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The Big 5 in Nyerere National Park!
Too Early for the Lodge – But not for Kanuth
Determined to see the Big 5 in Nyerere National Park I was looking for accommodation nearby. I was backpacking in Africa after arriving in Dar es Salaam. I got a lift from Dar down to Mloka, which is only a kilometer or so from the park. The first place I found was the Nyerere Green Lodge but there were workers inside and it looked like they were not yet ready to open. I thought I would go in and see. Before I was able to enter a man in his forties came out of the front door. As he saw me his faced beamed a friendly smile.
The man said, “Jambo, karibu to the Nyerere Green Lodge.” I returned his greeting and asked if the lodge was open for guests. I added that I was there to see the big 5 in Nyerere National Park. He said that he could not take any guests whilst there were workmen finishing off some of the final jobs inside. But he suggested that I pitch my tent in the hotel garden (which had only a few freshly planted young trees at the time). I could sleep there overnight at no cost and the night watchman would make sure I was not disturbed.
This is a great start, I thought. Karibu means “welcome” and I felt truly welcome by the man’s genuine offer. His name is Kanuth and he’s the owner of the lodge and of a safari tour business called “Kanuth Adventure Safaris”. I accepted his generous offer and asked him if he had a tour guide for the next two days to take me to see the big 5 in in Nyerere National Park.
Kanuth beamed his smile once again (which is more or less a permanent feature on his face) and said that he had finished his supervising at the lodge and he offered me a good deal for a backpacker for the two day safari on which he would be my guide:
It was my lucky day. Kanuth was going to a restaurant for lunch as I met him and he invited me to discuss the terms of the trip. After a great lunch and as part of the deal Kanuth arranged for a ranger to walk me down to the banks of the Rufiji river. There are elephants and buffalo in the forests down there, so it is wise to go with a guide. It was an exciting, interesting walk, with the ranger explaining things on the way.
That was to be two of my best days on safari in the whole of Africa!
In search of the Big 5 in Nyerere National park
They are all there, the big 5 in Nyerere National Park, and a whole lot more including African Wild Dogs. The park is huge, with 30,000 square kilometres it is now the largest national park in Africa. With pride (not a lion’s pride :=) it is named after the late, founding president of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere.
The impressive river Rufiji runs right through the park. Just a very short drive into the park brought us to the riverside where Kanuth arranged for me to take a boat safari in search for the first of the big 5 in Nyerere – the elephant! On the boat I joined four guys from Germany, who are now good friends. That’s me at the back of the boat next to the skipper/guide.
It was an amazing boat safari. I won’t list out all of the animals and birds that I saw, just some highlights. Already, as we boarded the boat, we could see many hippos bathing mid river. As we began our cruise and pulled out into the mainstream we passed mudbanks like the one in the photo below – that crocodile was very close! There were various species of storks, ducks and geese in the water, on the mudbanks and on a large, fallen and half submerged tree sat a magnificent African fish eagle. Just ten minutes into our safari and we had seen such a lot.
Further up river I saw the first elephant, coming gingerly down the sloping bank to drink, That’s number one – the first of the big 5 in nyerere national park.
I was so impressed by this early sighting of a wonderful and very large crocodile. I never thought I would ever get so close to one, the mudbank was no more than five metres away! Zoom into the photos by hovering over the image on a large display or just touch the photo on your mobile phone. This incredible boat journey took us not far along the river but we saw an amazing amount and variety of wildlife and botany including the “pipe cleaner shrub” – the Callistemon.
Lots of crimson bee-eaters flew over the river from their colony of holes in the sandy banks of the river.
One Down, Four to Go!
Only after uploading this photo to the post have I noticed the large bird in the top right of the grass, in front of the bushes. What is it? Anyway, I had seen an elephant on the river and later, in the muddy swamps that surround the river I saw my first of many water buffalo, my second sighting of the big 5 in nyerere. But this first buffalo sighting was rather sad. The buffalo seemed to be rather weak and stuck in the mud. There was nothing we could do to help it and, as Kanuth said, it is better to leave nature to itself, there are plenty of lions and leopards there to take advantage of a weak animal.
Unfortunately, of the big 5 in nyerere, I only managed to see four of them on my wonderful three day tour. The leopard eluded me, although other safari trucks that stopped nearby had seen them and Kanuth followed the tracks of one until it left the dusty road and went into the bush. Drivers are not allowed to leave the road. Nonetheless, the safari was a great experience and I learnt a lot from Kanuth. Although I missed the leopard we did see a cheetah hunting, but the fastest cat on earth failed in his quest because the impala took to the woods and disappeared in the bush. The sleek cat had started his chase too far away.
My Conclusion
You have a very good chance of seeing the big 5 in nyerere. You safari through wonderful landscapes with beautiful scenery and an amazing variety of wildlife.
If the Nyerere Green Lodge is as great to stay in as I believe it will be fantastic. Based on Kanuth’s care, attention and super knowledge of wildlife and cultures whilst on his safari, then anyone staying there and participating in his safaris, will enjoy the best holiday of their lives. Asante sana Kanuth, thank you very much.
If you’d like to see Kanuth’s safari itineraries in Nyerere then look here. If you want some fabulous safari time elsewhere in Tanzania Kanuth’s safari guides cover the whole of this wonderful country and you can see his complete list of Tanzanian safaris here.