Africa Safari Selous

“Truly wonderful experience ….. loved it !!!!”

We spent three nights here as part of a Zanzibar trip to Reef Resort. The transfer from Zanzibar was easy using their “domestic” terminal which is in essence a café and check-in is a very pleasant lady with a clipboard. The flight was only 30 minutes and being a turboprop plane somewhat noisy but i… more

We spent three nights here as part of a Zanzibar trip to Reef Resort. The transfer from Zanzibar was easy using their “domestic” terminal which is in essence a café and check-in is a very pleasant lady with a clipboard. The flight was only 30 minutes and being a turboprop plane somewhat noisy but it all added to the experience. We landed on an airstrip where the arrivals lounge was a hut and the ground crew were local Maasai tribesmen. Again this all added to the experience. We went straight from the plane to a 4x4 and we were off on Safari within minutes of landing. Their accommodation was simple, but more than adequate with a generously proportioned room for the two of us and a decent enough shower and toilet facility as part of the accommodation. We took a small kettle and some teabags and sachet milk because we are British and we need to start our day with a cup of tea. The accommodation is immediately adjacent to Selous National Park and for all intense and purposes you are in the national park as there is no separation between you and where the animals freely roam. For this reason it is required for a Maasai tribesmen to accompany you around at all times which is fine, and we had a stash of one dollar bills which are necessary. The wildlife do visit each evening and in our three nights stay we had buffalo, elephants and antelope all visit the water hole which we saw from our vantage point in the restaurant a matter of metres away. It is a unique experience to be this close to the animals. The accommodation staff are excellent and clearly very well skilled in their environment and extremely helpful at all times and at all levels. The rangers who take you out on Safari have a knowledge that astounded me in so far that they navigated seemingly meandering tracks with ease never ever losing their way and knowing where the animals were or likely to be and the best way to approach them to give us the tourist the best possible opportunity to spend time simply watching them. The vehicles we were in were comfortable and gave us a good vantage point. I would highly recommend this trip.

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“Amazing African Experience!!”

We booked our holiday with 3 night safari to Selous game reserve, Tanzania through Secret Escapes (brilliant service!) All of our processes went smoothly, transfers, internal flight and checking in/out. Remember you need a Visa and Zanzibar medical insurance to enter (best done on line before you g… more

We booked our holiday with 3 night safari to Selous game reserve, Tanzania through Secret Escapes (brilliant service!) All of our processes went smoothly, transfers, internal flight and checking in/out. Remember you need a Visa and Zanzibar medical insurance to enter (best done on line before you go). Carry this info with you as it will be checked again on re entry into Zanzibar after your safari trip. The African Safari Selous experience was far better than any expectations - we are talking Africa here and these animals are wild so I feel very privileged that we saw so many in their UNISECO preserved natural habitat. I feel this was thanks to the expert guides and rangers that accompanied us on our safaris, boat trips and bush walks. Reading the reviews before we went gave us a very good idea of what to expect and what we should pack. I would emphasise a torch is useful, plenty of insect repellent and sunscreen if you’re not going to cover up fully. Along with well earned tips to your guides, don’t forget plenty of small dollars bills to tip the Massai and lodge staff, it is well deserved and much appreciated. On a side note, we were sad to see local villagers still bringing water from the river for daily use, when its proximity is so close to tourist lodges that have tapped water with no issue. We would happily have made a donation to funding a provision that made the villagers less reliant on these daily water trips. It would be good to see the tourists companies giving back to these communities and visitors are often very happy to contribute towards funding such bore holes or pumps.

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“Paradise”

Our safari trip was everything we wanted and more. We had an expert driver called Ali and Fabian was our very knowledgeable guide. The animals were amazing to see in their natural environment but the highlight was an unexpected trip to a hot spring for a quick dip! The staff at the resort were v… more

Our safari trip was everything we wanted and more. We had an expert driver called Ali and Fabian was our very knowledgeable guide. The animals were amazing to see in their natural environment but the highlight was an unexpected trip to a hot spring for a quick dip! The staff at the resort were very attentive and we felt really spoiled. The bush walk with guide Steven and the Masai Malaki was informative and gave us a taste of what life in the bush is really like. The resort was beautiful with the added bonus of being able to watch the animals at the water hole while enjoying evening cocktails.

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“What an amazing experience and one we will never forget!”

If your choosing between Selous and the Serengetti. You will not be disappointed at Africa Safari Selous and im so glad i booked to visit Nyerere National Park. Everyone was fantastic from the Maasai (with a special mention for Chopay our close friend there, Chubilie our guide/protector for the nat… more

If your choosing between Selous and the Serengetti. You will not be disappointed at Africa Safari Selous and im so glad i booked to visit Nyerere National Park. Everyone was fantastic from the Maasai (with a special mention for Chopay our close friend there, Chubilie our guide/protector for the nature walk), knowledgeable guides on safari Denis & Victor, Laizer our military protector for our night safari and Steven our bush walk/boat trip guide. The Lodge was fantastic, delicious food with alot of choice, comfortable banda bungalow with everything you could need (well coffee would have been nice however the stuff provided at breakfast/meals was great and worth the short walk). Bush pigs, bush babies and Ground Squirels were frequent visitors at the resort and a friendly maasai brought us to see a buffalo one morning who had been spotted just around the corner from our room. Safaris with our amazing driver/guides Denis & Victor were perfect. We saw sooooo many animals and the information provided was incredible, we learnt so much about the bush and all its inhabitants. We were very lucky and saw Hippos, Hyena, Giraffe, Impala, Elephants, Warthog, Wild Dogs, Buffalo, Zebra, Greater Kudu, Wildebeest, Baboons, Velvet Monkey, Dik Dik, Vultures, Hornbill, Fish Eagle, Lilac Breased Roller (many other birds) and even a Lion (over 2 days of game drives). Visited a beautiful natural hot spring and took a refreshing dip. Nothing felt rushed and the food provided during the tours was tasty, filling and in one of the most awe inspiring settings you could imagine. The night safari was a brilliant addition to this, same guides and completely different animals spotted including a Civit cat, Tenets, African Hare, Water Buck, Springhare, Nile Crocodile, Mongoose and an entire pack of Spotted Hyenas. Thank you to Laizer for keeping us safe during this trip, greatly enjoyed his company and reassurance so we didnt need worry being out in the bush after dark. The boat trip was also great with more chance to see the amazing bird life found in Selous. We saw many Hippos, Crocodiles, Nile Monitor, Grebe, Heron, Ibis, Hammerkop, Bee Eaters, Kingfisher, Weavers, Bustard, Starlings, Eagrets and more. The bush walk allowed us to learn more about the plant/tree life, medicinal uses and how to navigate and understand bush life. Steven was an amazing guide for these, he taught us so much in a short amount of time and Chubilie showing us how to make a bush fire, natural soap and a maasai toothbrush was fascinating to watch. Making a wish on a baobab the tree of life was pretty special. Get ready to do more, see more and feel more than you ever have all packed into a very short amount of time!!!! Tiring but worth every second. I cant thank the people enough for making this experience most likely the best thing we will ever get to do and one we will never forget! We will miss everyone and hope to see you all again one day! I wish you all a happy and bright future. Lots of love from Jenny 💛.

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