With the life-giving Rufiji river meandering through the heart of this area, it is one of the best places to encounter countless hippos, crocodiles and birdlife up-close during a boating safari. The Rufiji’s many tributaries, side streams and small lakes are an invaluable life force for wildlife.
The combination of traditional, land-based game drives and walking safaris plus water-based safaris makes it great value in a truly remote wilderness area.
The Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) established the Nyerere National Park in 2019. An area of 30,893 km2 (11,928 sq mi) in the northern part of the well-known Selous Game Reserve, just South of Dar es Salaam, was portioned off for inclusion in TANAPA’s portfolio of national parks. It is now one of the world’s largest wildlife sanctuaries at twice the size of Belgium. This new park was named for Tanzania’s founding father of the nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere who passed away in 1999.
The Selous (pronounced ‘se-loo’) Game Reserve, now Nyerere NP remains one of Africa’s oldest and largest protected areas. In 1896 it was proclaimed as a protected wildlife hunting reserve by the then German Governor of Tanganyika. In 1922 the reserve was named after a British explorer, officer, hunter and conservationist called Frederick Courteney Selous. Frederick was born in London in 1851 and became a professional hunter at the age 20.
Nyerere is one of the few places in Tanzania that allows for an exciting combination of traditional game drives and water-based safari. During your boating safari, chances are excellent you will spot a variety of wildlife coming down and into the water to quench their thirst. It is an unusual perspective to observe game from a boat in the water, as if you are looking from the inside, outwards.
Along the way you will marvel at the large concentrations of honking hippos and belly crawling crocodiles, offering an up close perspective at these interesting water mammals. During hot days you may even find herds of elephants cooling down in the water or crossing a waterway with their trunks raised like periscopes.
With over 30,000 km2 of land to explore during your game drive you will have plenty of opportunity to search and enjoy a diverse range of species. You are bound to come across large herds of elephant and buffalo. A highlight of a visit to Nyerere will include meeting up with a pack of African Wild Dogs.
Along the Rufiji waterways and lakes you will witness plenty of hippos and crocodiles too. Some of the rare species of antelope include the Roan Antelope, Brindled Gnu, Lichtenstein hartebeest, roan and sable antelopes and Kudu.
The best time to visit the Nyerere National Park is during the dry season from June until October. This coincides with the main safari season in East Africa. During this time wildlife is concentrated around the waterholes, lakes and rivers, which make it easier to track and find. With the bush less dense and grasslands receding, this time of the year is also ideal for viewing and photographing wildlife.
During November and December Nyerere usually enjoys its first rains after a long dry season. This signals the start of what is called the ‘short rains’. A few weeks after the first rains have fallen, the landscape changes dramatically. Depending on the rainfall levels, new grasses, leaves and flowers may appear in an overnight flush, painting the landscape in verdant colours. It can be quite hot and humid during this time until the end of March when the rainy season starts again. Game is still plentiful though their movements will change as they tend to move further away from the lakes as small pools or pans of water appear.
The ‘green season’ marks a typical dry spell during January and February before the long rains start again, in March. At this time of the year the vegetation is green though the grasses are still receded allowing for good game viewing conditions. You may find the Northern Carmine bee-eaters following game-viewers, snacking on disturbed insects. Most days will be dry but refreshing afternoon or early morning showers may occur towards the end of this period.
Most camps in Nyerere will close for the duration of the long rainy season from mid-March to end May. The roads get muddy and difficult to navigate, with accessibility limited. From June onwards most of the rain will be over and camps will reopen for the main safari season. The presence and absence of rain creates a beautiful rhythm around which everything in nature revolves.
Nyerere National Park is located in south eastern Tanzania, bordered by Mikumi National Park to the northwest and Udzungwa Mountains National Park to the west.The best way to access the park is by air. There are daily scheduled flights from either Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar with a flight time of under an hour to a variety of different airstrips in Nyerere. There are several airlines serving this route, some of which include Coastal Aviation, Safari Link and Auric Air.
Due to its location next to Lake Nzerakera we offer both game drive experiences in our open sided 4WDs, plus water-based safaris on our pontoon boat and speed boats.
It is from Lake Nzerakera where you can explore the lake and the waterways of the Rufiji river. This is no ordinary boat ride. Expect to be wowed with a mouthwatering lunch service during your water safari. You will be amazed at what our chefs achieve outside the confines of the kitchen.
After a boating or game drive experience there is plenty of time to enjoy the comfort of our camp. Siwandu’s semi-permanent luxury tents are spacious, comfortable and private. The shaded pool area is utter bliss for cooling down and relaxing before you depart on your afternoon activity.
When staying with us we will make sure your dining experiences are romantic and special, whether setting up a table for dinner in a private elevated location in camp just for you or serving breakfast on the banks of Lake Nzerakera, or by the fireside under the african star canopy.
We recommend you spend at least three -four nights at Siwandu in the Nyerere National Park. This will give you enough time to experience all the water and land based safari activities. If you have more time to spare you can take advantage of our special longer stay value added packages by staying for seven nights and only paying for five nights.
Combining the Ruaha National Park in the South of Tanzania with a safari experience in the Nyerere National park is a popular choice for our guests. The Ruaha National Park is also well off the beaten track with our camp, Jongomero tucked away in the most remote corner of the park. The park is about 130 kilometers west of Iringa and 625 kilometers from Dar es Salaam.
