Lake Manze Camp

a fabulous option for more outdoorsy guests

Lake Manze Camp is located in the Selous area of southern Tanzania.

This property is owned and operated by Essential Destinations, based in Dar es Salaam and closely related to Coastal Aviation, the leading internal airline in Tanzania.

The camp was actually established by our great friend and aviation legend, the now deceased Nicola Colangelo. He passed it on to the lovely Malcolm Ryen, a trained biologist from Italy, who we have known since he was a young whippersnapper and who is always keeping us up-to-date with his safari adventures.

The camp is set in an unusually dense and shady grove of raffia palms at the back of a scenic lagoon, at the heart of the richest wildlife area in the reserve.

This deliberately simple and great value property is centred on a large open-side sandy-floored mess, leading out to a campfire area. From there it is often possible to watch herds of elephants traversing along the nearby shore of the lake.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Lake Manze Camp is in twelve relatively simple tents on concrete bases and with private outdoor bathrooms …

• Tent : x10
• Family Tent : x2 : with two bedrooms

Note that there is no electricity in the rooms, which are illuminated only by traditional lanterns.

Animals in camp

One aspect we always appreciate at Lake Manze Camp is the amount of wildlife that can come into camp. Here we have noted some extremely cheeky baboons and some unusually bold and relaxed elephants. We have also had giraffes wandering around our camp, which is always nice.

Activities

Lake Manze Camp provides the following guided activities, most of which are usually included in the price …

• Vehicle safari
• Motorboat safari
• Walking safari
• Bush meals
• Night vehicle safari : may not be permitted

The Selous tends to feature in relatively few trips to Tanzania, mainly because it is obliged to compete for nights with the fabulous safari areas of the Serengeti region and the nearby Ruaha. It tends to be used most at the extremes, as a short first-time safari extension to a beach vacation or as part of a longer safari for more experienced safari travellers.

The usual stay duration is 3-4 nights in one camp. Multiple camp combinations here are relatively rare.

Seasonality

The best time of year for safari in Selous is generally considered to be the Jul-Oct dry season, when the wildlife is concentrated along the river, although this is also the period when visitor numbers and prices both reach their peaks.

Getting there

Selous is most commonly accessed by light aircraft, which fly directly into dirt airstrips in the bush. In this case your safari vehicle and guide is provided by the camps in which you are staying.

Selous can also be visited by means of an overland safari, usually out of Dar es Salaam, in which case you would usually undertake your vehicle safari with your private vehicle and guide, whilst the lodge provides your motorboat safari and walking safari options.

popular in safari and beach combinations