Nyerere National Park

Nyerere National Park covers 30,893 square kilometres of southern Tanzania, making it the largest national park in the country. It was created in 2019 from the northern part of the Selous Game Reserve, one of the largest protected areas in Africa and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is named after Julius Nyerere, Tanzania's first president. The rest of the Selous remains a game reserve.

For visitors, the heart of the park is the Rufiji River. North of the river a network of channels and lagoons links a chain of lakes, and this is where most camps sit and where the wildlife gathers as the dry season goes on. The river lets you do what few Tanzanian parks allow: a boat safari past hippo pods, crocodiles and elephants drinking at the bank, as well as game drives and walking safaris with an armed ranger.

Big game is plentiful, with elephant, buffalo, lion and giraffe, and the park holds one of Africa's most important populations of the endangered African wild dog. There are far fewer vehicles than in the north. The park is reached by light aircraft from Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar, or by road from Dar es Salaam, which makes it a natural partner for a beach stay.