From Remtula Nassary, Nomad Tanzania guide...

I've been staying at Lamai Serengeti for the last week; we are still seeing some herds crossing the Mara river north to south (these pictures taken 2 days ago) but I think these are amongst the last of the herds now and they will start heading south. The rain up here has been quite patchy this last week, and it appears to be raining a lot further south. Still, my guests were very happy to see this particular crossing.

Thanks to Rem for the update and images

There are still big herds crossing and recrossing the Mara river in the northern Serengeti and there has been a lot of rain around Nyamalumbwa and Kogatende which provides them with good grazing. Our guides have seen rhinos with calves and quite a few cheetah chasing down young wildebeest.

From Lamai Serengeti: we've had a lot of wildebeest around, our guests are seeing river crossings all the time. Because of the rain we've had here, it seems the big herds are all heading down and across the river again. We've even heard reports of herds near Ikoma. 

These great safari images are from Nomad guide Ken

There is plenty of water in the Mara River right now, and with huge numbers of wildebeest currently trying to cross (in both directions!) there are more than enough carcasses to keep the crocs & vultures happy.

It remains green and beautiful throughout the northern Serengeti at the moment, from Lamai across to Lobo and the northern Loliondo area around Nduara.

who has just stopped by after being out on safari at Serengeti Safari Camp with his guests.

"We were up by the Mara River, watching the crossings, Kogatende area...but I'm not telling you exactly where as it's a secret, as I can still take my guests there and not see any other cars!!!!"

Your secret is totally safe with me, I assured him.

"We saw about 300 wildebeest crossing, and I'm not exaggerating but at least 100 perished. Honestly. There were in such a panic to cross, there were lines of them trampling over other ones. It was very dramatic but not so easy to watch. We also saw a Tawny Eagle diving down, right next to where we were driving, and it grabbed a grass snake and took it back up to the tree; my guests were amazed it happened so close to the car".

And with that, he grabbed his next safari file and headed off out again with a smile.
 

Chediel reports seeing loads of big wildebeest herds around the Nyamalumbwa area as well as frequent rhino sightings.

But his most exciting report:

"On arrival in Lobo on the way to Serengeti Safari Camp, we saw a Martial eagle flying really low. I stopped the car to watch, one of my guests was a keen birder, and then to our total suprise it went after and killed a young Thomson's Gazelle. I have never seen this before! It struggled to drag the kill away, but it wouldn't let go".

The migration is en masse in the northern Serengeti areas of Nyamalumbwa to Kogatende. Our new lodge - Lamai Serengeti - is almost totally surrounded, as of this morning (the nights are getting noisy, with lots of predators moving in fast)! The weather is cool in the mornings and there has been some light rain.

From our Guides:

Emmanuel - spent the morning surrounded by about 500,000 wildebeest. What a sight! Yesterday I saw a rhino surrounded by 7 lion. The lion were stalking the rhion, but on noticing them suddenly he charged at them and chased them all away. An amazing scene to watch.

Ken - Seeing great Mara River crossings!

Just back in from safari. The migration is very fragmented with herds still in the Western Corridor, sizeable herds being seen in Lobo, Togoro Plains and around Mbuzi Mawe.  There are also reports of trailblazing herds stretching from Kleins and up into Bologonja.

The afternoons have been rainy most days with spectacular thunderstorms at times. This unseasonable weather, for our dry season, explains why the migration is so broken up.

Cheers, Richard Knocker, Nomad senior guide 

In a letter to the UN World Heritage Centre, the government of Tanzania has declared its intentions not to construct a commercial route across the Serengeti National Park. 

Read more: http://www.savetheserengeti.org/general/highway-plans-tabled/#ixzz1QAllJdi4