we spent 5 days in their capable hands and did two nights of fly camping. Expectations were exceeded, our driver/ guide (Rama) was awesome. You have to appreciate some of their challenges and they truly do everything they can, Go for the honeymoon cabin!

We stayed here for 4 nights and had a pleasant time.

The lodge is spread out over quite a wide area with a few hundred yards from some of the rooms to the bar area. Our room was a permanent tent with nice bed and bathroom although quite why the toilet is positioned so there is no privacy is beyond my wife and I ! The room had a balcony with a nice view of a water hole. The actual wildlife and birdlife around the lodge was very disappointing compared to other lodges we have stayed and nothing of interest visited the waterhole during the several days we sat on the veranda.

The lodge is about 20-30 minutes from the park gates but we saw a variety of wildlife just driving to the park, these included elephants on our first morning. We thought the park itself was disappointing from a wildlife perspective but have been on safari quite a few times. Those on the trip who had not been before all thought it was great so if this is part of a trip to Tanzania (we were with the Adventure company) and your first safari you'll enjoy it ! However I should point out that the short rains were late so the unusually dry weather may have impacted wildlife viewing (often this make it better as they are more concentrated). if you are a safari veteran you may want to look elsewhere or do some more research as this lodge seemed geared towards first timers.

One very good thing was that there were very few other tourists in the area so we got a nice relaxed safari experience without hordes of people crowding around a pair of lions as can sometimes happen in the more touristy parks.

Whilst there we saw lion, elephant, giraffe, hippo, lots of zebra, wildebeest, several species of antelope and warthog plus plenty of eagles and other birds.

The bar area was very nice with lovely views and friendly staff. The food was very good but there was no choice (nothing unusual in this on safari).

You could charge your camera batteries at the reception lodge and they have a spring so water is not severely limited.

You can also do a trip to a local village which some of our group did, they all enjoyed it and found it interesting.

I thank the staff and owner /directors for the friendliness and helpfuness of the service. We stayed over Christmas and they put up a tree, some lights and everyone received a present which was a lovely thought.

Overall if you are on an organised tour to get a taste of Africa and this lodge is on the itinerary I'm sure you'll have a great time. If you are looking for a safari destination and doing a tailormade trip you may want to double check on the wildlife numbers and variety.

Together with a friend I stayed 6 nights at Sable Mountain Lodge, of which 2 were spent fly-camping in the bush. We came in from Dar with the train going to Kasaki, where we were met at the train and taken to the camp for a late evening meal.
Taking the train (6h) and experiencing life along the rail road was in itself a colorful experience, that I recommend - and then fly out.

Selous is a place you want to choose for your safari if you want away from the crowds of jeeps and do the 'hunting' for sightings yourself - aided of course by your very skilled safari guide. Don't expect to get as close to the animals - apart form the lions, who do not care about you at all - as in the northern parks, as the wild life is less accustomed to vehicles, but then again this is the amazing thing about this place.

You have the option of doing morning/evening or full day safaris, fly camping (sleeping in the bush under the southern skies - bed, mosquito net of course is part of the package) and walking safaries. We saw lots of elephants, lions, giraffes, zebras, buffalos, a group of 15 wild dogs, plus a wide range of different antelopes.

We enjoyed our stay at Sable Mountain immensely, excellent service from the staff wether at the lodge or while fly-camping, very tasty, hearty food (meat and veggies cooked to perfection). All cottages are located in undisturbed surroundings, we had a 'basic' stoen cottages, and a fan would have been nice some nights, however, as everything is run as 'green' as possible, that is not part of the set-up. Besides that minor detail, the stone cottage we had was very charming in a rustique way and met all are needs and requirements. We were offered a peek into one of the tented honeymoon suites - just gorgeous, that's the only way to describe it - no. 10, I believe - excellent view onto a dried out riverbed.

Last but not least, Tara and David, the owners, are just fantastic people and their company strongly contributed to making the evenings over dinner joyful and memorable.

I traveled here with my wife for our honeymoon. First let me say that this outfit really has it together. We were supposed to go there by train, but there was a sudden accident with a cargo train, thereby shutting down the service. We arrived by plane in Dar, and they already had a new plan for us, and a plane ticket in hand ready to immediately transport us to Selous. So: A for effort and responsiveness.

I highly recommend the honeymoon bandas. Something I really like about this location is the geography, the mountains, the variation. You really get a sense of that with these bandas on stilts. Beautiful views.

One thing I would counsel against is the walking safari. We did not go on any, but we heard from others who did. You did not see much game, if any, and it was not worth the effort.

For dinner, we sat around the table with another couple who was on a honeymoon. The atmosphere was very congenial. The dishes were really well done. And you could tell the staff took pride in their work.

The game drives were spectacular. The guides had eagle eyes. Every time we went out we saw the lions, the elephants, the buffalo, giraff, hippo etc. etc. And just a really nice landscape.

I do recommend doing the boat trip, as well as the game drive. The ideal situation is to be in one of those land cruisers with just one other couple. There was a big group - and I was relieved that they did not stick us with them, piled into the bigger truck.