be in the vicinity of the migration is a good start.
And then they can branch out from there.

Eben

lid (Johan W. Elzenga) wrote in message ...
Hans-Georg Michna wrote:

On Sun, 3 Oct 2004 13:12:00 +0200, lid (Johan
W. Elzenga) wrote:

jamboafrica wrote:

You know my friend that time of a season in Masai Mara there will no
migration all animals will be in Serengeti on Tanzanian side.

Nonsense. There will be no migration, but there are still plenty of
animals in Masai Mara all year round. Most animals are residential, not
migratory.

Johan,

I also think it is time we leaned a little against the current
overvaluation of the migration. Some tourists are now made to
believe that a visit to east Africa is worthless if they don't
see The Migration.

I had already written something to that extent a little while
ago.

I agree that a river crossing is something worth seeing, but on
the other hand the vast majority of tourists who actually visit
at the time of the migration won't see that anyway. It often
requires far more patience than the normal tourist bus has.

Absolutely true. And also, the more minibuses on the bank of the river,
the less likely that the crossing takes place at all. So the more people
concentrate on seeing a crossing, the less likely they will actually see
it. People should concentrate less on the 'obvious' things like big cats
and migration, and start realising that there is so much more to see. I
rather look at a group of zebras on my own, than one cheetah surrounded
by 30 cars.