Reviews of Siwandu

"Excellent camp. We were made to feel very welcome by Larna and Emile and all the staff. The location was great - next to the water - and the accomodation very good. Everything about it was good.

Andrew had a wheat allergy which they really took on board. There was an alternative to anything with wheat especially prepared for him - fantastic. And the children [Ed: the 'children' are aged 20, 19 and 17] liked the later game drive and breakfast before they went.

The only slight complaint was that our guide (Mushaka) mentioned the tip we gave him when he took us on the transfer to Beho Beho. We realise that we may have undertipped him when we spoke to the management at Beho Beho but with no guidance, its hard to get that right. We tipped everyone quite generously we thought) rather than concentrating on the guide.

Game was plentiful. And the river cruise was very special. Would definitely return." See all these reviews: 5n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar

"Perfect location by the lake (5km long).
Very well managed and hosted (thanks to Chloe and Mark)
Food was excellent and catered for our childrens requirements well.

Great game viewing - guides were friendly and affable and knew their way arond and found everything for us - including wild dogs. The lake added another dimension - crocodiles, and hippos all over the place - plus a fantastic abundance of wonderful birds - we took two boat game viewing trips.

It was good having a swimmng pool to cool down in and for the kids." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania

"Everything was excellent !!

The staff were so very helpful, the tents were amazing and always well maintained by your own attendent who also ensures all of your washing and ironing is taken care of ... for free. The location on the lake was fantastic with a fantastic view from our veranda of the lake with animals regularly crossing your field of view. The staff, i.e. Cloe, Mark, Mohammed, could not have been any more helpful and attentive.

The quality of food was gourmet with 3 course lunches and dinners every night. The quality of guiding was amazing with MoShaka getting a special mention as he was simply aweseom at finding the wildlife, especially the Hyenas, Liions and Wild dogs. The variety of excursion was great with the option to go on early morning guided walks or boat trips across the lakes a welcome alternative to the standard driven game drive.

There is even a nice little touch for Honeymoon couples on their last night, which I will not divulge.

We were located in what is sometimes known as the "Private" camp, and from what we could see was a touch nicer then the main camp which has all of the generaters, etc.

All in all it was an absolutely amazing experience for both of us." See all these reviews: 8n in Zanzibar; 6n in Tanzania

"The camp and the staff exceeded all our expectations. The short drive from the airstrip to the camp gave us a taste of what was to come as we passed giraffe and impala. The staff, led by Mark and Jenny, gave us a warm and enthusiastic welcome. Jenny wasted no time in briefing us on the essentials before sending us off to Tent 1 with half an hour to freshen up before our first boat safari.

The camp blends into the landscape unobtrusively and the tents are very private. The tents were amazing – better designed and more luxurious than any in which we had stayed on previous safaris. We had a wonderful view across the foreshore to the lake – and could lie in bed or enjoy an 'outdoor' shower while watching elephant, antelope and waterbuck wander past. Our first ever boat safari with guide Mboto gave a new dimension to game viewing. We saw hippo and crocodile at close quarters and a wide variety of birds, sometimes in huge numbers. Our guides both on and off the water were very knowledgeable and we learned far more about the lives and habits of the wildlife than ever before.

We returned in time for an excellent lunch in the elevated and open sided dining room overlooking the foreshore and lake. The food at Selous was generally of a very high quality – particularly the cakes provided at tea time before the late afternoon safari and produced as snacks on game drives. After tea, we were taken on our first vehicle game drive by guide Allen, the only one of our drives in boat, vehicle or on foot in both Selous and Ruaha which we shared with two other guests. As we had expected from the literature, the game was well spread out across this vast reserve and well hidden by the lush vegetation resulting from the early short rains, but our knowledgeable guide knew where to look.

In our three vehicle game drives – two late afternoon and one in the morning, we saw elephant, huge numbers of giraffe, hippo both off and in the water, crocodile, buffalo, impala, zebra, greater kudu, waterbuck, wildebeest, hyena, jackal, mongoose, squirrel and, the highlight of the Selous visit, wild dogs on an Impala kill followed by a huge heap of vultures – plus, of course, birds wherever you looked – our list over the six days in Selous and Ruaha totalled 95 different varieties that we actually managed to record. There were lions around the camp, but we managed to miss them.

On our second afternoon boat safari, we left the lake and followed the Ruifiji River – again seeing huge varieties of birds and excellent close up views of elephant drinking and feeding on the waterside vegetation. As we sat in our boat enjoying a drink, Mboto suddenly spotted four of the rare black and white Colombo monkeys high in the tree tops on the opposite side of the river – a sighting that is very difficult from beneath the canopy. Mboto also escorted us on our early morning walking safari. We hugely increased our knowledge of both fauna and flora including an insight into the diet of a Civet cat. After a couple of hours walking in the bush, we arrived back at the lake to discover what we thought were fly campers at the water edge – but turned into a surprise breakfast with a huge herd of impala and several giraffe arriving on cue at the neighbouring beach to drink.

We were allocated the 'honeymoon' table for the last night of our stay looking over the camp fire down to the lake with the noise of the hippos echoing up the beach – magic. Mark, Jenny and all the staff went out of their way – beyond what might be called normal duty – to make our stay very special. The final chapter at Selous was the drive back to the airstrip with Mark where we spent half an hour in the Land Rover trying to encourage a small herd of elephants to stay away from the airstrip, only for them to charge across just two minutes before our plane touched down – out of this world!" See all these reviews: 8n in Zanzibar; 6n in Tanzania

"Overall an Excellent Camp. Lovely staff, with a high standard of guiding and customer service. The whole experience felt very personal.

Fantastic game viewing in a beautiful location, with plenty of wildlife coming through the camp. Would highly recomend it.

The only small area for improvement would be in the food which relative to the price and standard of the camp as a whole could be more imaginative." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 7n in Zanzibar

"The rooms were very nice and our view of the lake (and afternoon visits from an elephant) really set the scene nicely.

The food was hit-and-miss. Simple dishes were prepared well and tasted great but sometimes I wonder if the kitchen got a little too adventurous (moussaka on a particularly hot afternoon in Africa seemed an odd choice). The service was excellent.

The game viewing was great and fly-camping was one of the best experiences we had. Boat trips on the lake were a nice opportunity to see birds, crocs, and hippos up close." See all these reviews: 4n in Tanzania

"The accommodation and service at Selous Safari Camp was exceptional. Yes, the 'tent' did have canvas sides, however that was the only similarity with camping. These tents were contained within a timber roundal, and fitted out to the highest of standards.

The furniture, and decoration was excellent, the tent was incredibly spacious, the bathroom area with twin sinks was well equipped, and the outdoor shower was a delight (water heated by your own donkey boiler, and heated up to your personal timetable !). With a comfortable verandah overlooking the wildlife in front of the lake, Selous Safari camp was a real treat.

Night time visitors here were elephant and the grazing hippo from the lake munching away through the night. With a personal 'butler' who remained with us throughout our stay, bringing coffee/tea to the tent in the morning, and even joining the game drives to prepare lunch, service at Selous could not be faulted.

The bar and dining area, on stilts also overlooking the lake, was always well prepared and of good quality. Considering the level of service, the attention to detail, Selous was less personal and more business like. Not in anyway a fault, just different from the experience we had in Mdonya. The planned 'sundowners' watching the sun set over the lake at the end of the day was very pleasant however was a way for you to consume more drinks, as also occured throughout any game drive.

The landscape and wildlife of the Selous offered a variety to the Ruaha, often with savanah and acacia on large plains. Herds of wildebeast were more evident, as also zebra and giraffe. We came across a pride of 8 lion lounging under a tree, and further lion as well as hyena (fat bellied and exuding that real evil look) on several occasions.

Again the birdlife was excellent with our guides helping to spot distant eagle and vulture. With the gorgeous lilac breasted roller perching just above the landrover photo opportunities were frequent. The landrovers usually carried 6, so our family of 4 was joined by another couple. No problems with visibility as everyone had an outside seat on the staged seating of the landrover. Our driver was also our spotter and therefore of note to the guide plus driver at Mdonya.

Whilst viewing our pride of lions we were also joined by 2 other vehicles, no issue, and certainly unlike the experiences we had heard would exist in the more frequently visited parks (15+ vehicles around a single lion !), credit however to Selous Safari Camp and the drivers, we rarely met other vehicles other than on this occasion. Overall probably less variety of wildlife, although more of it when it was there.

We had a fabulous time on a fishing trip which just changed the pace of the day. With our daughter hauling out an 8.5Kg catfish within seconds of casting it made for another great experience. We all caught catfish of varying sizes, whilst watching the hippo and crocs, and birdlife on the river, which helped to provide for dinner for both us and the staff at the camp." See all these reviews: 15n in Tanzania