We stayed for 3 nights in early January in the family tents (parents and our two adult daughters). The camp itself is isolated, with magnificent views on the Rififi river. The tents are very comfortable (excellent bedding, great en-suite bathroom with shower and ceiling fans that provided an ideal temperature at night) and well separated from each other. They are waterproof and can keep annoying bugs outside, although we didn't see any (not even mosquitoes, to our surprise) despite the "green season". The elevated platform allows for animals, including elephants and giraffes, to be occasionally seen up close walking through the camp. A perfect balance between safety and the feeling of being immersed in nature, sleeping under the stars. Food was excellent (the beef, in particular, was to die for!) and so was the friendly service. Only the wine list is in need of a bit of work. A special mention goes to Ezra, our guide during those three days: with unique kindness and in a perfectly fluid English, he managed to convey his love and enthusiasm for this wonderful land, searching for as many animals as he could show us on land, air and water and sharing his inexhaustible knowledge with us: thank you Ezra for making our trip magical and unforgettable! The vehicles are very comfortable and fully open, thus allowing for easier observation of the natural surroundings and good ventilation. A real must: the departure at sunrise with breakfast on the lake shore... Entire herds of elephants and giraffes, but also baboons, impalas and countless warthogs were a common sight. We also saw a lion, hyenas, a wildebeest, buffalos, kudus, waterbacks, mongooses.... We alternated with boat safaris in the afternoon. The river boat is very stable and feels perfectly safe: our river guide, Saidi, skillfully made navigation in very shallow waters seem like an easy task, enabling us to see dozens of crocodiles and hippos, as well as countless birds from very, very close! In summary, an exceptional and unforgettable trip, in an area with very few other visitors (we crossed only a handful of vehicles and saw a couple of river boats only in the distance) in a camp that we can't recommend highly enough, a perfect combination of "barefoot luxury" comfort and "Out of Africa" experience... (Our safari trip, including air transfers and emergency insurance was organised by Afric'Aventures, a local company managed by Anne Saels, a Belgian lady who lives in Tanzania and has an intimate knowledge of the area: friendly, professional, and very responsive - also highly recommended if you need help and relevant advice).…
The experience starts when we get off the plane. Our guide, Gerrard, accompanied us during these 3 days on land and water, through this unique journey in the land of the wild animals of Central Africa. He listened to us, but motivated our taste for discovery, and showed us the exceptional. Back at the camp another magic happens. All the staff is very attentive, whether it is for the meals, the maintenance or the security of this place open to nature. The tents spaced out from each other provide privacy and offer a unique view. We also appreciated the links between the camp and the school in the neighbouring village.
We had most wonderful experience ever in this camp. Manager and staff were always at our service, food was great and everything was clean and well organized..and not to forget - Maasai security always at our service. Our guide "Goldie" was wonderful with extremely good knowledge of tracking animals and finding them in such big territory so we saw lots of different species. Always ready to explain and answer all our inquiries. We were strongly overwhelmed with camp itself and safari experience altogether. Definitely recommended camp to all travelers seeking safari adventure. Bojana & Marin P.S. Do check the boat safari with fishing option
We had an incredible experience here. The staff were friendly and super accommodating. The food was really delicious and you never went hungry. They even accommodated for our food allergies. The tents were really clean and gave you a colonial feel with all the modern amenities like electricity and running water. The tents are very private and spread out from the other tents. The Camp has a beautiful view of the river where all sorts of animals congregate. Elephants, monkeys, and impala visited our camp when we were there. They had a nice swimming pool as well. The boat and game drive were spectacular. Our guide, Ezra, was extremely knowledgeable and was the first to track lions and predators. We were thankful to see these predators without all the other safari trucks there. Definetly recommend getting up early on the drive in order to find the predators before everyone else. The animals are very skiddish at this park and once other vehicles started coming, they bolted. Anyways, my family and I had a wonderful time and would love to go back!…
The Selous has multiple environments in close proximity and is not crowded. So you can do boat, walking, and driven safaris. I have never seen such a dense crocodile population. Good bird viewing along the river and saw plenty of lion in the open areas. The site of the camp is raised looking out over the river so no mosquitos which is great. Also you can watch elephants and wildlife drinking. 2 or 4 elephants come into the camp every day which is great. But we were somewhat disappointed at that lack of elephants visible around the park. The rooms are top notch for the price.
We spent 3 wonderful nights at Impala. From the moment we arrived we could not have enjoyed the experience more. Our guide (Dennis) was fabulous and we so enjoyed our game drives, walks and boat trip. So much to do and see and yet plenty of time to endlessly eat delicious food in camp or out and about! Finding wild dog one morning was a wonderful surprise and later in the day walking so close to them a life time memory. The tents are very comfortable and clean, we had no trouble with flies despite being right by the river. Such a beautiful place and such friendly, kind and helpful staff.
We stayed here in February 2020 after our bookings at a nearby camp were canceled due to flooding. We had a group of ten travelers and we were quite fortunate that Impala Camp was able to take us on short notice. The accommodations, food, and staff were all first-rate. We had excellent sightings of painted dogs, lions, and various herbivores. The boat trips on the Rufigi River gave us some excellent bird sightings too. Wish we would have had more than just two nights here.
This was our second visit here. The camp is authentically beautiful situated by the river and there is the option of game drives and river cruises as well as walking safaris at an additional cost. The tents are comfortable and the food is delicious . However Selous Impala is more than this as it has the most fantastic staff who work well as a team, are incredibly thoughtful and personable with much humanity and integrity.
We spent 4 nights here and could not have enjoyed it more, we were the only guests staying so it was quite quiet but with only 8 tents I'm not sure it ever would feel busy. The staff were all fabulous, Kharidi our most knowledgeable guide & expert driver, Victor the ever attentive waiter come bushbaby warden, our Massai who like the shopkeeper from Mr Benn appeared from know where whenever you needed him, & all the other members of staff who made the camp & our stay was perfect - thank you all. The food was excelent in both quality and quantity, whether at the camp or on a drive. Tents were spacious, comfortable & with the netting windows & fan not too hot. We did a mixture of activities, morning, afternoon & all day drives & the river cruise, all were well worth doing and we'd recommend going on at least one all day drive as you go further seeing different landscapes. We particularly liked the bush breakfasts, hot food in the bush eaten at a table, with a tablecloth, under the shade of a tree overlooking a lake or plain - what isn't to like! The game viewing, it was the green season so there was plenty of bush for the animals to hide in, but we saw everything we wanted along with many birds (99 species in 4 days & we are no expert birders) & with the eagle eyed Kharidi plenty of other things, like a chameleon. We also had the added bonus that we found a dying giraffe on our 1st drive and were able to watch over the following days how the circle of life truly works, with vultures, wild dogs and hyena all benefiting from the dead giraffe. We were warned before we went about tsetse flies, but were not a problem nor were mosquitoes.…
Am writing this a bit after the event! We stayed at Impala Camp for four nights last July and this was our third visit here, which I believe speaks for itself. As a family we just love this place and if you have younger children, which we did on our first visit eight years ago, then the two family tents are very practical as they are side by side. Otherwise the tents are nice and spread out with great views of the river. This small camp has everything going for it from the facilities to the friendly staff and the excellent guiding - thankyou to Gerard and Ezra. It was amazing to return and be welcomed by staff who recognised us (Victor and Fadia)) and who are still there after all these years which is always a good sign! The tents are comfortable and well-equipped, the food very good, and there’s a pool, but for us one of the big pluses of this camp is being able to do a variety of activities: all day or half day safaris, breakfast in the bush, river safaris, boat fishing on the river and walking safaris. Another advantage in the Selous is that while there is plenty of game to see, it’s quiet and other safari vehicles are far and few between. Guides are also allowed to go off of the road, unlike in most of the other parks.…
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