Posted on: 3rd September 2009
Category: SAFARI PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKSHOPS, The Great wildebeest Migration 2009
The Migration
If you are a nature lover , I am sure you will feel the same as I do about the wildebeest migration. It is one of the 7 wonders of the world ,it has been said to be the greatest show on earth ,I have been looking forward to this event for years , but nothing can prepare you for something so spectacular ,you have to see and experience it.
I did not know it but there is quite an art to seeing the migration, here is how it goes:
The wildebeest come out of the woodlands and walk towards the Mara river.
Once a group of wildebeest have started gathering at the rivers edge , the vehicles (tourist) start lining up ,but the secret is to stand 500-800 meters away from the potential crossing.
This is so that the animals don’t feel boxed in and they can see an exit route out of the river.
Then in there own time (can be several hours between crossing attempts) the wildebeest wait for some brave companion to take the first step towards the water, inevitable the rest follow .
9/10 times they are spooked by something or some vehicle being to close to their exit point and they all rush up the embankment again and the whole process starts again . This can happen several times before the real thing, but when it happens all hell breaks lose , its something like a motocross hole shot , all the vehicle start and rush forward at the same time to the same spot.
The wildebeest come running down the dusty embankment in there numbers ,a cloud of dust towers into the air as the wildebeest plunge into the Mara river in the hope of finding fresh grazing on the other side, all this is happening at the same time.
Once you have your spot next to the river that’s were you stay. Depending on the size of the herd a crossing can last 10-15 min or sometimes 2-4 hours.
wildebeest run
dust run
the crossing
I will be posting some more photos soon
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:00 pm
a must see in your life experience Hilton. look forward to seeing the other aspects of the migration from raptors to predators….
September 12th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
wow the pics are brilliant hun….. must have bin amazing !! im on the wrong side of the world missin so much x
September 20th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Hey Hilton..
Great read!! Cant wait for more articles. Keep them coming please!