Nyerere National Park is Tanzania’s largest national park located in the southern part of the country, , it used to be the Selous game reserve founded by a British explorer Fredrick Courtney Selous, he was shot during the First World War 1 and the game reserve named after him, recently it was awarded a national park status to the northern part and named after the Tanzanian president Mwalimu Julius Nyerere he is said to have led the country into independence, in 2019 the parks named was changed, it covers an area space of approximately 30,800 square kilometers drained by the river Rufiji. Nyerere National Park is a recognized UNESCO world heritage site.
Nyerere National Park is a virgin undisturbed ecosystem, with much of its land undisturbed from population increment pressure it boasts tourism attractions ranging from its abundant wildlife species, several animals live here including the so-called big five of the wilderness, Examples of species include lions, elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, elands, oribi, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, hyenas, gazelles, leopards to mention few, over 400 species of birds have been recorded in the national park like African skimmers, African fish eagles, malachite kingfishers, Abyssinian ground hornbills, plover birds, pelicans among other species, these live within the variety habitats, in the savannah grassy lands, and along river banks.
Tourism activities in Nyerere National Park include Game drives, which are the most done activity in the park, through the well-distributed game tracks guests can view several animal species, game drives are conducted using 4×4 wheel car drives, open rooftops to enhance the visitor experience, these are done in sessions in the morning beginning at 6:30 am in search of morning risers, afternoon times at 2:30 pm and evening from 4:30 pm east African time, it is one of Africa’s destinations where doing night game drives is allowed to do game drives in the national park, one needs to pay park entrance fees to the park authorities, all drives are led by experienced game rangers.
Birding in Nyerere National Park, the protected conservation area is one of the best places to go birding while in Tanzania, the best time to see birds in the country is during the wet season when the parks experience migratory species, there are over 400 species that have been recorded here to date popular species include wattle eyed flycatcher, African fish eagles, malachite kingfishers, African skimmer, lapwings, colourful bee-eaters, palm nut vultures to mention a few.
The boat cruise along river Rufiji is epic, there are rewarding views of animal species for example hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and antelopes, that come to graze around the banks of the river, it is an interesting way of getting involved in the park adventures, it takes 2-3 hours of cruising along the river while you set our eyes on the most beautiful surroundings.
In conclusion, these and many other activities can be done while in the national park, they can also be combined with visits to other conservation areas for example the Serengeti National Park to the north of Tanzania.