Nyerere National Park
Nyerere (formerly Selous) is all about getting right out there into the wilderness and feel Africa getting under your skin.
One of the most revered strongholds of animals on earth and the largest game reserve in Africa.
Wildlife connoisseurs adore Nyerere, and for us, for that reason, it’s familiar territory. It’s a huge area way down in southern Tanzania. The Rufiji River is its life-force: swirling, tawny waters – full of hippopotamus and crocodile - cleave the eleven million acres of bush, woodland, hills and grasslands. In this huge, fascinatingly diverse ecosystem, we revel in the anticipation of discovery as it unfolds before us.
It’s hard to explain, but it's as if we've squeezed through a creaking, old gate to gain the freedom of Nature’s secret garden. To be in Nyerere is to suddenly walk onto a hidden riverbank, and see the flash of a leopard leaping the rocks on the opposite bank, is to watch from a treetop hide as a herd of elephant silently crosses a waterhole, is to come upon a pack of African hunting dogs alone on their kill as you round a curve in the river.
Kigelia
Kiba Point
Sand Rivers
Charlie, Ruaha
In the field with Nomad
What makes Nyerere National Park special for me is how big and wild it is. It is part of a huge connected wilderness, stretching from what used to be the Selous Game Reserve through to Mikumi and almost down to the Mozambique border. When you are here, you really feel how far you are from towns, roads, and busy life.
September is one of the best times to visit. It is still cool, it’s dry, and many animals come close to the water, so the game viewing is very good.
What I love most about guiding here is the variety. One day you are on the river, another day you are walking barefoot on the sandbanks, then driving through forests and open plains. Every day feels different, and that is what makes this place special for me.
Hamza Mmole
Sand Rivers, Nyerere, Southern Tanzania
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In the entire park, there is not a single road, so your entire experience will be on foot. This is a wholly unique wilderness and a long way off the beaten track. But the lake, the beaches, the extraordinary forest, and of course the chimpanzees all make it a journey well worth undertaking.
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This stylish but rustic camp has nabbed the most beautiful spot in Africa’s biggest wilderness park, the unheralded Selous.
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Greystoke Mahale, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, has been around for many years. In the far and not much-explored west of Tanzania, it’s the best place in the country (probably in all Africa, actually, outside of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) to observe chimpanzees in their natural habitats.