Safari in Tanzania in February: the calving season trip

February is the best wildlife month in Tanzania and it is not the one people book. Here is what actually happens on the southern plains, and why a shorter itinerary works better than a longer one.

What is happening

Around half a million wildebeest calves are born in the southern Serengeti and the Ndutu area in a window of about three weeks, most of them in February. The herds concentrate on the short-grass plains because the volcanic soil there produces the grass a lactating female needs.

Every predator in the ecosystem knows this. Lion, cheetah, hyena and wild dog are all working the same ground at the same time, and predation is visible in a way it simply is not in other months.

Nothing else in East Africa concentrates this much life and this much death in one place at one time.

Why the itinerary is shorter

The southern plains are close to Ngorongoro, which is close to Arusha. You do not need the long drives north that August requires, and you do not need internal flights.

A five-night trip covering Tarangire, the crater and three nights at Ndutu delivers more wildlife than a nine-night crossing-season itinerary, at a lower cost, with a fraction of the driving.

This is the single best-value week on the Tanzanian calendar and almost nobody sells it hard, because the margins sit in the longer trips.

The conditions

• Warm and largely dry, with short afternoon storms that clear.
• The plains are green and open, which makes for excellent photography and easy spotting.
• Roads are good. The mud that makes April difficult has not arrived.
• Camps are open and moderately busy, well below August levels.

Where to stay

Mobile camps. In February they position themselves on the southern plains specifically for this, and being on the ground with the herds rather than an hour’s drive away is the whole point.

Permanent lodges around Ndutu work too. Anything further north is in the wrong place this month.

[TABLE: our February mobile camp options by tier, with the nightly rate and the drive time to the calving grounds.]

What you will and will not see

Likely: enormous herds, constant calving, lion on kills, cheetah hunting on open ground, hyena clans.

Possible: wild dog, which are seen more often here than elsewhere on the circuit.

Not this month: river crossings. Those are August to October and eight hundred kilometres north. If crossings are what you came for, February is the wrong trip.

Combining with a climb

January or February climbs pair well with this. The mountain is warm and quiet, the safari half is at its best, and the whole thing fits in a fortnight without internal flights.