Travelling along the dirt road to the camp, I knew that we were in for the real thing! Selous is about 6 hours away from Dar es Salaam which was the major city we landed in. Passing the sporadic villages with children running along our vehicles and seeing the colourful kangas hanging out to dry was the Africa I was longing to see. I was glad we opted to drive as oppose to fly to Selous.
Arriving at the camp, we were warmly welcomed by the management team, Clive and Raine (husband and wife) of this small but luxurious camp and handed a refreshing drink while our bags were taken from us by the friendly Masai staff (a real treat!) Note that locals often dress up as Masai in order to get your tourism dollars but there are some things you can look for to detect the real ones (do your research!)
We were guided to our tent which was absolutely stunning…we had a large canopy bed, a dresser, and some lounge chairs located both on the inside and outside of our room. The bathroom was surprisingly large and had walls made of stone reminding us of how close to nature we really were. I would have been disappointed if the bathroom looked like something out of an IKEA catalogue. The incredible amount of detail spent on the room was impressive.
Note that at around midnight, the power goes off until morning in order for guests to feel like they are really in the jungle and not in a resort. This was unsettling at first but an emergency light was provided in the room as were lanterns upon request just in case you are the squeamish type.
Sleeping at night was an experience in itself as you realize you are actually in the jungle and in such close proximity to the wild animals whose habitat you are now in. There is a watchmen outside every other tent or so who is equipped with a flashlight and will take you wherever you need to get to. If you are lucky enough to make it to this camp, remember to look up. You’ll never have seen so many stars and can’t imagine how brightly the sky can light be in the middle of the night.
The food was incredible! For breakfast, we had pancakes, cereal, pastries and various fruit was offered during each meal throughout the day. For lunch and dinner, we had English-style fish & chips, chicken and mashed potatoes etc – all excellent in quality and generous in portions. The large dining area and lounge lend themselves well to conversation with your own group and other guests at the resort. There was also a pool which was just big enough to cool down under the hot sun. We were really lucky to be facing the riverside which many of the other camps did not have the benefit of – hippos and crocodiles were lurking beneath which we were lucky enough to witness on our guided boat cruise.
The game park was the best part of the trip and was located just outside our camp. It was massive and we drove for hours with an experienced guide from our camp who communicated with the other guides in the park to find where the animals were. We saw zebras, lions, baboons, giraffes, elephants and many more just roaming freely in their natural habitat. It was breathtaking.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the services and accommodation offered by this camp and thought it was the trip of a lifetime! I couldn’t have asked for anything more and if I ever had the chance to go back to Tanzania, I would book with this camp hands down. The staff were super friendly and the owners and management team made a sincere effort to ensure our stay was as pleasant as possible. I was beyond impressed with everything that this camp offered us...on the last day we found out that the President of the country actually stayed at this camp which reaffirmed to us the calibre of the services and accommodation offered by this camp.
If you own or manage Selous Riverside Safari Camp, register now for free tools to enhance your listing, attract new reviews, and respond to reviewers.
- Manage your listing
