Safari enthusiasts have the Tsetse fly (now no longer a danger) to thank for the unspoilt wilderness and general lack of infrastructure of the massive Selous game reserve. After a charming 40 minute flight in a Cessna aircraft from Dar onto an isolated landing strip in the middle of the bush, we were met by our guide and the 30 minute drive to the camp was already populated with close-up sightings of zebra and baboon. Our hosts Mike and Carol met us and showed us to our lodge just near the mess room which was large and airy, beautifully furnished and looking out totally open onto the river. The bathroom had an ingenious water-fall shower arrangement and the beautiful gekkoes came out at night and rid the place of flying insects and other creepy-crawlies.The staff were all relaxed and friendly.
The camp situation is exceptional, right on a bend of the massive Rufiji river, and the mess/club-house area is right on the water-front. Meals are eaten refectory-style at dinner which offers good socialisation opportunity with the hosts and fellow guests. Honeymoon couples mix easily with the oldies, and it was fun to pigeon-hole the various nationalities around the table and take some light mickey from time to time. The wine selection is great and the food varied and beautifully presented and cooked. The bush-babies come to join the throng on a nearby tree, bats flutter in the night air, while the charming-but-mischievous vervet monkeys regularly raid the empty rooms - but we had been fore-warned of this.
Breakfast is eaten at private tables on the mess verandah in full view of hippo and crocodile, bird-life such as the pied kingfishers, as well as elephant and water-buck sightings on the far shore. Drinks are available "a volonte" from the bar and if there is no staff available one helps oneself to a coke, beer or G&T etc.
As for the safari actvities - awesome. Our young guide Ian took us frequently off road, and with his easy sense of humour and tracking knowledge he was a joy to travel with. Lion were sighted close-up the first day and we could observe them on our own. In the course of our travels in the bush we saw not only frequent giraffe, elephant, buffalo, baboon, zebra, wildebeest and impala, sometimes very close-up and making sudden appearances from the bush, but also plentiful hippo and crocs. We came across a sinister pack of hyena after a recent kill fighting with the vultures for supremacy, lion feeding on a fresh kill, and the endangered and beautiful wild dogs. A trip up the river offers the opportunity to fish and observe the fish-eagles in flight swooping down onto the river. In all of this activity one barely encounters any other human presence.
Fly-camping under the stars in a mosquito-net cage after a superb and convivial dinner on the banks of the lake is a must as an activity, as is the bush walk, both in the company of an armed scout. The roar of the lion, frightened barking of the baboon, or enraged trumpeting of an elephant add a special dimension to these experiences.
We were looking for a safari experience in native wilderness off the beaten track where one could feel at one with the wild-life. Sand Rivers gave us that, and the only reason sleep quality has been marked back a notch is due to one or two nights of high activity with hippo grazing and snorting just by our lodge, bush-babies howling and the stealthy prowling of what sounded like a cat on our roof. When the hippo were quiet one evening it also delayed our drift into sleep!
The camp situation is exceptional, right on a bend of the massive Rufiji river, and the mess/club-house area is right on the water-front. Meals are eaten refectory-style at dinner which offers good socialisation opportunity with the hosts and fellow guests. Honeymoon couples mix easily with the oldies, and it was fun to pigeon-hole the various nationalities around the table and take some light mickey from time to time. The wine selection is great and the food varied and beautifully presented and cooked. The bush-babies come to join the throng on a nearby tree, bats flutter in the night air, while the charming-but-mischievous vervet monkeys regularly raid the empty rooms - but we had been fore-warned of this.
Breakfast is eaten at private tables on the mess verandah in full view of hippo and crocodile, bird-life such as the pied kingfishers, as well as elephant and water-buck sightings on the far shore. Drinks are available "a volonte" from the bar and if there is no staff available one helps oneself to a coke, beer or G&T etc.
As for the safari actvities - awesome. Our young guide Ian took us frequently off road, and with his easy sense of humour and tracking knowledge he was a joy to travel with. Lion were sighted close-up the first day and we could observe them on our own. In the course of our travels in the bush we saw not only frequent giraffe, elephant, buffalo, baboon, zebra, wildebeest and impala, sometimes very close-up and making sudden appearances from the bush, but also plentiful hippo and crocs. We came across a sinister pack of hyena after a recent kill fighting with the vultures for supremacy, lion feeding on a fresh kill, and the endangered and beautiful wild dogs. A trip up the river offers the opportunity to fish and observe the fish-eagles in flight swooping down onto the river. In all of this activity one barely encounters any other human presence.
Fly-camping under the stars in a mosquito-net cage after a superb and convivial dinner on the banks of the lake is a must as an activity, as is the bush walk, both in the company of an armed scout. The roar of the lion, frightened barking of the baboon, or enraged trumpeting of an elephant add a special dimension to these experiences.
We were looking for a safari experience in native wilderness off the beaten track where one could feel at one with the wild-life. Sand Rivers gave us that, and the only reason sleep quality has been marked back a notch is due to one or two nights of high activity with hippo grazing and snorting just by our lodge, bush-babies howling and the stealthy prowling of what sounded like a cat on our roof. When the hippo were quiet one evening it also delayed our drift into sleep!
Tripadvisor Review from "Angels42" 16 Oct 2010
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