Nyerere National park
12-15 July 2021
Nyerere National Park is now the largest national park in Africa since it was merged with the northern part of the Selous Game Reserve (a reserve where animals can be legally killed) following a decision by the Tanzanian government in 2019. The park is named after the founder of the nation, the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere. It now covers an area of over 30,000 square kilometres, about twice the size of Belgium!
The Rufiji River runs through the park, which is the largest river in Tanzania and is home to a huge density of crocodiles and hippos. We had never seen so many in such a short time!
It would take weeks of exploration to discover even a small part of the wonders of this Tanzanian biodiversity hotspot! It is also known to be home to a large population of Wild Dogs and the mythical Pel's Fishing Owl, Scotopelia peli. Unfortunately we will not see these species...
We will cross the way of a freshwater turtle Cycloderma frenatum endangered according to the IUCN like many turtles. The encounter with these reptiles is always a chance and a joy.
Large mammals are still present in Selous. We saw some elephants, Giraffes, many Ungulates, and even a family of Lion. The observation conditions are not yet optimal, as the animals were slaughtered not so long ago and are rightly afraid of Homo sapiens!
At Selous Ngawala Camp,, a very nice place to stay, we were able to see, at night, galagos of the species Otolemur garnetti and a Tanzania Syke's Monkeybird, Cercopithecus mitis monoides.
The other visited regions:
- Ruaha National Park(Lions, Elephants and more...)
- Katavi National Park (Lots of water, birds and hippos)
- Mahale National Park (Chimp!!)
- Burigi-Chato National Park (new!) and Rubondo island (Victoria lake)
- Lake Mburo and Bwindi impenetrable National park (Uganda, Gorillas and co)
