Serengeti Pioneer Camp is located in the south-central Serengeti with year-round wildlife, access to Moru Kopjes, Lake Magadi, and the seasonal Great Migration.

The camp is perched atop a granitic outcrop of boulders known as a 'kopje' and the views from the guests areas span over miles of Serengeti hills and grasslands to the horizon. The camp has the feel of a 1930s mobile safari camp, evoking a sense of what it must have been like to go on a safari adventure in those early days.

The Great Migration spends several months in the southern Serengeti's short-grass plains between January and March each year. During this time, the masses of migrating blue wildebeests give birth to around 500 000 calves and remain on these grasslands while the young babies grow and gain strength. The location is characterized by volcanic soil, which creates abundant and nutritious grass for the lactating females.

Pioneer Camp is located to the north of the wildebeest breeding grounds, but close enough so that safari drives can enjoy this spectacle of nature on full-day safari drives with a picnic lunch packed. The migration moves through the camp's location in Nov/Dec on its way south and again in Apr/May on its way back north.

Other activities offered include a visit to Lake Magadi, a large soda lake which attracts abundant bird life and is seasonally visited by flocks of flamingos. Hot-air balloon safaris are a wonderful way to see the Serengeti from above.

The camp is also located very close to 'Moru Kopjes', a group of granitic outcrops which have historic significance to the local Maasai people who lived in this area for centuries before being pushed out when the national park was declared. Amongst the giant boulders are some rock paintings and 'Ngong Rock', which creates musical sounds when small rocks are thrown against it. The rock was once used as a communication tool by the Maasai.

Pioneer Camp offers 12 guest tents with campaign-style furnishings and en-suite facilities with indoor shower and flush toilets. One of the tents is a two-bedroom, double unit, which is ideal for a family. The main guest area of the camp includes a dining tent and bar/lounge tent, both of which offer excellent views from their elevated position. A swimming pool and deck is a lovely way to relax during the midday. The camp is 100% solar-powered.

About the Serengeti

The Greater Serengeti is part of an extensive ecosystem that includes Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and other reserves, wildlife management areas, and game controlled areas.

The Greater Masai Mara (directly to the north in Kenya) includes the Masai Mara National Reserve, as well as numerous private Mara conservancies. Together, the combined Greater Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, which combines the areas described above, covers roughly 15 000 square miles (39 000 sq kms).

The Serengeti-Mara is home to a very large number and diversity of wild animals and is also the location of the well-known "Great Migration" of over 2 million herbivores (read more below). This is arguably Africa's greatest overall wildlife destination.

Wildlife densities in the Greater Serengeti are some of the highest in Africa, with commonly seen herbivores including blue wildebeest, plains zebra, Thomson's gazelle, topi, Grant's gazelle, hartebeest, giraffe, elephant, buffalo, impala, waterbuck, bushbuck, warthog, and many others. Predators seen often include lion, leopard, spotted hyena, cheetah, serval, and jackal. Hippo and crocodile are found in large numbers in the larger rivers, including the Mara River and the Grumeti River.

About Seronera

The central sector of the Serengeti is called Seronera. Tributaries of the Grumeti River flow through Seronera, providing ideal habitat for leopards, which are here in good numbers. Between the rivers are wooded valleys and savanna grasslands, which attract all of the Serengeti's wildlife, including well-known lion prides, leopard, spotted hyena, jackal, serval, topi, impala, hartebeest, buffalo, giraffe, Grant's gazelle, Thomson's gazelle, waterbuck, reedbuck, dik-dik, warthog, and others.

Like the Serengeti's southern grasslands, Seronera has great wildlife throughout the year, but the animal densities are at their highest during the rain season (November to May), when the fertile soils produce rich grasses for the migrating herds of wildebeest and zebra. The wildebeests use the southern plains as their birthing grounds during January and February. After some time for the babies to grow stronger, the herds begin moving slowly north, usually reaching Seronera sometime in April.

Besides for the perennial Mbalageti and Orangi Rivers (both of which are small streams really and only flow during the rainy season), there is very little permanent water in Seronera. Lake Magadi, a small saline pond of water fed by the Mbalageti River, supports superb bird life when water levels are sufficient, including flamingos in the many hundreds. Seronera's landscape is characterized by areas of Acacia woodland interspersed with grasslands. Sparse riparian woods grow along the river courses.

The Serengeti's National Park Headquarters are located in Seronera and its Seronera Visitor Centre offers permanent displays and exhibits, a shop, video screenings, and information on wildlife sightings and road conditions. The park's staff village is located here as well.

It is worth noting that because Seronera is the most accessible part of the park and also has a high density of safari lodges and camping sites, it is usually the busiest sector in terms of vehicles and tourist numbers.

The Great Migration

One of nature's greatest living spectacles is the Great Migration, a term given to describe the year-long, circular, clockwise march of over two million herbivores across the Serengeti and Masai Mara grasslands. The migration animals are made up entirely of two species: the blue wildebeest and the plains zebra (the majority of which are wildebeests).

The migrating herds follow their instincts to seek out fresh grazing and so the migration is ongoing, with the herds ever moving and taking a full year to complete a cycle across the Serengeti and Masai Mara. The animals move not as one herd, but as tens of thousands of animals in multiple herds of various sizes and spread out for many miles as they move.

The wildebeests and zebras take advantage of strongly seasonal conditions, spending the wet season (November through May) on the plains of Tanzania's Serengeti and the dry season in Kenya's Masai Mara. The wildebeests give birth between January and March on the short grass plains in the southern Serengeti.

The timing of the migration is rarely ever the same year-to-year, as local conditions influence grass growth and as such, the location of the bulk of there animals cannot be known precisely. Rains and other unknown conditions seem to direct the timing of the migration, but generally, it is known within several weeks when the animals will be in a general location.

The animals spread out to cover a vast area, but the main bulk of the animals moves south into the northern Serengeti around late-October and continue moving south towards the Serengeti's southern plains, arriving there sometime in January to graze on the rich grass growing on the volcanic soils. It is here on these short-grass plains, between January and early March, when the wildebeests give birth to their young en masse, producing some 500 000 baby wildebeests.

The herds remain on the southern short-grass plains until late March, giving the young animals time to grow and become strong, before heading north and west again. Many of the animals move towards the Serengeti's Western Corridor and Grumeti Reserve and the rest straight north into Central and Northern Serengeti, where they remain during June and into July. The herds move back into Kenya starting in late July, with the bulk moving into the Masai Mara in August.

Although many visitors time their visit to the Serengeti to coincide with the Migration, any region within the Serengeti offers very good wildlife viewing outside of the months when the migration may be present. This is because it is only the wildebeests and zebras that migrate, while the rest of the animals, including the major predators like lion, leopard, spotted hyena, and cheetah, as well as all the other herbivores, including springbok, gazelles, elephant, topi, hartebeest, and many others, do not migrate.

A popular aspect of experiencing the Great Migration is observing a herd as it crosses the Mara River, which requires animals swimming through waters inhabited by large Nile crocodiles that wait for a chance to get their first substantial meal in many months.

The dramatic river crossings (which take place along the Mara River in both Kenya and Tanzania) are certainly a spectacle and not for the faint of heart, with many of the wildebeest and zebras taken by crocs or succumbing to drowning or trampling in the chaos. The best chances for seeing a Grumeti River crossing is in June, while Mara River crossings are best in July and August.