The wildebeest migratory route runs through Singita Grumeti.
Tourists to the Singita Grumeti Reserve in the Serengeti national park now have an additional incentive: They can view game from the comfort of a horseback.
According to Singita Grumeti’s equestrian guide Martin Dodwell, the horseback safaris will be available throughout the year except during wet seasons.
“For longer safaris we previously hired a mobile camp but hope to have our own next year,” he said.
According to Mr Dodwell, Singita Grumeti has 18 horses to start off the project. Most of the tourists who prefer game viewing through horsebacks are foreign from United States, Italy and United Kingdom.
Part of the wildebeeste migratory route is in Singita Grumeti. With the introduction of the horseback game viewing, visitors can now even trace and follow the wildebeest movement.
According to the Grumeti game warden, the introduction of the horses is not harmful as there has not been an outbreak of any disease on the horses or the wildlife.
The new horses in Sasakwa lodge are kept in a secure yard and only released after they have been dewormed and vaccinated against African horse sickness and equine influenza.
Horses move freely in all terrain and do not need to follow roads or tracks that mean they have very little impact on the environment, which is ideal in conservation areas.
The Singita Grumeti reserves spans 140,000 hectares of relatively untouched wilderness.
Apart from the wildebeest, Singita Grumeti reserve boasts over 400 species of birds and over 65 different animal species.
Grumeti game reserve has been ranked 16th position among the world’s top hundred hotels and ninth in Africa by guests helping Tanzania to win recognition in the tourism industry.
Horseback safaris, though new in Tanzania, are common in Kenya, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Singita Grumeti resort is assured of conquering a huge number of customers especially June, July and August when wildebeest migration takes place.
Wildebeest take advantage of the strongly seasonal conditions, they spend wet season on the southeastern plains of Tanzania, and the dry season in the woodlands of northwestern Kenya.
The migration is rarely ever the same in terms of timing and direction. The animals sometimes move off the open plains earlier and remain in the northern woodlands for longer.
