WHERE TO STAY IN NYERERE PARK (SELOUS)

There is a fantastic range of choice of Nyerere (Selous) accommodations on an AfricanMecca wildlife tour in southern Tanzania, from the ultimate in pampered colonial era sumptuousness to the most authentic spartan simplicity and immersion in the wilderness experience. Whilst many visitors on safari prefer an unpretentious wilderness experience close to nature and ecologically restrained, still for some intrepid adventurers safaris in East Africa are all about a return to a bygone era with the ultimate in luxurious accoutrements, personal service and access to top-notch Selous guides.

In general, lodges offer extremely high standards of accommodation and personal service, whilst camps deliver a closer communion with the bush, although there is a significant variation, and value is defined not only by comfort and appearance but by isolation, exclusivity, community and ecological responsibility, as well as the range of activities possible and standards of guiding, cuisine and quality of service.



Most lodges have swimming pools and some also have private plunge pools or outdoor showers on their viewing decks. Dining is usually flexible, in impressive surroundings with silver service, crystal and fine linen. In the highest range of luxury accommodation, Azura Selous aspires to recreate times past with sumptuous air-conditioned villa tents hung with an overhead fan, antique furnishings and personal butler service, whilst Serena Mivumo River Lodge comprises an opulently spectacular complex of classical luxury chalets for guests on boutique trip in Africa.

Beho Beho was the first lodge built in the Selous. Family owned, it offers home-from-home relaxed comfort in stone cottages with wonderful views in the Beho Beho hills, where they catch every cooling breeze. Sand River consists of eight thatched cottages, stone-built, thatched, quiet and comfortable in an unrivalled riverside setting. Also in the “Safari Tier 1” is the very different Siwandu Safari Camp, composed of two tiny tented campgrounds in the heart of wilderness, providing ultimate seclusion and privacy for small groups to experience genuine bush living.



In the “Safari Tier 2”, Selous Impala Camp is another small tented base of less pretentious impact where the emphasis is on personal attention and flexibility in pursuit of the most cherished close to nature dreams of every AfricanMecca guest on safari in Selous. Selous Serena Camp is another fine deluxe option.

More budget-conscious visitors have the choice of no-frills tented accommodation in close contact with the free-roaming animal world as at Lake Manze Camp, Rufiji River Camp or the larger Selous Mbuyu Safari Camp with its more regimented services. Selous River Camp offers a choice of mud huts or simple backpacker tents just outside the Nyerere National Park (Selous) boundary and are deeply involved with the ethnic local community.



So the choice is yours: unadulterated natural world with casual doorstep encounters with indigenous wildlife; ecologically responsible simplicity, cultural involvement, international or ethnic cuisine, individual or standardized activities, pampered or stoic lifestyle, historical self-indulgence or ethnic simplicity, antique curlicues or clean modern lines. There is a Tanzanian dream holiday safari experience to suit every traveler.