Nyerere National Park
Nyerere National Park was established in November 2019 from part of the Selous Game Reserve Selous game reserve is one of Africa’s largest parks, but most of it has been set aside for hunting. The animal viewing area that is open to the public is relatively small but very rewarding, with many predator sightings and superb boat safaris on the Rufiji River
The Selous Game Reserve was established in 1922 and named after Sir Frederick Courtney Selous, a famous big game hunter, British officer, conservationist, and explorer. In 1982, it was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Game Reserve is the largest faunal reserves in the world, covering 50,000 Km2.
The Selous Game Reserve is one of the few places that can combine both land and river safaris along the Rufiji River and is teeming with hippo and crocodile and the birdlife is fantastic.
It’s now called Nyerere National Park
The game drive allows you to go off-road to have a better game view, but the off-road driving is monitored by the authorities and done in a responsible manner.
It the home of more over 580 bird species can be spotted in the national park. And its best place to meet the highest concentration of Africa wild dogs left in the world, the number of concentrations elephants, giraffe, buffalo, black rhinoceros, zebra, wildebeest, and impala can always be spotted as well as lions, leopards, hyenas, hippos, crocodiles, are widely spotted.
The Park has the highest density of Lions in Africa, which tend to laze around the lakes waiting for animals coming to drink. Also, the Africa’s oldest and largest protected wildlife areas. The Park has relatively undisturbed ecological and biological processes as well as showcase a significant predator/prey relationship and a great diversity of vegetation, including groundwater forests, swamps, and lowland rain forests.
WHAT TO DO!
- Boat Safari
- Walking Safari
- Wildlife Safari
- Birding Safari
- Culture tourism
- Fly-camping Safari
- Sundowner, Bush lunch and Dinner
GETTING THERE
Most safaris to Selous are fly –in packages from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar Island, also as a part of a bigger package from Dar es Salaam, including a visit to the Mikumi National Park, Ruaha National Park and Udzungwa National Park.
- By scheduled or chartered flight from Dar es Salaam International Airport (DAR) or Zanzibar international airport (ZNZ). But also schedule flight from other Parks to reach the Nyerere National Park (Selous Game Reserve).
- By road from Dar es Salaam to Selous Game Reserve
BEST TIME TO VISIT
There are broadly 2 seasons that can be experienced at Selous Game Reserve like all other places of Tanzania.
- Dry season (June to October),best time to visit Selous as the wildlife gathers near waterholes and rivers due to the less vegetation, also elephants and lions are quite easy to spot as they come out of the bush.
- Wet season (End of November to May) which makes the wildlife viewing really hard; however, this season attracts birders as there are a lot of migrating birds that can be spotted in the wet season.
ACCOMMODATION
Offers a superb and an extremely high standard of accommodation, personal service ranged from budget, mid-range and luxury lodges located on the back of Rufiji River Inside and outside the Nyerere National Park (Selous Game Reserve).
