Lake Manze

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Lake Manze

Lake Manze – Experience adventure! Keep it natural! Feel the thrills of having an elephant eating Doum palm seeds right outside your tent. Hear the sound of its rumbling stomach and see how tender a mother is to her calf.

We have so much to learn from our animal friends, teachings that can help us create a better world.
We keep everything as it was before we arrived and this is why animals use the camp as much as our guests.

Experience this magical, romantic camp on the shore of the Lake Manze with stunning lake views from your own verandah. Experience the sunrise on a walking safari. Enjoy a delicious picnic bush breakfast or lunch during your game drive as you spot lions and wild dogs. Take a fishing trip on the lake.

Get close and personal with hippos and crocodiles and thousands of exotic birds on a sunset boat safari. Delight in a sumptuous candlelight dinner on the lakeshore to the symphony of the surrounding.
You’ll never want to leave!

Twelve Meru style walk-in tents, each with twin or double beds, flush toilet, outdoor shower and private veranda, are perfectly situated to enjoy the morning ritual: elephants trampling across an old, well-worn elephant trail in front of the camp towards the river.
Manze’s communal area is simply a large thatched roof spreading above a sand floor, with armchairs and sofas for lounging with a drink to watch the animals come and go.
Game Drive
Game safaris take place in 4×4 vehicles which usually take 4 guests (except for airstrip transfers, when there may be up to 6 guests).
The drives are not limited to a specific schedule but tailor-made to guests’ wishes.
Game drives can be in the morning, or in the afternoon, or for a full day.
Departure times for the drives can usually be arranged according to your preferences
The full day drive usually goes towards the Beho Beho area, with a packed lunch. The vegetation in this area is different from the Manze area, being more open plains. In the afternoon a stop can be made at the Maji Moto hot springs. There are three pools: very hot, hot and warm. If you wish, you may take a swim in the lowest pool – or the middle pool if you can stand it!

Walking Safari
A walk with an armed ranger and an informative guide is a rewarding experience and a great way to get closer to the beauty of the Selous. Walking safaris can be arranged either in the early morning or the late afternoon.
Generally the early morning is the coolest time of the day. Walkers leave after a cup of tea/coffee, and eat breakfast on their return to camp. The walk usually lasts for about 2 hours, and can cover up to 3 km in the area around the camp.
The purpose of a walking safari is not to get close to animals. You get closer to animals when in a vehicle. The purpose of a walking safari is to see their tracks, their dung, to see plants and trees, and generally to enjoy being in nature without a vehicle. It is not a route march intended to cover long distances, but a gentle stroll, stopping to look at things of interest.
Please note that children of 15 years and younger are not permitted to go on walking safaris in the Selous.

Boat Safari
There are two possibilities: either onto Lake Manze or along a channel that runs from the Lake to the Rufiji River (although it is too far to reach the river itself).
In either direction you can expect to see hippo, crocodile, maybe other animals coming to drink, and about 40 species of birds. Some birds, like osprey, are more likely to be seen on the lake; others, like white-fronted bee eaters, are more numerous on the channel.
Some guests do both trips, and opinion seems to be equally divided as to which is the better.
Boat safaris last a little over 2 hours and can be arranged in either the morning or the afternoon. Early morning offers the charm of the early morning light (unless it’s cloudy!), but you are likely to see more crocodiles once the day has warmed up and they come out to bask in the sun.
A popular option is a morning walk at 6.30 a.m. followed by a boat safari at 10.00 a.m. Afternoon boat safaris offer the possibility of a beautiful Manze sunset.

The camp has been constructed with careful regard to the impact it makes on the environment. All the tents are situated unobtrusively in the shade of stands of doum palms and other trees. When viewed from the boat, it is hardly possible to see the camp at all, it is so well hidden. Disturbance to the environment during the period of construction was kept to a minimum.
Hot water for the showers comes from solar-heated panels. There is no electricity in the tents, so our power generating requirements are minimal.
Flights are available two times a day from Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar and once a day from Arusha, Manyara and Ruaha with Coastal Aviation, to Siwandu Airstrip in the Nyerere National Park (ex Selous). Road access is via Kibiti, Mikumi or Morogoro. It is difficult and lengthy, but may be fun for the adventurous.