AUTHENTIC SAFARIS & TOURS IN NYERERE (SELOUS)

The best way to see all that a Nyerere (Selous) exploratory tour offers is by a game drive through the area during the early morning or late afternoon, and combined with a walking and boating trip. Go with expert AfricanMecca recommended camp guides in four-wheel-drive vehicles designed for bush travel comfort with unobstructed viewing and photography, with sunshade roof and open sides.

On board refreshments are provided for sundowner cocktails. Two-way radio enables communication with like-minded bush colleagues about latest insider information on tracks and sightings. Track and trail prides of lions, each pride having its own territory with access to water beside one of the many beautiful lakes, rivers or tributaries that form a network from one side of the reserve to the other.



Cheetahs are rare on the plains or occasional leopards by the riverine forest, but you are certain to see matriarchal elephants leading their extended families to dig for water in partly dry river beds or to play in streams and muddy wallows. You will also surely see the fierce painted African wild dogs with their patchwork coats of black, white and reddish brown blending with shadows of tree branches against sand and red earth.

Their huge, round, fur-lined ears catch every rustle of sound in savannah grass, whether of potential victims, mainly gazelle and impala, or enemy lions that often steal their prey and kill their young. The dogs hunt in the early morning and evening, coursing their targets co-operatively in relays, over many miles, and communicating in bird-like high-pitched yelps.



It is an incredibly rich and varied habitat, but because of its perilous nature, and also the struggle of controlling poachers, a strict curfew is maintained, forbidding night game drives and requiring visitors on photographic wildlife holiday in this zone of East Africa to return safely to their camps and lodges by 1830-1900 hours.

Boat cruises on the Rufiji River and its amazingly beautiful ox-bow lakes can be taken in the afternoon, in shaded, flat-bottomed metal boats with powerful outboards, piloted by experienced river guides intimately acquainted with the aquatic life. They will introduce you safely to the fighting tiger fish that make such good eating, as well as to the basking crocs, bathing hippos and a fantastic variety of birdlife.



Other Tanzanian excursion activities on your AfricanMecca Selous itinerary can include cultural visits to local communities just outside the reserve boundaries, cycling around the villages and walking safaris, often with meals provided in the bush and such amazing birding this southern area can offer.

Bush walks are leisurely Selous safari saunters setting out early to avoid the heat of the day in search of intimate knowledge of an area close to your accommodation. An armed guide accompanies you to point out fascinating details of tracks, droppings, medicinal herbs, reptiles, plants and insects you would never otherwise notice in finer detail while on a game drive.