The Great Migration @ Mara Triangle

One of the main reasons that we chose to make Kenya our first stop was to see the Great Migration. The Great Migration is the largest annual migration on the planet where over 2 million herbivores, mainly wildebeest, migrate in a clockwise direction from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Masai Mara in Kenya (Jan to Mar) and then back to the Serengeti from the Masai Mara (Jul to Oct). In their search for lusher, greener grass and water, the animals travel close to 1000 kilometers. Their journey is full of tense and tender moments, thousands of baby animals are born enroute while predators stalk and kill their prey, fulfilling the circle of life.

I have seen documentaries of the Great Migration and usually they focus on the crossing of the Mara River in the Masai Mara National Reserve. During the crossing, the hungry crocodiles feast on the hordes of wildebeest that try frantically to make it across. It is an impressive spectacle because of the sheer numbers of animals and the unapologetic display of the relationship between predator and prey.

Because of the videos I have seen, in my mind, the Great Migration equates to the dramatic crossing of the Mara River. Thinking about it, I couldn’t quite make sense of how crossing a river could last four months from July to October. Would the wildebeest just be crossing non-stop during the entire migration period back to the Mara? Or does it only happen during certain months until all of the wildebeest have crossed over? Or does it happen in one huge herd so if you miss it, you miss it? Does it happen day and night? It was all not very clear to me. 

We left very early in the morning because the drive from Enonkishu to the Masai Mara National Reserve is around two hours. The Masai Mara National Reserve covers about 1510 acres of African grasslands and meets the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the south. They are part of the same ecosystem and share a contiguous border so animals can freely pass from one park to the other.  

We entered Masai Mara National Reserve from the Oloololo Gate in the Mara Triangle. The Mara Triangle is a part of the Masai Mara National Reserve, occupying about one-third of its land area, and has views of the Mara River with good vantage points of the Mara crossing.

Upon entering the park, we noticed the grass in the reserve appeared much taller than in Enonkishu. David confirmed that the reason is because there are no grazing animals in the reserve. In the conservancies, the Maasai people with their cattle live side by side with the wildlife, whereas the reserve is for wildlife only. After getting deeper into the Mara Triangle, we began seeing herds of wildebeest everywhere. They were so dense in some areas that they blanketed entire swathes of the savanna just like herds of grazing cattle and it is said that the herds are visible from space. In comparison, in Enonkishu, there is only a sparse population of wildebeest that blends in with the zebras and impalas. David used the terms “migrants” to describe the wildebeest in the reserve and “residents” to describe the wildebeest in Enonkishu.

We approached the Mara River where the famed crossing was to be take place. The good vantage points were already occupied by ten or so other safari vehicles waiting for a chance to witness the spectacle. On the opposite side of the river, in the greater area of the reserve, there were even more vehicles parked and waiting. When we first approached, I thought we lucked out and were arriving just as the show was about to start. Then David started chatting with other guides and rangers and that is when I realized that some of the other spectators had been waiting there for hours already. There was no guarantee that a crossing would take place on any given day.

According to David’s intel, the wildebeest crossed for about three hours the day before so it seemed promising. After waiting for about 45 minutes, our hopes dwindled. What would trigger them to cross? Wildebeest have no alpha, no leader. If one suddenly crosses for whatever reason, the others will follow suit. We were parked beside some rangers and Leo joked with them that if this was China, the management of the operation would be entirely different. There would almost certainly be timed crossings controlled by an artificial wildebeest leader. When it was time, the wooden wildebeest would be pulled across the Mara River by a string and right on schedule, the others would follow and give tourists the viewing of their lives. The rangers chuckled and David seemed to get a kick out of what Leo described. “They cross when they cross,” they said and that was that.

We were lucky enough to catch a crossing at another point along the river but we were not well-positioned to observe it. David maneuvered the Land Cruiser in between a couple other vehicles so we could at least catch a glimpse of what was happening. We were not close enough to see the crocodiles and didn’t see any gruesome kills. Some vehicles who got the good views had been waiting there for hours, betting they were at the right spot, while others just lucked out. From what I could tell, every vantage point was still quite far from the action.

The Mara River crossing is a small part of the Great Migration that gets the most attention because of the dramatic spectacle it creates. In fact, the sheer presence of the millions of Wildebeest present on the plains of the Mara every year is the real miracle and wonder that is nature. 

It was past lunch time, so we drove off to find a good tree for a picnic. David found just about the most picturesque spot in the world. We were beneath the endless blue sky and sheltered by a single lone tree in Maasailand. The gentle breeze kept us comfortable like a quiet sigh of contentment. We laid down some colorful Maasai shukas as our picnic blankets and devoured the picnic that Joel had prepared for us – ham and vegetable quiche, salad, oranges and water. Everything was simply perfect.

Less than a hundred meters from where we picnicked, David spotted two male lions relaxing by a watering hole, maybe getting ready for an afternoon nap. Their bellies looked rounded and full from their last meal. Very much like us, they were living in that moment with nowhere else they’d rather be.