Meet the Ndutu lake , a wildlife rich area best known for the great migration : The Ndutu Lake is located in the northern part of Tanzania and it’s found inside the Serengeti national park. Serengeti national park is the second largest national park in Tanzania and Africa after the Ruaha national park which covers a total area of 14,376 square kilometers.
The Serengeti national park is also known as the animal kingdom this is because it has much different wildlife that is found here. The beauty of the landscape, the birds as well the wild animals give it the most unique features that make it named that way. The Serengeti national park is made up of three parts.
Parts of the Serengeti national park.
The park has mainly the 3 parts, one being the Seronera valley which is located in the southern part of the park, this part of the Serengeti is highly covered by a lot of wildlife and has the vegetation cover is savannah with dotted acacia trees this part is also called the Serengeti plains. Most of the wild animals found in this place are hoofed animals like the wildebeest breed and feed from. Most of the predators are found here the hide and wait for their prey. It’s the best place to watch the large carnivores in action as they hunt their prey and go for their food. The hyenas, the lions, leopards, and the cheetah are mostly found here. It’s the border between the Serengeti plains and the Serengeti woodlands, the plains stretch towards the southern and eastern part of the park while the woodlands go all the way towards the north and west.
The other part is the western part of the park which has the Grumeti River which is highly characterized by denser forests and bushes. This part is where you will find most of the martial eagles, crocodiles, hippos, and pates monkeys. The perfect place to visit his part of the Serengeti is during the month of late May and all the way to early July when the migration normally passes through this river. While the third part is the northern side that meets with the Maasai Mara reserve of Kenya this part of the national park normally has a little number of tourists that reaches here. The Serengeti national park is the oldest national park and is being visited most by tourists. This part is dominated by the hills as well as the open woodlands. The animals that are found in this area include the giraffes, Dik Dik, and elephants. This part is where the great migration movement normally occurs as it is close to the Maasai Mara of Kenya hence this is their main route when moving away from Serengeti national park as well as towards it.
Meet the Ndutu lake where the great annual migration takes place its where the heart of the south Serengeti lies. This part of Serengeti is located in the southern part of this national park and covers a total area of 40 square miles. It’s the most spectacular place for game viewing during the wet season, the tourism activities are normally at the peak of the wet season of the year which is normally around December and to April. The Ndutu Lake is saline or alkaline in nature, and the areas around it are covered with acacia woodlands as well as the areas that are covered by the short grass plains.
In this part of the park, there are giant herds of wildebeest as well as Zebras that are highly attracted by the seasonal rain that is pouring around this area. During the wet season that’s when the female wildebeest give birth to a large number of their calves. This place also attracts most of the predators as they come around their area to have their prey as they are found in abundance in this area. The green vegetation cover also attracts different bird species both the native and migratory birds giving it another character as the host of different birds and hence attracting most bird lovers to this area.
The main animal species that are located in this lake are the Lions, cheetah, small-spotted Genet, Caracal, Elephants, giraffes, leopards, owls, and Striped Hyenas. It’s the only place where you can locate all the big five in just a small area, you won’t take long before seeing the whole big five animals. Ndutu is also the only area where you will find the 6 species of big cats which are the leopards, lion, cheetah, Caracal, Serval, and the wildcats.
What to do while in Ndutu Lake.
- This part of the Serengeti national park offers the most majestic view of the wildlife as well as the landscape in general. It’s the favorite place for photographers as well as filmmakers. It’s at this place where they made the famous movie the lion King. It’s also the place where famous authors, filmmakers as well as wildlife biologists do their research. So while on the Tanzania wildlife safari to Serengeti national park make you capture the spectacular pictures of the wildlife that is found here.
- It’s the center for the great migration, this place is normally perfect to visit during the wet season as the game drive becomes especially unique and thrilling. At this point it’s where the animals are at this plane, most of the animals are attracted to this place. It’s normally high season and hence there are a lot of vehicles with visitors. If your main motive is to see the great migration then you should know that it’s normally unpredictable and hence there is a pattern that they move, and most of the large herds arrive in November and December and move off around April and May.
It is best to research and talk to the safari company that you’re planning to travel with they will give you clear answers on when is the great migration occurring in order to catch it.
- Bird watching activities can also take place here in this area, and it’s normally around the same time thus between December to April as it’s the wet season and hence most birds can be seen.
