Nyerere National Park

Nyerere National Park which was formerly known as Selous Game Reserve, is the largest Game Reserve in Tanzania and it is a protected area covering about 50,000km2. Selous was at first a series of National Parks that were made a protected area in the year 1896 but in 1905, it became a hunting reserve for all who wanted to enjoy the hunting game. It was named Nyerere after a British adventurer Fredrick Nyerere who died during the world war I. after his death, all the small game reserves around were combined by the British colonialists to form the current Nyerere National Park.

The Nyerere National Park is one of the least visited places in Tanzania and this makes it the perfect place for tourists who want to enjoy the big 5 without the large crowd. It has a diversity of vegetation especially the famous Miombo woodland, lots of wildlife and over 400 bird species that can all be viewed in their natural habitats.

The National Park is one of the few places in Tanzania which you can explore with both a game drive and a boat ride. The National Park is very safe for a safari but you must follow all the guidelines that are put in place by the tour guide, you can spend as many days as you want for as long as you can afford it and you can join your safari to Nyerere with other destinations in the country.

Game drives are what most tourists look forward to when a safari is mentioned and the best time for one to go for a game drive is during the dry season which is also considered to be the peak season. The weather in Nyerere can determine the best time for one to go for a safari and just like any other part of Tanzania, the Park has two seasons : the dry and wet season.  Below is a detailed explanation on when to go and what to expect of the weather in Nyerere National Park.

Nyerere weather

The Nyerere Game has three seasons with the mains being the dry season and the wet season. The dry season is experienced from June to October and the wet season is experienced from November to April. The shoulder season is experienced during the months of January and February.

The Dry season

The Nyerere National Park experiences the dry season from June to October and during this time the National Park receives little or no rainfall at all. The absence of rain forces the animals to move from their natural habitats in search of food and water and they can be found at the different waterholes, especially the Rufiji River.

The vegetation is very thin and scarce and the animals migrate from one part of the National Park to the next in search of pasture making it the perfect time for tourists to go for a game drive in Selous.

You can either drive to Nyerere which will take you about 6 to 7 hours from Dar es Salaam or take a flight from Dar es Salaam and this will take about 45 minutes. Even though the park is not visited by many tourists like those that are found in the southern circuit Tanzania, during the dry season it has a large crowd of its own and you will find many tourists crowding around the Rufiji river to get a closer look at the animals.

The shoulder season

The shoulder season is experienced during the wet season from January to February. This is not the best time for one to go game viewing because the animals are extremely hard to spot due to the abundance of pasture and water. It is, however a good time for birding.

The wet season

The wet season in Nyerere is experienced between November and April and this is considered to be the best time for ardent birders. During this period many of the accommodation facilities close down due to floods and the crowds are less as compared to the dry season. The safari costs during this period are reduced and it is considered as the best time for tourists who are on a budget to travel to Nyerere for a safari and it is sometimes hard to get where to stay during this time especially in the months of March, April and May due to the closure of most facilities.

The roads both leading to the National Park and those that are found within the park are sometimes inaccessible due to the floods and mud but with a powerful 4×4 van, you can still enjoy a trip through Nyerere.