With a bit of effort I can be in Dar late february or early march. I'll have 5 days on the ground and want to hit one or two camps only. I want to maximize my wildlife viewing for that time of year. I've been to Bots. and SA on safari but never east Africa. Should I go up Kili or Selous, or somewhere else?

With 5/days only, arriving/being at DAR, stick with the southern parks... Selous is good. Or maybe 2-3/days (depending on flight schedules) Ruaha and the balance Selous. Or just 5/days Selous.

I would stick with only one park in 5 days- either Selous or Ruaha. At that time of year there are long stay discounts which you'd miss out on if you try to split the time. Selous Impala and Kwihala (both in the Adventure Camps group) have stay 4-pay 3 offers on until the end of March 2013. Both parks have plenty to see for 5 days- I spent 8 days at Kwihala in June. Ruaha is a more expensive flight, nearly double the cost of Selous, but then of those two camps I think Impala is more expensive and the park fees in Selous are higher so it might well even out. See Coastal Aviation for flights.

Personally I prefered Ruaha to Selous for variety of game viewing but then Selous has boating activities as well as driving. Selous also definitely offers walking, but walking has been on-off in Ruaha and I don't know what the current status is so if you are interested in walking then check with the camp when you book.

If I could get a flight into Kili and thus enjoying a park near there, would it be more ideal than having to choose a southern park?

Which park near Kili?

The only one that I'd consider might be a better option at that time of year would be the Serengeti, because I believe that time of year is a good time to catch the migration. However, it would be a hell of a long drive from Arusha. You could perhaps fly all the way from Dar to the Serengeti but it would be long, expensive and probably not worth it for 5 days.

Ok, I'll do Selous--or based on the TR's I'm reading on this site Ruaha sounds even better. My flight to/from DAR is work related, but no to find an agent to arrange everything else from there....ideas?

Well, I have looked at lots of options for Selous and Ruaha and have struggled to find a better value option than the Adventure Camps group (Lake Manze and Selous Impala in Selous and Mdonya Old River and Kwihala in Ruaha). I've been to all of them except Selous Impala but I'm planning a trip back next year and will use Impala and Kwihala. If you decide to go with them, then I believe their reservations people can book flights for you, so I'd suggest that.

Out of the three camps I've been to, Kwihala was my favourite- the guiding in particular was some of the best I've had in Africa and the location of the camp is right in the core game viewing area.

If you look at other camps, then I don't know whether you could book directly. I am based in the UK and have used Expert Africa for my trips.

stokeygirl: I'll be going in late feb or perhaps until mid-march (depending on work). I've not found a report for this time of year--I'm just wondering if Selous would be poor game viewing.

Well, it's not going to be the best time of year but as far as I know that goes for any park in East Africa apart from the Serengeti because of the migration and the wildebeest calving season. Whether going to the Serengeti is feasible really depends how much money you want to spend and/or how much of your 5 days you're prepared to spend in transit.

I've only been to Ruaha in June and August- June is also, allegedly, not the best time but I saw loads. I've been to Selous in late Jan and in August. Still saw plenty in Jan and there are things at that time of year that you won't get in the dry season like the carmine bee-eaters.

Stick to the southern parks - Selous or Ruaha. Plenty of game. And do contact the outfitter that handles the camps mentioned by stokeygirl... and take advantage of any 'special' extended stay discounts.

Yep, I do see adventure camps has a 4 for 3 special at Kwihala. I'll contact them directly--or will going through a agency like Expert Africa give me a better pricing?

I am not sure to be honest- I very much suspect the price will be about the same. You could always contact both for a quote. If you are based in the UK then using an agent like Expert will probably be easier in that you won't have to muck around with international payments, but if you're not in the UK then that won't be a benfit.