Nyerere Selous Safari Day Trip by Plane from Zanzibar

Nyerere National Park, the former Selous

Nyerere National Park covers the northern part of the old Selous Game Reserve in southern Tanzania and is the largest national park in the country, with roughly thirty thousand square kilometres of miombo woodland, open grassland, riverine forest and wetlands. The Selous was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its size, its untouched landscapes and its wildlife, and the area north of the Rufiji River that you visit on this trip is where the game viewing is concentrated. There are no towns inside, no fences and very few vehicles, so the feeling is of a wilderness rather than a park.

A Selous safari from Zanzibar is possible in a day because the park has airstrips inside it, about an hour's flight from the island. The game drive starts within minutes of landing and covers the lakes and the woodland of the northern sector, the most rewarding part of the park for a single day.

The Rufiji River and its lakes

The Rufiji, Tanzania's largest river, flows through the park in a broad braid of channels, sandbanks and oxbow lakes before reaching the Indian Ocean opposite Mafia Island. In the northern sector it feeds a chain of lakes, among them Tagalala, Manze, Nzerakera and Siwandu, whose shores are the richest wildlife areas of the park. Hippos crowd the shallows, large crocodiles bask on the banks, and elephants, giraffes, buffalo and waterbuck come down to drink through the day.

The game drive follows the lake shores and the palm-fringed channels between them, where the birdlife is spectacular: fish eagles, kingfishers, herons, storks and skimmers. On the two-day options a boat safari on the Rufiji adds the river view of the same scene, gliding past hippo pods and crocodiles at water level. Sightings are never guaranteed, but the lakes are the best place in the park to see animals in numbers.

Wildlife of the northern sector

Nyerere is elephant country, with herds moving between the woodland and the water, and it is known for large numbers of buffalo, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, impala and the elegant greater kudu. Lions are resident around the lakes and often seen resting in the shade in the heat of the day. The park is also a stronghold of the endangered African wild dog, seen far more often here than in the northern parks of Tanzania, though they roam widely and an encounter is a matter of luck. Leopards and spotted hyenas are present but shy.

Our guide knows the sector, reads tracks and signs and keeps in contact with other vehicles, and the 4x4 has a pop-up roof for clear views and photography. Please follow the guide's rules: stay seated when animals are close, keep voices low and never ask the driver to approach too closely. Wildlife is wild and nothing is guaranteed.

The flight from Zanzibar and the shape of the day

The day begins in the small hours: our shared transfer collects you at your hotel and brings you to Abeid Amani Karume International Airport for a departure around sunrise. The flight in a light aircraft takes about an hour, crossing the Zanzibar channel and the green delta of the Rufiji before touching down on the airstrip, where the 4x4 and the guide are waiting. The game drive starts straight away, with a tea break around mid-morning and the bush lunch at set tables early in the afternoon.

After the afternoon drive the aircraft returns you to Zanzibar in the late afternoon, and the transfer takes you to your hotel by early evening. How to get to Selous from Zanzibar in one day is simply this flight; overland it would mean the ferry, a long drive and at least two nights. Flight times can shift for weather or operational reasons, and we send the exact pickup time and flight details the day before.

Best time to visit and the two-day options

The best time to visit Nyerere National Park is the dry season from June to October, when the grass is low, the tracks are firm and the animals gather around the lakes and the river. December to February is also good, greener and with many migratory birds. During the long rains of March to May some tracks flood and flights can be postponed, which is why we advise a little flexibility in your dates at that time of year.

If one day feels too short, the two-day options keep the same shared flight and add a night inside the park on a full-board basis. One version follows the day's game drive with a guided bush walk and a boat safari on the Rufiji River on the second morning; the others add a second full day of game drives, with a standard or upgraded stay. All versions fly back to Zanzibar on the second afternoon.