Reviews of Impala Camp

"Great location. Champagne by the river on our arrival was a treat
Friendly staff
Good food
Liked eating out in different areas of the camp at night, especially by the wood fire
Nice swimming pool
Good choice of activities
Especially enjoyed boat safaris and fishing trip. Interesting trip to local village
Gerrard was an excellent, well-informed guide, enthusiastic about his job and showed us lots of game and birds" See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar

"There was nothing massively wrong with Selous Impala, but I didn't really warm to it. The rooms are nice, the managers were nice enough but it was rather hard not to compare it to Kwihala which has a much more friendly atmosphere. The separate dining policy is probably mostly to blame for this, and I was aware of this in advance and suspected it would be a negative but unfortunately this seems to be common at a lot of camps in Selous.

Our guide was also a bit disappointing. Although his knowledge was good if we asked specific questions, he didn't volunteer much in the way of information either about the wildlife or about where we were going and why. When we suddenly found ourselves crashing off road into a gully nearly having our eyes taken out by bushes, we had to ask why to find out it was because a leopard with cubs had been sighted there recently. He did also seem to drive a bit too fast for comfort on the very bumpy Selous roads, and seemed reluctant to switch the engine off whenever we stopped. Even if I'm not taking photographs, I'd still rather sit in peace listening to the sounds of the bush than to the engine idling. Again, Selous Impala just didn't measure up to Kwihala on the guiding." See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar

"We were made to feel very welcome the moment our plane touched down at the airport - Pollycarp and Benjy greeted us and took us on a little detour game drive between the airport and the camp. In that short space of time, we saw many animals - giraffes, zebras, water buck, hippos, to name but a few.

The highlights of the camp for us were the following:
- Very knowledgeable guides (Omari and Rajabu) who followed paw prints of lions to bring us straight to the lions almost every day (days 2, 3, 4)
- The options available to us in game drives, boat safari and walking safari (we tried all - and loved the variety)
- The food cannot be faulted; each meal was perfection and the dessert always surprised!

The scenes that will stay in our minds are the hundreds of vultures waiting for the lions to have their fill of the prey, 2 lionesses devouring a wildebeest and one later walking about 200m to feed her cubs, and 6 lionesses devouring a wildebeest in 15 minutes (freshly caught, we had arrived 10-15mins after the kill). Herds of elephants just doing their own thing, and baby zebras, giraffes, baboons all added to the magic. Lions and hippos mating were also sights we won't forget!

However perhaps because of the period we were there, all the action was around the Lakes and we spent about an hour getting there every morning (and back). That seemed like a lot of time for a 4 day trip." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania

"An attractive camp on the Rufiji river, we loved our tent no 1 which was accessed by a rustic bridge and was surrounded by wildlife as it was on the edge of camp.

The boat trip on the first day ending with a surprise sun-downer was lovely, and we saw plenty of birdlife and bigger game such as elephant crossing the river. The rest of the time we had morning and evening game drives.Our guide Ezra and driver Victor were both very good and made sure we saw plenty of wildlife, though sadly not the leopard and cubs. We appreciated having the vehicle to ourselves, and one of the highlights was seeing the 6 brother lion pride.

The food was very good and we appreciated having our own table and the various dining areas especially the table on the last night which allowed us better views of genets and bush babies. Our hosts Barbara, Silvie and Francesca were helpful and attentive as were all the staff, especially Maasai Daudi who was usually our faithful escort after dark.

This part of Selous is green and attractive at this time of the year with the scent of Terminalia and yellow Cassia in bloom. We saw a huge variety of game and birdlife." See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania; 3n in Mozambique

"Selous Impala Camp was a wonderful start to our holiday.

The raised tents were extremely comfortable and well kitted out and it was great to overlook the river and hear all the animal noises at night. The food was healthy, tasty and well varied. We were particularly pleased that the portions were on the small side in order to avoid waste. The service was faultless at all times and our guide Ezra was unbelievably knowledgeable about the reserve. The game drives and boat trips were rewarding, if sometimes a little too long.

Unlike other parks, the Selous is very quiet and it was quite common for us not to see another vehicle, or only one or two. The downside is that the game is sometimes harder to spot, though the peaceful atmosphere in the park more than made up for this. It was lovely to refresh ourselves in the pool in the afternoon! The camp is very well managed by Barbara and the other staff, who are always on hand to answer questions and deal with any problems.

To be honest we just couldn't find any faults with Impala Camp at all!" See all these reviews: 9n in Mozambique; 4n in Tanzania

"Excellent service

It was wonderful to have a guide (Gerard) allocated to our family of 4 for the whole stay at the camp. This meant that we could go and see the animals that we wanted to, at the hours that fitted us as a family. He explained everything very well at a level of detail our children could understand.

All of the staff at the camp were extremely well trained, and attentive to our needs throughout the whole stay, without being intrusive. Nice little touches such as the complimentary laundry service, and drinking water topped up in the rooms.

Nice to have the pre-dinner campfire drinks and the opportunity to talk with other people also on safari, and the camp staff" See all these reviews: 6n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania

"We were absolutely thrilled with Selous Impala camp - everything was amazing!

The managers were always checking that everything was OK for us and were very helpful in enabling my husband and I to go on a walking safari, leaving the camp to wake the children and bring them out in the jeep to join us for breakfast in the bush.

Our guide, Ezra, was very knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and patient answering all our questions. We appreciated having the same guide every day and Ezra played a large part in our enjoyment of the trip.

The location of Impala is fantastic on the river and the boat trips definitely added an extra dimension - they were a lovely way to spend the late afternoon having had a long game drive every morning. I must recommend the fishing! My son had the 'best day of his life' catching enormous fish, with Ezra and Faidha's enthusiasm adding to the excitement.

The camp was extremely well maintained and clean. It felt a privilege to interact and be escorted by Masai, and all the staff were spot on in terms of service.

We really enjoyed the Selous game reserve - we rarely saw more than 1 or 2 other jeeps, and saw lots of wildlife.

we felt the whole camp was very well organised - they clearly know what works well in terms of timings, and we felt they were very keen to make sure we made the most of our time there, never skimping on the length of time we were out on safari. The process of agreeing each evening what we would do the following day was easy.

Food was very good; it had a more local feel than in Zanzibar which we enjoyed.

The campfire was a lovely touch every evening.

To top it all, we had an anniversary surprise which was such a treat. A complimentary bottle of fizz by the river bank as the sun went down, and a handmade card - we were delighted.

As you can tell, I can't praise it more highly." See all these reviews: 8n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania

"our first safari - didn't know what to expect. So - here goes" See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 2n in Zanzibar

"We stayed in the family tent with my nieces aged 12 and 14. It was their first safari and the fourth for my husband and I. I can't praise the camp highly enough. The tent arrangement was ideal for us with two tents together on a raised platform with chairs to sit out, but each tent with its own shower room. Very comfortable and had everything we needed.

Quite a long walk to the main lodge and a Masai accompanied us to and from the tent during the day as well as after dark. The management team were friendly and efficient, our guide Ezra was excellent - knowledgeable and patient with two sometimes over excited girls! The food was very good, we enjoyed lingering over meals and so much prefer individual dining rather than the norm of communal dining. Good coffee too - as the management team are Italian they had a smart coffee machine!

It was good to be able to do boat trips as well as game drives which gave a bit of variety. We saw so much wildlife - giraffes in particular round every corner and more lions than my husband and I have seen anywhere else - everything we hoped to see apart from leopard and wild dog. The small swimming pool was very much enjoyed by the girls. The all day game drive was well worth doing and we ate a delicious picnic lunch by the shores of a beautiful lake with many birds.

We all had a wonderful time at Impala and were sad to leave!" See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania

"We were so impressed on arriving at Impala Camp, the main camp area was beautiful and the view across the river from our tent was simply stunning!

Barbara and Andrea were excellent hosts and the service in particular from our waiters was superb. Our guides Omari and Victor were fantastic and we really feel that we've learnt so much from them.

Selous Game Reserve itself is very beautiful, the boat safari in particular was both relaxing and very interesting with excellent game. We felt that there weren't too many other vehicles on the drives and it was a perfect choice for our first safari! We particuarly enjoyed the al-fresco breakfasts on the early morning dives which were set-up in the most stunning locations. The team at Impala Camp were very thoughtful with the little touches- a handmade welcome card, champagne at sunset, dinner under the stars in different locations each evening.

We would highly recommend this camp!" See all these reviews: 10n in Zanzibar; 6n in Tanzania