Roho ya Selous occupies a low, wooded peninsula pushing into Lake Nzerakera, in the core game area of Nyerere National Park in southern Tanzania. Eight stretch-canvas tents look over water thick with hippo and crocodile. Here the camp treats boating and walking as fully as it treats the game drive, and the result is a broader read of this river-and-lake country than a vehicle alone could ever give you.
Eight stretch-canvas tents look over water thick with hippo and crocodile.
Lake Nzerakera and neighbouring Lake Manze sit in the strongest wildlife zone of the park, fed by the channels of the Rufiji River system. Water is what pulls the animals in. Lion, elephant, giraffe and buffalo move through the surrounding woodland and open ground, and this part of Nyerere holds a notable population of African wild dog, spotted with some regularity on drives from camp.
A morning at Roho ya Selous often begins on the water rather than the road. Coffee arrives before dawn, and then a boat slides out onto Lake Nzerakera as the light comes up, tracking hippo pods and basking crocodiles along the channels. Later, guided walks go out on foot, led by a camp guide alongside a national park scout, reading tracks, birdlife and the small detail of the bush.
Drives, boating, walking and fishing all belong here in equal measure
Afternoons turn to game drives through the country around the two lakes, before sundowners on the boat or out in the bush with the lake reddening. Catch-and-release fishing is offered from camp, on designated stretches of water. Walks require the park scout and the fishing stays catch-and-release, park rules that order the day without narrowing it. Drives, boating, walking and fishing all belong here in equal measure.
The eight tents, seven standard and one family, stand on raised, stone-paved platforms spaced through the trees for privacy. Stretch canvas walls and large mesh windows open the rooms to wide water views, while slate floors keep the interiors cool through the heat of the day. Each holds a bedroom, an en-suite bathroom with both an indoor and an outdoor shower, and a shaded veranda facing the lake. Over every bed sits an Evening Breeze cooling unit, lowering the temperature quietly through the hotter months.
Interiors run to a light, contemporary style, greens and blues drawn from the landscape, with wooden furniture and wildlife sketches rather than heavy colonial trappings. The main lounge and dining area sits open-sided under canvas on a slate floor, looking out across the lake, with a small kidney-shaped pool nearby. Meals are unfussy and well made. Buffet breakfasts and lunches bring fresh salads and hot dishes, dinner is a candlelit three courses, and now and then a table is laid away from camp altogether.
Elephants wander through camp at night, and hippo grunt from the water after dark.
The camp opened in 2017 and takes its name from the Swahili for heart of the Selous, a nod to its position in the central game area of what was long the Selous Game Reserve. Managers and guides give it a warm, individual feel despite the scale of the company behind it. A full day might run from that pre-dawn boat safari through a late breakfast on the deck, a quiet midday by the pool or on the veranda, an afternoon game drive, and sundowners on the water before dinner and a campfire. Elephants wander through camp at night, and hippo grunt from the water after dark.
Access is by light aircraft to an airstrip serving this part of Nyerere, with a road transfer into camp. The southern reach of the park sees far fewer visitors than the northern Tanzanian circuit, which gives Roho ya Selous a genuine sense of remoteness for somewhere reachable within a day of landing. Between activities the rhythm slows to almost nothing: reading in the lounge, cooling off in the pool, or watching the waterways from the shade of the veranda while the heat of the day passes.
accommodation
Eight stretch-canvas tents, seven standard and one family, on raised stone platforms spaced through the trees. Large mesh windows open onto wide lake views; slate floors keep the interiors cool. Each tent has a bedroom, an en-suite bathroom with indoor and outdoor showers, a lake-facing veranda, and an Evening Breeze cooling unit over the bed.
activities
Boat safaris on Lake Nzerakera and the Rufiji channels, morning and afternoon game drives in open 4x4s, and guided walks led by a camp guide with a national park scout. Catch-and-release fishing runs from camp on designated water. Birdwatching throughout, with sundowners taken on the boat or in the bush.
conservation
A guest conservation charge supports community and conservation work, including guide training and educational scholarships. Twende Porini brings local children into camp for mentorship and conservation learning alongside staff. The camp runs on solar power with generator backup, built on raised platforms designed for low impact.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
Fly into Dar es Salaam, then take a light aircraft about forty-five minutes south into the park. For most of the season, June to November, you land at Siwandu airstrip and drive thirty minutes to camp; in the December to March weeks the flights use Mtemere instead, with a longer transfer.
We line the connections up so it all happens in one day, and we can also arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12.
The light aircraft take soft bags only, around 15 to 20kg per person including hand luggage depending on the airline, which we confirm before you pack.
Yes. The camp sits at lake level, far below the 1,800 metre line the CDC and the UK's official travel health advice both use for malaria risk in Tanzania, so antimalarial tablets are recommended, along with covering up once the light fades. The tents are well screened and netted, but screens are the second line of defence, not the first.
We do not make medical recommendations. We are travel planners, not doctors. Which tablets are right for you, whether they suit your own health or anyone else's in the party, and what is appropriate for a child, is a conversation between you and your doctor or a travel clinic.
The practical side we can speak to is not medical: cover arms and legs from late afternoon and keep repellent to hand.
Yes, from the age of five. The family tent takes up to five people, with its own children's room, and there is no age restriction on the game drives or the boat safaris, which for most children are the highlight. The walking safaris are the one limit, held to guests sixteen and over under park rules.
The camp is unfenced and wildlife moves through it, so younger children need an adult close at all times. Tell us the ages when we plan and we will set the days up to fit them.
June to October is the prime window, when the dry weather draws game to the lakes and the boating, walking and drives all run at full stretch. The camp closes from mid-March to the end of May for the long rains, and the November to March weeks in between are green, quieter and excellent for birds.
Give it three nights if you can. The point of this camp is the mix, a boat at dawn, a walk the next morning, drives in the afternoons, and a two-night stay forces choices a third night removes.
Warm to hot the year round, this being low country, with dry heat and mild nights from June to October and heavier, greener humidity as the rains build from November. Real cold never features, though the dawn boat rides can feel fresh on the water.
Pack light neutral clothing, a fleece or light jacket for those early starts, a sun hat, sunscreen and closed shoes for the walks. Binoculars repay the space for the birdlife along the channels.
The camp does run wifi, and it is best treated as a means of checking messages rather than a working connection, in keeping with everywhere in Tanzania's remote south. Phone signal around the lakes is patchy and disappears entirely on activities.
If you need dependable contact for work or family, tell us before you book and we will confirm the current setup rather than leave it to chance.
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