Nyerere National Park was created in 2019 from the northern and eastern part of the Selous Game Reserve and named after Julius Nyerere, Tanzania's first president. At 30,893 km² it is the largest national park in the country, comparable in size to Belgium, and it lies roughly 200 km south-west of Dar es Salaam by road, with several airstrips for fly-in safaris. The park is defined by the Rufiji River, Tanzania's largest, which spreads into a network of lakes and channels north of Stiegler's Gorge. Boat safaris among hippos, crocodiles and riverside birdlife are the signature activity, alongside walking safaris and fly camping, which the former reserve's regulations allowed and the park has retained. Wildlife includes lion, leopard, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and one of Africa's most significant populations of African wild dogs. Elephant numbers fell by about two-thirds between 2009 and 2013 through poaching; national park status was intended to strengthen protection. The Julius Nyerere hydropower dam at Stiegler's Gorge, completed in the 2020s, sits within the park.
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