GUIDE ON SELOUS IMPALA CAMP IN TANZANIA

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Selous Impala Camp is a small wilderness retreat, not far from the beautiful Lakes Siwandu and Mzizimia, and overlooking the Rufiji River in the 30,000 square kilometer Nyerere National Park (Selous) in Tanzania. Originally a camp for family and friends of the owners, it is now a select base for wildlife enthusiasts on an offbeat adventure vacation in Tanzania, who are eyeing for seclusion and intimate contact with many animals that wander freely about the camp.

Selous is one of the largest game reserves in the world, four times larger than the Serengeti and far less frequented, giving a wider range of activities than many other parks visited on tour in Africa. Boating, photography workshops, specialized bird watching for the twitchers and land driving safaris for terrestrial and aquatic fauna tracking are arranged to suit the individual, although night drives are not permitted.



From Mtemere Airstrip, an introductory drive across grasslands alive with buffalo, warthogs and kudu demonstrates the unspoiled loneliness of an area where no permanent human settlement is permitted and few tourists penetrate.

There are large numbers of elephants and giraffes here as well as lions and leopards, with large packs of round-eared African wild dogs which are extinct in other parts of Africa. You will be welcomed on arrival with the chance to make plans to meet your personal objectives for your adventure game trip in Selous. The keynote is flexibility and personal attention from a staff which outnumbers guests by a factor of more than three to one.

Accommodation At Selous Impala Camp

With only 8 carefully sited tents shaded by palm trees and tamarinds, Selous Impala Camp is one of the smallest in Selous and a particularly intimate base for an African holiday. The tents are raised on stilts on individual wooden decking for safety and to catch every breeze. They are meru style with canvas and net walls, an extended roof over a covered patio and en-suite bathroom with zipable partition with kikoy curtains hanging down. The roof has double canvas cool shading and access is by wooden steps.

From safari chairs on each verandah, there is a wonderful view of the river and of the wildlife crossing to wander on the camp grounds. Askari guards ensure your safety on a Selous Impala Camp safari. There are 6 twin or double tents and 2 more for families with children on their Tanzania safari. Each tent has double or single twin beds, and a separate dressing room with a canvas-shelf wardrobe. Family accommodation comprises two separate tents on a single deck, each with its own bathroom.



The bathrooms have wash hand basins, flush toilets and showers, and are supplied with toiletries and filtered drinking water. The tent interior area also features colonial style furnishings and safari desk, hand-woven rugs and a floor fan. A UK style plug socket supplies generator or back-up battery power and there is a lockable safe.

The main lounge, bar and restaurant is a spacious, open plan raised wooden deck with thatched roof and comfortable sofas and chairs to relax and enjoy the views on your photo tour in Tanzania. Close by is a refreshing pool also overlooking the Rufiji River and its wildlife visitors.

Safari At Selous Impala Camp

Your individually planned program will cover boating safaris on the river with skilled guides who have spent their lives on the water, getting well acquainted with hippos and crocodiles as well as the edible tiger fish to be caught there. You can learn much about the bush and its inhabitants on a leisurely guided walking safari, taking your time and becoming familiar with tracking skills and with the minutiae of the terrain, not to mention the giant termite mounds.



No African tour is complete without a game-watching drive in a shaded, open-sided 4 x 4 vehicle with on-board refreshments and radio communication for safety and for up-to-the minute exchange of information on tracks and sightings in this vast area of pristine wilderness, mainly miombo woodland populated by a greater diversity and density of species than in any similar ecosystem, with more than 100,000 elephant, significant numbers of lions, over 100 black rhinoceros, and arguably one of the world’s largest populations of buffalo and hippopotamus.

Rarities include ungulates such as sable antelope, topi, and Sharpe's Grysbok and primates like the Uhehe Red Colobus monkey and Sanje Crested Mangabey. Over 350 bird species are recorded. Gloriously painted Rufus-winged sunbirds, bee-eaters and rollers as well as Udzungu Forest Partridge, Guineafowl and threatened Wattled Crane may add to the fascination of your very special safari in Tanzania.

Dining At Selous Impala Camp

Fragrant tea or coffee is delivered to your verandah to start the day with home-made biscuits. You can enjoy breakfast before the first of your daily activities since the animals wait for the initial daylight sun rays before ambling down to drink at the river. Dining at Selous Impala Camp is aptly described in Swahili when they wish you “Chakula chema ni kitamu”.

It certainly does promote a good appetite and is very tasty with food brought in from the surrounding highlands and prepared in a cosmopolitan blend of international dishes with Tanzanian spices from the mainland and Zanzibar, and the inventiveness of the local chef’s supplemented with wine recommendations.



Breakfast is a selection of cereals, fresh fruit, new-baked bread, and filling cooked dishes on request from eggs to fried potatoes. Lunch and dinner are set menus usually served in the restaurant, under cover or on the verandah, but can be taken in the bush for an authentic African safari trip experience.

There is an elevated walkway to the bar and an outdoor fireplace on the decking for a sundowner campfire, a highlight of any Selous tour, with beer, soft drinks or cocktails and freshly prepared savory snacks as you watch a magnificent sunset over the river and listen to the evening chorus of animals, birds and insects accompanying your travelers’ tales. Sundowners can also be enjoyed on your game-watching excursion before your mandatory return to camp by 6.30 - 7.00 pm each evening in time to bathe or change for dinner.

Related Pages

1. Nyerere (Selous) Safari Park Guide	2. Best Time & Weather To Visit Nyerere (Selous)
3. Nyerere (Selous) Map	4. Safari Lodges, Camps & Hotels In Nyerere (Selous)