What can we say! From the welcome at Mtemere airstrip with cold apple juice, to the game drive between the airstrip and the camp on our first morning, the exceptional and abundant food served during our whole stay, the superb service and attention to detail from Chloe, Mara and all the team on camp, the widely knowledgable and amenable guides who showed us two prides of lions, a leopard, countless elephant, giraffe, hippos, zebra, wildebeest etc and the beautiful birdlife on display and were always happy to stop or reposition for that great photo, the bushbabies outside our tent all night every night (tent no. 6!) and the elephant that paid us an early visit on the first morning we woke up in camp when he climbed out of the river right in front of our tent, the candlelit dinner for two under the stars with complimentary bubbly provided for honeymooners and the relaxed nature of the whole visit we came away with a sense of expectations exceeded on all counts!
Impala Camp had a great setting, food and tents, however what made this camp stand out were our guide, Ezra, and driver, Raja, who gave us memories we'll never forget. We were lucky enough to drop straight in on a lion kill fresh off the aeroplane, and from then the excitement never really stopped! From Raja's hawk eyes spotting leopard kill up in a tree who we then caught a glimpse of, to running back to the vehicle from bush toilet when wild dogs turned up unexpectedly!
But the smaller things we experienced with these both were really special too, such as hopping out the vehicle to eat marula fruit, watching the lion ant take his prey and learning all about the whistling acacia, we had such fun, and a really personal experience.
It was also really good to get a different perspective on boat safari, seeing all the hippo and crocs, and birdlfe around the lakes.
Overall Impala was an amazing first experience to safari.
From the moment we arrived at Selous Impala Camp, we were looked after like Royalty! I've never felt so spoiled and cared for at a resort. The staff were warm and welcoming and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. The accommodation - our tent - was fabulous! Really luxurious and yet natural and in keeping with the whole safari experience - all mod cons catered for.
The layout of the camp was fantastic. It felt very natural and we really felt like we were in the middle of the bush! The restaurant and bar areas were beautiful - the decoration and layout were stunning as was the location, overlooking the Rufiji River - absolutely beautiful. The food was amazing - such choice and variety - a very talented chef indeed! Staff members were friendly, knowledgable and very professional.
Just an absolutely wonderful experience in every possible way! We would not hesitate to recommend Selous Impala Camp to anyone!
Relative to Lake Manze camp where we started our trip, Selous Impala was rather more luxurious and less informal. This made it feel like we had started our trip all over again! The terrain local to Impala is more bush than scrub and so it affords a different set of game viewing, less zebra and impala, more elephants.
On one occasion we stopped to look back at an elephant emerging from the trees only to find that a herd of over 20 emerged and passed the Jeep on both sides and on into the distance, an awe inspiring sight. Leopards proved elusive for us despite Mpogo's best efforts but that did not detract from the overall excellent quantity of game viewing available.
Impala Camp encourages guests to leave camp early after a cup of tea in their tent and then break their morning drive with a bush breakfast. This seemed a very good system for optimum game viewing. We would then return after midday for a three course lunch and some close encounters with animals! Even during the middle of the day Impala has semi-resident and visiting large game.
The nature of the camp, with tents placed discreetly among the bush, means that you need to be vigilant at all times when walking without a Masai. Elephants are surprisingly quiet when not demolishing trees and although the Masai generally knew when Tempo where in camp, animals often crossed the river and came up into camp unnoticed. Thrilling and sometimes the cause of a delay to supper.
The family accommodation at Impala, two tents sharing a raised platform was ideal and the location, overlooking a sandy 'beach' where animals would leave the river was superb. Meals were served at you own table, in the dining area which overlooked the river, allowing you to continue watching game as you ate. At night the tables were moved out on to the deck under the stars.
A variation, if you feel you've done enough game viewing, is to go fishing on the river. It is a nice relaxing way to spend the morning and with simple rods and lines we caught two impressive fish without too much trouble.
All in all a fabulous 4 days.
Comfortable accomodation, great food, beautiful location and well informed guides. Brilliant attention to detail in many aspects of the camp.
Also - provision of drinking water when on safari during the day was not great - would have been nice to have been given a flask each rather than constantly having to ask our guide for a cup every hour or so. Hot weather = lots of water needed!
Two very small points in what was an otherwise excellent stay though! Well done Impala Camp.
There are plenty of comments on how stunning the setting is for this camp; we can only echo them (although some tents have slightly more panoramic views over the river than others). Gazing at and listening to hippos is a magical experience. The location makes this an immediate reward - from the giraffe, hippo and elephant on the camp through to the activities on the river. A particular highlight must be sitting in our boat at sunset watching a herd of a dozen elephants swimming across the river.
The guides are excellent and knowledgeable, and the opportunity for a walking safari adds to he range of experiences you get here.
Service is very attentive- in fact over solicitous at times, but that would be nit-picking.
The food was of a much higher quality than we had expected from the brochures - Mohammed is a wizard with soups and you certainly eat well. Evenings a bit quiet and not a great deal of contact with other guests, but we were able to share our adventures - such as catching catfish and tiger fish despite never having been fishing at all in the Uk.
Please note the camp does not accept travellers cheques, so ignore the suggestion that this is a safe and convenient way to pay.
Travellers' cheques used to be useful in Tanzania, but this traveller is quite right – it is becoming harder to use them, and Impala does not accept them at all.
In the last year we changed our website's advice on this topic, and also our 'Notes for travellers' pre-departure information. Both now clearly state that travellers' cheques are not accepted at Impala Camp and our general advice on travelling in Tanzania is that although most major camps accept credit cards, some of the more remote do not. Travellers' cheques are rarely accepted at lodges when settling bills for extras — US$ cash are ideal, though UK pounds are also accepted.
It was a beautiful camp with the most wonderful staff.
The food was excellent - a rare treat for us as we're all vegetarian.
The guides were extremely informative and interesting and good company on all the game drives/ boat safaris.We saw a huge variety of animals/ birds, far more than I expected.
The tents were comfortable with great views. Nothing seemed too much trouble for any of the staff. We would all love to go back!
Cannot praise highly enough the staff at Impala from Mpogo the driver who was assigned to us for the whole time (excellent idea so dont get repetition) who was informative and always keen to find animals for us (especialy the leopards!), Chloe and the staff at the camp who were friendly, flexible and were especially good with the children. The facilities were excellent without being intrusive to the feeling of being out in the bush we wanted. The food was better than you could possibly have expected under the conditions and the kitchen was flexible to the demands of the children - including cooking the catfish they caught.
The variety of opportunities with the game drives and river safaris meant we left the camp wanting to stay longer and fearful that nothing would live up to it..
The game was plentiful and varied, saw everything we hoped to see (bar the wild dogs who no-one could find) and I developed a fascination for the enormous varieties of birdlife which was eye opening to someone who has never understood it before.
The children found the whole experience as thrilling as they had thought and we never felt unsafe. Would recommend the camp to both new and experienced at safaris.