Nyerere (Selous) National Park

African Wilderness At Its Best

I stayed at the Rufiji River Camp which is one of the smaller camps in Selous. The proximity to the river meant we had the opportunity for a river safari and a walking safari as well as the traditional trips out on a 4x4.

Selous is wonderfully remote and we hardly saw another vehicle which in my opinion is the best way to experience a safari. The guides were good and spotted a lot of wildlife we may well have missed. The number of lakes meant there was always the chance to see wildlife and birdlife around there. We didn't see all the Big 5 but there were no rhino in the area where we stayed.

I loved my short stay in Tanzania and I will be going back.

Selous Game Reserve is one of Africa's best kept secrets. It is exspansive, pristine and breathtakin

Selous being the size of Switzerland is populated with no more than 170 people, we felt we were right in the heart of Africa, we felt privileged to experience the vastness of this untouched land.
Everything we experienced in Selous was second to none.

real wild Africa

I went to Selous with my wife in March when the rain season was about to begin:the scenery was amazing and very different because of the green of the grass and the leaves on the tree.The rain wasn't a real problem for the safari and not too frequent.
We stayed in the Lake Manze tented camp, a little but comfortable camp fully immerged in the wild: elephants, ippos and buffalos wondered through the camp during the day and the night.The wildlife and the birding are really great in Selous: you can see hundreds of animals everywhere (there was even a Puff Adder within the camp). In conclusion I can recommend the Selous to everyone who loves Africa and wildlife.

Selous is amazing and remote place - highly recommend a visit.

We went there 4 of us in a group and stayed in a nice lodge run by a half- Tanzanian man and his wife. They were excellent hosts and we enjoyed staying in a mud hut , and experience we never had before.
In Selous we saw an abundance of wildlife, an elephant family and a great bunch of lions (we counted them up to 13!!!) and other beautiful grazing animals.
I will never forget my time in Selous as everything I saw before on NatGeo just suddenly came to life there.

Absolutely wild. One of the few park in Africa for wild dogs sighting. Astonishing landscape and beautiful lakes! the only negative point: is expensive and a guide is needeed because the road are not indicated. Without an expert guide you get lost 100%!

An all-around African experience.

Landing on a dirt airstrip is a great way to land into this beautiful reserve. Immediately you are greeted by your personal guide, who takes you first thing on a game drive to your lodge, or in my case, the Manze Lake Camp. My experience went as follows: we told our guide that we wanted to see wild dogs. 20 minutes later, they were there laying in front of us. The lodge itself was excellent, you have a personal chalet, the food was served family style and tasted great. The next day we told our tour guide that we wanted to see mating lions. Again, 10 minutes later, they were there in front of us. This whole idea of seeing anything you want, sums up Selous Game Reserve. It is a magical place with great wildlife, food, and hospitality. If I could suggest one thing, it would be to go in the month of june, july, august, when it is colder there, any other time is very hot.

Game Viewing on demand

When we arrived at the airstrip in the Selous and met our guide for the weekend, he asked, "what do you hope to see while you are in the Selous?" Being a veteran game park visitor, I aimed high...my response...wild dogs. He laughed and said, "we don't see those very often." We sent off for the camp, intending to do a bit of game viewing en route.

About halfway through the trip to the camp, we saw some vultures circling and thought we would follow them to see if there was anything interesting. Soon we came across a pack of 4 adult wild dogs who had just finished eating their share of an impala they had brought down. They were engaging in all their post feast rituals (wild dog aficionados will know what I mean), while a nearby hyena took over the carcass, continuing to force the vultures to wait their turn. We watched this game-scape play itself out for a while- the hyena got fed up fending off the large birds alone and eventually tore off a hunk of carcass for himself, and left the bulk of it behind for the vultures to fight over. I am not sure how long we sat there- could have been a few minutes, could have been all afternoon- we were mesmerized. When the dogs were gone and the hyena was gone, it seemed time for us to move on as well. Our guide then, with a grin on his face, said, “okay, I found some wild dogs for you, what would you like to see next.” Without skipping a beat, I responded, “mating lions.” He laughed, and off we went.

We probably drove only another 5-10 minutes when we came upon a pride of lions- 3 adult females, each with cubs; a total of 7 cubs, of varying ages. Wow, this safari was only getting better. For quite a while, we watched these cubs frolic and play, as their mothers dozed, but it was getting late and lunch was waiting, so we pushed on to the lodge.

As we approached the lodge, not more that 300 meters from the gate, we came across the mating lions. It was spectacular. We watched them for nearly an hour, forgetting all about lunch. The remarkable anthropomorphic behavior- she nudges him, “come on dear”, he grunts, gets up, walks around her, mounts, nuzzles her in the ear, she complains, he gets off and flops on the other side of her, in a state of exhaustion and she rolls over on her back, as if to say, “if I put my legs up in the air like this, I think I am more likely to get pregnant.” It was fascinating!

And all of this was just on our way to the lodge!

Amazing, wild but luxurious, safari the way it should be

If you want a safari where you can guarantee what you see and when, then this isn't the safari for you. The Selous is huge, the size of Belgium if I recall correctly, which means it’s harder to find the animals but rewarding when you do, also means you can go a whole day without seeing any other people. Although there is conservation in progress there isn't 'farming' of animals and they roam free without restrictions so each day becomes exciting as you can follow the same path taking the previous day but see a completely different Selous.

Maybe we were lucky, but on the transfer from the runway, little more than a dirt track, to the lodge we came across 4 lionesses who were just resting after a big kill and feed, the vultures were now tidying up the carcass. We stayed at Sand Rivers, which has an excellent position over the river which was teeming with crocs and hippos, although be expected to share your room, which is open towards the river, with monkeys, bush-babys and various bugs, but that’s all part of being on safari. Be warned the monkeys are very inquisitive, they know when your morning coffee is coming and want the sugar and the biscuits, it’s a funny start to each day. Given the lodge is open to the wild, as night falls you must be escorted by an Ascari for protection, one night a herd of elephants decided the trees by our room were their dinner.

Given the position of the lodge, we were able to take a number of river safaris, given a completely different view as you get a bit more up close to the crocs and hippos, remember the latter are the number one killer of humans in Africa, so hope your guide knows how to navigate. If you’re lucky you may get to see a herd of wildebeest or elephants drinking and washing in the river, the birdlife here is amazing as well. But there is nothing like switching the engine off and just drifting listening to the sounds. You can also do walking safari, with an armed guard, where your guide can talk to you about some of the plants and smaller animals you may come across, as well as looking for tracks of the bigger ones

You will see lots of elephant, giraffe, zebra and impala, you will see lions, but there’s no guarantee when, our encounters were more by chance than planning, in fact our day we specifically set out on a lion hunt proved fruitless until we made the journey back to camp and there was a young lion just sleeping by the dirt track. We were lucky on our first full day to see a young leopard, he had been spotted a few days earlier in the same tree, so as we approached our guide was apprehensive he would be there again but luckily he was. After this meeting he wasn’t seen again that week, despite various other parties looking for him. On our trip we were also managed to wild dogs and hyenas, both are rare sightings and we have to thank our eagle eyed guides for being able to find them. As mentioned earlier due to the remoteness, when you return to the lodge in the evenings you regale your stories of the day to others in the camp over drinks and dinner, as you are likely to have been the only one to have seen yours sights that day, it makes for plenty to talk about. Although all the jeeps are in contact with each other if a rare sighting is made and others are in the area to see it.

One highlight, amongst many, at Sand Rivers is the ability to go fly camping. This is going back to basics, sleeping out in the open, with nothing but a mosquito net above you, although they provide a small modesty tent for changing in. The advanced party had set up the camp by a lake which was full of crocs, wait till the sun goes down and shine a torch across the water and see their yellow eyes looking back at you. A bar is there, a 3 course mean by the lake and the wild all around you, plus a couple of armed guards who stay up through the night just in case.

The guides and hosts were all excellent with good food and plenty of it, breakfast is served to order just don’t expect it in a hurry, but there is no need to rush as everything is done to your timings. The evening meal is served together on big table for all guests, which makes for a great atmosphere as you all share your stories of the day, and don’t forget afternoon tea before you head out for your late afternoon drive, with a different freshly made cake each day. The lodge bedrooms are grand, with a bathroom open to the river but with trees providing enough privacy and a wonderful waterfall shower. Overall this was an amazing trip, raw safari but in luxury.

While the wildlife was a bit more difficult to spot - more spread out - but the "bush vibe" was intense. We had plenty of wildlife in our camp at night - monkeys and monitor lizards during the day, with bush babies and more monkeys at night. You have to fly in - giraffes were on the runway and had to be chased off.

This is my favourite Game reserve and am into game reserves other than national parks ! Sable Mountain Lodge of A tent with a view is where i have taken guests in my former life as a safari maniac! There others like Rufiji river lodge (high end ) and smaller camps but try Sable Mountain lodge! Yes I used to work for David (disclosure) Coolest Yorkshire Man ! :-)