A Day in the African Bush: Our Safari from Zanzibar to Nyerere National Park

Of all the places my wife and I have stopped for lunch on our travels, a picnic spot in the Tanzanian wilderness with a lion napping about 400 meters away has to be one of the most unusual!

Thankfully, the lion was far more interested in sleeping under a tree than in what we were eating. Our safari guide, Mr. Martin, explained that animals often look for shade and save their energy during the hottest part of the day. Reassuring? Sure. But it still felt surreal to sit down for lunch knowing there were wild lions nearby…

And that wasn’t even our strangest break of the day. Earlier, we’d sipped tea with hippos in the distance, and later, a simple bathroom break turned into its own little adventure. Trust me, you don’t think twice about a walk to the restroom until you’ve spent the morning watching lions, wild dogs, and hippos!

This was our one-day fly-in safari to Nyerere National Park in southern Tanzania, which we booked while staying at the Park Hyatt Zanzibar in December 2025. We only had a day to spare but by the time we got back to the hotel that evening, I was already thinking about coming back for a longer safari. Please join me in this review of our one-day Nyerere National Park safari from Zanzibar!

Hotel pickup	Park Hyatt Zanzibar, 5:30 a.m.
Aircraft	Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
Flight	About 45 minutes each way
Included	Flights, ground transfers, safari vehicle, guiding, park fees, lunch, drinks, and a professional photographer
Back at the hotel	About 7:00 p.m.

Booking the Safari: A Hefty Price, but a Lot Included

Let’s get the price out of the way first. At $800 per person, this was not a cheap day trip. I definitely raised an eyebrow when I saw $1,600 for the two of us.

However, this wasn’t just a few hours in a jeep. Our booking included the round-trip flights from Zanzibar to mainland Tanzania, pickup and drop-off at the Park Hyatt, all of our safari transportation, park entrance fees, a guide, lunch, drinks, and professional photography. Once I looked at the whole experience instead of just the hours on the ground, the price made a lot more sense.

We booked the Selous Luxury Day Safari with Photographer through Tripadvisor. Just a heads up: Tripadvisor works with local tour operators, so I can’t guarantee you’ll get the same company we had. A couple of days before the trip, the team reached out to make sure everything was set and to send the pickup details. Arranging a pickup straight from the Park Hyatt Zanzibar in Stone Town was no problem at all.

Our driver showed up right on time at 5:30 a.m. At the airport, someone was already waiting to help us check in. We showed our passports, got our boarding passes, and headed straight to the plane. No guessing where to go or figuring things out on our own! For a trip with multiple flights, drivers, and a full day inside a national park, the organization was excellent.

The Flight Was an Experience in Itself

As someone who flies a lot, I wasn’t expecting a 45-minute flight to be one of the highlights of a safari. But flying on a small Cessna 208B Grand Caravan turned out to be so much fun!

It was a completely different experience from boarding a commercial jet. We were way closer to the cockpit and had amazing views out the windows. Even with the plane’s size, the ride was incredibly smooth… honestly one of the smoothest flights I can remember taking in a while.

Not long after takeoff, we crossed the Zanzibar Channel, the stretch of the Indian Ocean between Zanzibar’s main island and mainland Tanzania. We could see the coastline and water below, and then the area around Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city and commercial capital.

Farther inland, the view changed from city to small towns, villages, fields, and huge stretches of wilderness. Looking down at those plains, I kept wondering how many animals were somewhere right below us. We hadn’t even started the game drive, and the scale of the landscape was already impressive.

A Dirt Airstrip and a Completely Different World

As we got close to the park, it was clear we weren’t landing at a normal airport. Instead of a big terminal and a paved runway, we were heading down toward an unpaved airstrip surrounded by open land.

The arrival reminded me of landing at the tiny jungle airstrip in Mulu, Malaysia. The landing on the dirt strip was surprisingly smooth, and stepping off the plane made the whole trip feel real. There was dust, open ground, plants everywhere, and the thought that wildlife could be just beyond what we could see. Only a little while earlier we’d been at a luxury hotel in Zanzibar. Now we were standing in the Tanzanian bush! The flying was so much more than a way to get from Point A to Point B.

Meeting Mr. Martin and Ahmed

Waiting for us after we landed was our guide, Mr. Martin, along with a professional photographer named Ahmed. This is when I found out something funny… Ahmed had been sitting next to us on the plane the whole time! I had no idea who he was until he introduced himself at the airstrip.

I knew photography was included in the booking, but I didn’t expect how much having our own photographer would add to the experience. Ahmed took photos of the animals, of course, but he also caught candid moments of my wife and me watching and reacting to everything around us. That meant we could put our phones down more often and just enjoy being there.

Mr. Martin gave us a practical safety briefing before we set off. His main message was simple: respect the animals, stay where the guides tell you to stay, and listen when they give instructions. We were riding in an open safari jeep, after all, not a closed vehicle with glass between us and the wildlife.

Hold On! The Radio, the Jeep, and the Tanzanian Bush

One thing I didn’t fully appreciate before this trip was how fast the pace of a game drive can change. Mr. Martin was in radio contact with the other drivers, and if someone reported an interesting sighting, our driver would change course so we had a chance to see it too.

Mr. Martin actually apologized ahead of time for the sudden turns and bumpy stretches. He wasn’t joking! One minute we’d be cruising along a track at a comfortable pace, and the next we’d be holding on as the jeep bounced over the rough ground. I swear I got a little airtime on some of those bumps!

It wasn’t exactly a relaxing Sunday drive, but it was entertaining, and it got us some incredible sightings. Mr. Martin told us we’d seen more wildlife in our single day than some visitors see over three days. I can’t speak for anyone else’s safari, but after everything we saw, I understood why he said it.

Our First Sighting: Where’s Timon?

The very first animal we saw on our game drive was a warthog. Naturally, my mind went straight to Pumbaa from The Lion King.

My first thought? “Where’s Timon?”

Not the most sophisticated wildlife observation, I know, haha. But it was a fun start to a day that was about to get a lot more eventful.

Elephants and Their Little Ones

One of my favorite encounters was a herd of African elephants with several calves. We watched the adults and little ones moving close together, and later saw elephants in and around the water.

It’s one thing to know elephants are huge. It’s another to watch an adult standing right next to a baby and really see the difference in size. The calves were adorable with their much smaller trunks and ears, but what I found most interesting was how closely the adults stayed around them.

Mr. Martin explained how important family groups are and the ways the adults protect the younger elephants. Watching them move together was far more interesting than just checking “elephant” off our list. And of course, we were more than happy to admire the babies without going anywhere near them.

African Wild Dogs: Cute Until You Learn How They Hunt

I did not expect to see African wild dogs, let alone a whole pack of them. Mr. Martin told us this was a rare and special sighting, and he was right. The species is endangered, but the wider Nyerere-Selous ecosystem is still one of its most important strongholds.

The dogs were resting in the heat, and with their oversized ears and patchy coats, they looked kind of endearing. If you didn’t know anything about them, you could almost convince yourself they were just a group of scruffy dogs enjoying an afternoon nap.

And then Mr. Martin explained how they hunt…

African wild dogs are fierce cooperative hunters, and the way they feed can be graphic. Hearing about it put a bit of a knot in my stomach. Those cute faces suddenly seemed a lot less cuddly!

At one point, one of the dogs looked over at my wife and stood up. That was enough for her to shuffle closer to me. We had no idea what it was thinking, and it wasn’t necessarily being aggressive, but we were very aware that this was not a petting zoo. Our guides eased the vehicle away, and the dogs settled back down.

I was thrilled to see them in the wild. Still, I think we’ll save the cuddles for our Goldendoodle and Yorkie back home!

The Lions: Sleeping, but Still Intimidating

Seeing lions was high on our wish list, and we came across them several times, including two male lions that Mr. Martin said were brothers, resting together under a tree.

They looked like oversized house cats, stretched out in the shade and totally uninterested in doing much of anything. We also saw other lions resting on their own in bushes and under trees. Mr. Martin explained that the heat made it more likely they’d save their energy during the day.

But there’s a big difference between watching a lion on TV and looking at one from an open-air safari jeep. A few of the sightings were close enough that I suddenly became very aware of how little was between us and the animals. I’ll admit my heart rate wasn’t exactly resting!

Our guides positioned the vehicle carefully and kept a respectful distance. The lions seemed happy to stay put, and I was perfectly happy for it to stay that way.

Pro tip: when your guide says no flash, they mean it! One gentleman in our vehicle kept using his camera flash while we were watching the lions, even after Mr. Martin asked everyone not to, so after a few reminders, I tapped him on the shoulder… and let’s just say it wasn’t exactly a friendly tap, haha. Whether or not a flash bothers a particular animal, this is their territory, and our job is to watch without disturbing them.

Hippos: Gloria from Madagascar Has Some Explaining to Do

As intimidating as the lions and wild dogs were, the animals that made me the most uneasy were the hippos.

Anyone who’s watched Madagascar probably remembers Gloria, the friendly hippo. Real hippos are powerful, unpredictable wild animals and can be extremely dangerous if they feel threatened. Despite their size, they can run at around 19 miles per hour (30 km/h) over short distances on land. Those massive jaws and teeth are not something I ever want to see up close.

We saw plenty of them in the water, sometimes with barely more than their eyes and ears showing. A few times, hippos turned toward our jeep, and I’ll admit that made me nervous. I don’t know if they were just watching us or reacting to us being there, but when Mr. Martin and our driver decided it was time to move along, I had zero objections!

Tea and Biscuits with Hippos in the Distance

One of the quieter, more memorable parts of the day was our midmorning tea and coffee break. Our team set out hot drinks and biscuits, with hippos in the water about 150-200 meters away. Mr. Martin joined the team at the setup.

There we were, sipping tea in the African bush while some of the most dangerous animals we’d seen all morning rested in the distance. I loved that contrast. The game drive had been fast and bumpy, but here we had a few moments to sit, talk, and take everything in.

Mr. Martin told us to stay near the vehicles and not wander off. After everything we’d learned about hippos, nobody needed to tell me twice!

Giraffes: That Wasn’t a Friendly Greeting

We saw quite a few giraffes, and their height is even more striking in person. But the most interesting encounter was two males that at first looked like they were having a friendly moment.

Mr. Martin explained that they were actually doing a dominance behavior called necking, where male giraffes swing their necks and hit each other with their heads. What I thought was a bonding moment was more like a contest. We watched part of it before the giraffes eventually wandered off into the bush.

That’s one of the things I appreciated most about Mr. Martin. He didn’t just point out animals; he helped us understand what we were watching.

Buffalo, Crocodiles, Zebras, and Plenty More

It would be impossible to go through every animal encounter in this much detail, but the variety of animals we saw was incredible.

One African buffalo (also called a Cape buffalo) gave our jeep a look that seemed to say, “You can move along now.” We did, haha. We also came across crocodiles resting near the riverbank, looking completely still for animals I knew could move fast when they wanted to.

There were zebras, wildebeest, waterbuck, impala, greater kudu, and Lichtenstein’s hartebeest. We also spotted vervet monkeys and yellow baboons, including an adult carrying a baby. Some of these sightings were quick, while others gave us time to stop and really take a look.

And then there were the birds! I won’t pretend I could have named every species without Ahmed’s photos, but his pictures help tell that side of the story: a pied kingfisher, an African fish eagle, a yellow-billed stork, egrets, Egyptian geese, and even a juvenile bateleur eagle.

I’m glad we didn’t spend the whole day focused only on the big animals. Nyerere is full of smaller details that are easy to miss when you’re hoping to find a lion around the next bend.

Lunch in the Bush, with a Lion Not Far Away

Lunch turned out to be another pleasant surprise. We stopped at a designated picnic area shaded by a massive baobab tree that our guides said is a local landmark.

The meal was much better than I expected from a day trip in the middle of the wilderness. My plate had chicken, noodles, rice, a cooked vegetable side, and watermelon, with a glass-bottle Coca-Cola to drink. It was tasty, filling, and very welcome after a morning of bouncing around in the jeep.

And then there was our sleepy neighbor. Mr. Martin told us the lion was resting about 400 meters from the picnic area, keeping to the shade in the heat. Not your typical lunch view!

And then came the bathroom situation…

The restrooms were in a separate building about 100 meters from the vehicles. Normally that isn’t even worth thinking about. After a morning of close wildlife sightings, though, it suddenly felt like a much longer walk. My wife and I went together and found ourselves looking around in every direction on the way over.

It’s funny looking back, but I won’t deny we were a little cautious! We stuck to the designated area and followed our guides’ instructions. This was a picnic stop, not an invitation to go exploring on foot.

The Photos That Let Us Relive the Day

One of the best parts of our booking was the professional photographer. Ahmed took more than 600 photos throughout the safari and sent them to us about three to four days later.

It wasn’t just the wildlife photography I appreciated, even though those shots were fantastic. He also caught the little reactions my wife and I had throughout the day: the surprise, the laughter, and those moments when an animal paid a little more attention to us than we expected.

It was so nice to spend more time watching instead of trying to photograph absolutely everything ourselves. Looking through his photos afterward brought back moments I might have forgotten otherwise.

A huge thank-you to Ahmed Rawahy for capturing the day so well! His photos throughout this review are credited and linked to his Instagram.

Returning to Zanzibar

Eventually, it was time to head back to the airstrip. Our takeoff from the dirt runway was just as smooth as the landing, and we flew back to Zanzibar after a very full day of wildlife watching.

When we landed, our return driver was already waiting for us. Once again, the handoff was seamless. We were back at the Park Hyatt Zanzibar around 7:00 p.m., almost fourteen hours after our early-morning pickup.

That made for a long day, but nothing about the organization made it feel harder than it needed to be. From the first message to the final hotel drop-off, every detail was taken care of.

A Few Practical Tips Before You Book

Bring your passport. Ours were checked when we boarded at the airport. Even though it’s a domestic day trip, don’t assume you can leave your passport in your hotel room.

Have your inbound insurance ready. When we got back to Zanzibar, there were checks related to our travel insurance. Since October 2024, Zanzibar has required most nonresident visitors to buy its own inbound travel insurance, and your regular travel insurance doesn’t replace it. Since October 1, 2026, mainland Tanzania has its own mandatory inbound insurance too, but the two insurers have said one policy covers a trip to both, so you shouldn’t need two. Be sure to check the official Zanzibar insurance portal and the latest entry rules before you go.

Dress for the heat and dust. Neutral-colored clothes, sun protection, and comfy shoes are the way to go. One visitor wore a zebra-print dress, which made me chuckle after we’d all been told to wear muted colors.

Expect rough roads and a long day. Our 5:30 a.m. pickup and 7:00 p.m. return meant almost fourteen hours away from the hotel, and the jeep ride had plenty of bumpy stretches. If you get motion sick, I recommend coming prepared.

Listen to your guide. This was the biggest takeaway. Keep a respectful distance, stay with your vehicle when you’re told to, don’t disturb the animals, and follow the driver and guides' lead. The official park rules also ask visitors to stay on designated tracks.

Bring cash for tips. Tips usually aren't included in the price of a safari, so be sure to bring some cash for your guide, driver and the team that sets up your tea break and lunch. Tanzanian shillings and US dollars are both widely used, but if you bring dollars, make sure they're crisp bills printed in 2009 or later, because older or damaged notes are often turned down in Tanzania. Small bills make it way easier to split between everyone, too! Tipping is always up to you, but most safari tipping guides suggest roughly $10 to $30 per person for the day, depending on the service. After a full day, I was more than happy to hand it over to Mr. Martin and our driver.

Remember that sightings are never guaranteed. We had an amazing day in December, which falls in the greener short-rains period rather than the classic dry-season viewing window. Your experience will depend on the season, the conditions, where the animals are, and a bit of luck.

Final Thoughts: Was It Worth $1,600 for Two?

For us, absolutely!

It wasn’t a cheap day trip, and $800 per person isn’t exactly a casual purchase. But with the flights, park fees, transfers, meals, guide, and professional photography included, not to mention everything we actually saw, I felt we got excellent value.

Some of my favorite moments weren’t even the big sightings. They were the unexpected ones: Ahmed revealing he’d been on our plane all along, bouncing around in the jeep after a radio call, sitting down for tea with hippos nearby, and watching my wife inch closer to me whenever an animal got a little too curious.

Mr. Martin and our driver did an excellent job finding wildlife, explaining what we were seeing, and keeping safety in mind. Ahmed gave us a collection of photos we’ll be looking back on for years. And the tour team handled the logistics so smoothly that we could focus on the experience instead of worrying about the details.

If you’re spending a few days in Zanzibar and want a taste of an African safari without planning a separate multi-day trip, I highly recommend looking into a fly-in day safari like this one. Just go in knowing that a single day can never guarantee the sightings we were lucky enough to have.

The funny thing is, this one-day safari didn’t satisfy my curiosity about Tanzania. It did the opposite! It left me wanting to come back to Tanzania for a multi-day safari, and to explore places like Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe too!

This really was the perfect one-day, once-in-a-lifetime adventure. I’ve always dreamed about going on a safari, and I’ve watched so many videos and posts about them over the years. After finally doing one, I can confirm it lived up to every bit of the hype! Mr. Martin's guiding and having our own photographer, Ahmed, made this a trip I will never forget. An absolute 10/10 experience!

Disclosure: We paid for this safari ourselves, and all opinions are our own. The price and inclusions are from our December 2025 booking and may change. Verify with the booking company first.