THE SEASONS
the season shapes the route
Tanzania changes character through the year, and so do the journeys we run. Some months suit the moving camp while some belong with our partner lodges. Every trip starts with a conversation about when.
The rains lead, we follow.
THE YEAR
The Tanzanian ecosystem is organised by water. The rains bring up the grass, the grass draws the herds, and the predators follow the herds, so the best wildlife viewing moves through the country over the year in a broadly predictable circuit. Reading that circuit, and knowing where it actually is this year rather than where the textbook says it should be, is what shapes every route we draw.
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CALVING SEASON
The richest weeks of the year.
From December to March the wildebeest gather on the short-grass plains around Ndutu, and in the peak weeks up to eight thousand calves are born in a day. It is the greatest concentration of wildlife on the planet, and the predators of an entire ecosystem come in behind it: cheetah hunting in daylight, lion and hyena everywhere the grass moves.
THE CALVING JOURNEY
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The beauty of the rains.
GREEN SEASONS
Rain makes moving a heavy camp tricky, so in the green months we do something different: journeys run lodge to lodge with partner properties we know and trust. The country is at its most beautiful, emerald and full of young animals, the light is the best of the year for photography and the parks are at their quietest.
GREEN SEASON
The migration is a year-round story.
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THE DRY SEASON
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When the game comes to the water.
From June the country dries, the grass drops, and the wildlife concentrates on whatever water remains: the Silale swamp in Tarangire's far south, the Katuma pools of Katavi, the rivers of the Selous. This is the most reliable viewing of the year, day after cloudless day, and it is when the far south opens, June to October, with the camp travelling as far as Ruaha and Katavi.
THE SOUTH
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THE CROSSINGS
On river crossings.
Body: From July to October the migration masses in the far north and crosses the Mara, thousands of animals at a time, one of the great spectacles in Africa. We position on the quieter side of the river, further from the commercial airstrips. Beyond the river crossings, the far north at this time is magical with herds filling the landscape, big cats in the kopjes, and the longest game-viewing days of the year.
THE NORTHERN CIRCUIT
