Wow, you got some great shots, especially the one of the kingfisher with the Bee Eater in the background.

Nice report too!

Were you able to entirely avoid being bitten by Tsetse flies?

Femi, thanks! No tsetse flies at all, a major relief! Lots of mosquitoes at Lake Manze Camp biting at night, none biting me at Impala (LMC sits on Lake Manze, Impala by the Rufiji River; still water versus rapidly moving water?). Speaking of insects, I have to admit to not caring for them all that much, more so when their names begin with "Giant." A Giant Black Millipede and Giant African Cockroach tried to share my tent with me. With the help of a drinking glass I ushered them out. Just some additional wildlife I guess.

Two thirds of Selous is given over to hunting that's why the game is so skittish. Tanzania has a poor record on hunting control, nowhere near as good as Kenya and now with the massive Chinese influx into the country poaching especially of Elephant is going through the roof again. On a fly in safari you don't see the real picture, there is a real crisis taking place again throughout African game parks.

Wonderful report, really really informative.

We tend to go during cooler times of year if we can, did you find it very hot?

(I should just google weather records, shouldn't I?

Thanks, Kavey. Weather was near perfect. Mostly sunny, probably 85-90 F each day, but mostly near 85 F. Mid-day felt really hot. But each night used comforter/blanket for sleeping. It rained very late one night, a brief shower, but it was done and things were just about dry by dawn, sort of like Camelot.

Oh that'd be perfect!

thx for this review! .. i'm going to Selous and Ruaha in less than 4 weeks.. so I'm very excited in hearing all the stories .. I'm also staying in mdonya old river and lake manze, good to hear you liked the camps.

Nikao, have a great time! I'll look forward to hearing about your trip. Best, Steve

thx! do you know how many cars there were in the Lake Manze camp? And how did you like the boat trips / walks in comparison to game drives?
just curious what to expect

Lake Manze had either 6 or 8 cars, can't remember which, but 8 sounds right. The cars have two rows (not counting driver/tracker row) and I believe they will not seat more than 4 visitors in a car. There are only 12 tents at Manze.

I thought the boat trips were totally enjoyable. The pm drives are on the short side because cars must be back by dark. So when I decided on a boat ride, it would have been in the pm. The rides are very relaxing, the sunsets beautiful and I loved getting close to the nesting areas for the white-fronted bee-eaters. I don't fish here at home, but the one fishing trip I did was excellent (actually the fishing was done while at Impala, but Manze does fishing as well).

I didn't do a walking safari, primarily because I was most interested in seeing dogs and figured the car was best for that. Manze also does a day-long trip out to a hot springs, so you should take a bathing suit if that interests you. Sarah will make sure you get to do what you want. BTW, I think they will offer going on a game drive in the am, coming back for breakfast and going back out again. I always asked to take a breakfast along so we could eat in the bush then get on with some more game viewing. Incidentally, their rates for private use of a car are very reasonable (<$100/day), but you'd need to give them advance notice.

unfortunately I was told they don't operate a private vehicle (anymore)... but apparently they still do? As photography and VERY relaxed pace of game viewing is what I want it might be nice to get a private vehicle for 1 or 2 days.. (im staying 5 nights.. so plenty of time )

Main reason for me to go here is also the dogs, so will be going on drives most of the time. And I've set my hopes (dreams?) on spotting a serval

I had heard about the trip to the hot springs... did you hear any experiences of guests going there while you were there? .. not sure if I would want to give up gameviewing for this, but on the other hand it might be nice to do something different as I'm 5 nights in the camp anyways..

It could be if they're really busy, and I think they are at that time, they wouldn't free up a car for private use. But you could always write to Flo to see if it's possible
( [email protected] ).

Good luck on the serval. I think at Impala a car spotted one just as it was entering the camp on return from a drive. I haven't seen one.

I didn't do the hot springs. Like you, I didn't want to give up the game viewing for it. A fellow I met there did it and enjoyed it.

ok thx! .. ive just asked my travel agent, will wait and see what she says and might then try Flo as well

by the way, how were the dogs doing in that area? .. no nasty diseases which often occur?

I think one was a bit mangy. The others looked good to me, although skinny. Then again books say that the dogs found in Southern Africa (where I'd seen them years ago) are larger than those in East Africa.

how big was that family now? from your pictures it seems there were quite a few? .. Really looking forward in seeing them again... saw them in 2007 in the Gol mountains area (near serengeti) and fell in love with them

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikao/s...7594525161323/

Nikao, what a great sighting!! and great photos!! I'd have loved to have seen that. So what camera/lenses do you use?

The group I saw was just 4. Last year one of its females had a litter but the pups were all killed ion the den by vipers when the dogs went hunting. The guide said the mom barely ate and wouldn't hunt, to the extent that they thought they'd lose her. Fortunately she finally bounced back.

ouch what a sad story... such impressive and strong hunters, but at the same time so vulnerable....
I hope to see them in good shape
any news about other families/groups in the area?

I used a Nikon D70s in 2007, but now I own a NIkon D7000.
Most of the time I use the Nikkor 80-200 F2.8 together with a cheap x2 extender to get the 400mm range at F5.6 ..
furthermore I use a Nikkor 24-85 F2.8-F4 and a Sigma 10-20 F4-F5.6

Nikao, We went to the hot springs from Sand River camp, saw dogs and did the boating safari at Selous Safari Camp. All were wonderful. The boat trip from Sand River wasn't as interesting. You can read my report and see photos on my Zenfolio page.

Nikao, thanks for the camera info. No other news to share, but you should be seeing dogs as well in Ruaha.