Practical questions
Nyerere: frequently asked questions
Including the two things about this park that are most often reported wrong.
Is Nyerere the same as the Selous?
Partly. The Selous Game Reserve was gazetted in 1922; in 2019 its northern photographic sector, nearly 31,000 square kilometres, became Nyerere National Park. The remaining southern part is still Selous Game Reserve and contains hunting concessions. If you are booking a photographic safari you are going to Nyerere, whatever the brochure says.
Can I do a night drive?
Not inside the national park. Night drives ended with the 2019 regazettement and now run only in the adjacent Selous Game Reserve blocks. Most operator websites still advertise them for Nyerere, which is simply out of date. It is also why leopard sightings here run at under a third of visitors despite very high leopard density.
What does it cost?
$70 per person per day plus 18 per cent VAT, so $82.60, which puts Nyerere in a higher band than Ruaha or Katavi. Vehicles are $40 a day for a foreign-registered car. Lodges inside the park add a $30 concession fee per person per night. There is a reduced rate between 15 March and 15 May.
Will I see wild dogs?
Better odds than almost anywhere: this landscape holds one of the three most important populations left in Africa, and 42 per cent of visitors see them. June to August is denning season, when packs stay near a fixed den and hunt twice a day, and that is when to come if dogs are the priority.
Are there cheetah?
No. Survey work published in 2023 found no evidence of cheetah presence across camera-trap and spoor surveys, and the last confirmed record dates to the late 1990s. Several sources, including UNESCO's own documentation, still list them. They are gone.
Which sector should I book?
Only the northern strip between the Matambwe and Mtemere gates is open to photographic safaris, and the two ends produce different sightings. The lakes near Mtemere are the boat-safari country. Matambwe and Beho Beho in the west give you more giraffe, hartebeest and miombo birds. Ask your camp which it works before you book.
When should I come?
June to October for the dry season, with July and August the sweet spot for wild dog denning and the nesting skimmers. Most camps close from March to May. The boat safaris run year-round, so the green season is more viable here than in most Tanzanian parks.