Best Travel Guide To Nyerere National Park Wildlife In Tanzania

Best Travel Guide To Nyerere National Park Wildlife In Tanzania

Covering over 55,000 square kilometers, Nyerere National Park formerly known as Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania is the world's, and Africa's largest protected area, and is relatively undisturbed by human impact. The sanctuary harbors one of the most significant concentrations of elephants, black rhinoceros, cheetahs, giraffes, hippos, buffalos, lions, zebras, hunting wild dogs, and crocodiles, amongst many other species.

About Nyerere National Park:

It's one of the largest protected spaces in Africa, and now called Nyerere National Park (formerly Selous Game Reserve) is a fabulous, beautiful world of big cats, big elephants, and big herds of wildlife. The landscape here is also something special, with a beguiling mix of the mighty Rufiji River, palm-fringed lakes, deep gorges, and wild woodlands. The Selous, as most locals still call it, has a refreshingly wild feel about it, and it’s nicely removed from the crowds that you often get in the parks of Tanzania’s Northern safari circuit. This is one of few places in East Africa where you can enjoy the region’s famous safari trails in relative peace, and where each wildlife encounter still feels like a real discovery.

Location of Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania:

The Nyerere National Park is a protected area in southern Tanzania. In addition, the Selous Game Reserve is functionally linked with the 42,000 km2 Niassa Game Reserve in Mozambique, and this is another important factor that ensures its integrity.

The Park is exceptionally covered in Miombo woodlands, open grasslands, riverine forests, and swamps, making it a valuable laboratory for ongoing ecological and biological processes. The rising water of the Rufiji River, creating a very dynamic ecosystem, seasonally floods large parts of the wooded grasslands of the northern Selous.

Wildlife Animals in Nyerere National Park:

Nyerere National Park features a diverse range of wildlife with significant predator/prey relationships. There are also important populations of ungulates including sable antelope, Lichtenstein's hartebeest, greater kudu, eland, and Nyassa wildebeest. 

The sanctuary harbors one of the most significant concentrations of elephants, black rhinoceros, cheetahs, giraffes, hippos, buffalos, lions, zebras, hunting wild dogs, and crocodiles, amongst many other species.

Birding in Nyerere National Park:

In addition, there is also a large number of birds with over 350 species of birds, including the endemic Udzungwa forest partridge and the rufous winged sunbird. Because of this high density and diversity of species, Nyerere National Park is a natural habitat of outstanding importance for the conservation of biological diversity. 

Interesting places in the park include the Rufiji River, which flows into the Indian Ocean opposite Mafia Island, and the Stiegler Gorge, a canyon of 100 meters in depth and 100 meters in width.

Most of the Park remains set aside for game hunting through several privately leased hunting concessions, but a section of the northern park along the Rufiji River has been designated a photographic zone and is a popular tourist destination. There are several high-end lodges and camps mainly situated along the river and lake systems in this area.

Key experiences in Nyerere National Park:

The main activity in Selous is daytime vehicle safaris, which are usually done as morning and afternoon excursions.

Some lodges also offer full-day safaris and we certainly feel that the park is varied and interesting enough to want to explore further afield rather than simply stick to the patch around your camp.

Unusually for Tanzania, off-road driving is permitted, so it's much easier to make the most of important sightings.

A real highlight in Selous is the motorboat safari. This may not be the only reserve in East Africa to offer this kind of river safari, but it's certainly the best.

As well as the obvious opportunity to view hippos and crocodiles, encounters with elephants along the riverbank are not unusual and the birding can be excellent. Some camps can head upstream to Steigler's Gorge, an atmospheric spot where the river becomes hemmed in by forested hillsides.

Safari operators in Nyerere National Park are also permitted to offer a walking safari, which represents a very pleasant change of pace and a chance to make a rather more intimate connection with the landscape.

Most camps do their walking early morning before the heat of the day has risen, sometimes ending up with a bush breakfast in a remote location before continuing on my vehicle.

Some lodges also offer overnight bivouac camping in remote locations, for guests who want a slightly more intimate and potentially exciting bush experience.

Incidentally, most people around here refer to this activity as 'fly-camping', which refers to the old days when hunters would go out and camp in 'fly country', referring to the tsetse flies that previously infested these wildlife areas and protected them from human settlement.

The Reserve is perfect for walking safaris that are permitted in the Selous sanctuary, and boat trips on the Rufiji River which are popular activities for tourists.

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