Ruaha National Park
 

Has anyone done the Southern circuit recently, specifically Ruaha or Selous? I’m thinking of doing a safari there this coming October and looking for input. I’ve done the Northern route ( Serengeti )a few years back and wondering how this experience may be different.
Thanks,
Rob

Ruaha National Park
 

Has anyone done the Southern circuit recently, specifically Ruaha or Selous? I’m thinking of doing a safari there this coming October and looking for input. I’ve done the Northern route ( Serengeti )a few years back and wondering how this experience may be different.
Thanks,
Rob

If you don't get many replies here, check out safaritalk.net You don't need an account to read the trip reports there. Many folks on that forum have been to both Ruaha and Selous and are generous about sharing information.

The southern parks of Tanzania are the biggest parks, can be accessible by flight/drive. The newly formed Nyerere national park which formerly known as selous game reserve offers canoeing on the river rufiji, has the big 5 and when combined with Ruaha it can be quite an experience. Although Ruaha is at a distance from Nyerere it can take a day of driving to get to reach the park but flights are available and save you time.

To visit this parks you need to fly to Ruaha national park and fly to Selous/Nyerere park. The cost is about $300 per person .

Ruaha and Nyerere
 

Hi,
Just joined the forum and saw your question so hope I'm not too late with my input.
We were in Ruaha last November and have been many times at different times of the year and love the place. It has hills, rivers, open areas, baobab trees and the wildlife is superb.
It's a few years since we were Nyerere, or Selous Game Reserve as it was then, but again, brilliant wildlife and have seen wild dogs on all three of our trips there. The river safari is great for birds, crocs and hippo.
The advantage of these parks over the Northern circuit is far fewer people and vehicles, We've sat and watched leopard in a tree and lions at a kill with no-one else there. Also, some of the camps have open sided jeeps which are much better for photography than the enclosed pop up roof land cruisers.
We always fly in to both parks and are looking forward to doing so again to both of them in September.
Hope you go and have a fantastic time and enjoy it as much as we always do.
Sheila.

Southern Tanzania including Ruaha National Park is less visited national park, giving you a rare opportunity to encounter dramatic wildlife spectacles.
Ruaha is well-known for its rare sable antelope, roan antelope, and big herds of elephants. The park symbolizes evolution zone where eastern and southern African flora and fauna overlap. Ruaha National Park is still quite mysterious and has only just been developed for tourists making it extra special. Ruaha offers incredible game performance, you can drive for hours without encounter another soul, and the peace and solitude are overwhelming.