Selous Game Reserve
The Selous Game Reserve is one of the largest fauna reserves of the world, located in the south of Tanzania. It was named after Englishman Sir Frederick Selous, a famous big game hunter and early conservationist, who died in this territory in 1917 while fighting against the Germans during World War I. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982 due to the diversity of its wildlife and undisturbed nature.
The reserve covers a total area of 54,600 km² (21,081 square miles). Some of the typical animals of the savanna (for example elephants, hippopotami, African Wild Dog and crocodiles) can be found in this park in larger numbers than in any other African park. Selous Game Reserve is one of the largest areas set aside for wildlife preservation anywhere in the world. It accounts for 5% of the land mass of Tanzania, and yet all options for tourists are high quality, low-impact lodges that provide a high standard of accommodation.
The area became a hunting reserve in 1905. Nowadays it also has a touristic importance, though most of it is rarely visited by humans. Presence of the Tsetse fly and very difficult road access discourage visitation; however, it is easily accessible by train or small aircraft from Dar es Salaam.
Interesting places in the park include the river of Rufiji, which flows into the Indian Ocean in front of the Mafia Island and the Stiegler, a canyon of 100 metres depth and 100 metres width. Around this canyon can be found most of the touristic facilities.
Unlike other national parks in Africa safari by foot is permitted in the Selous Reserve
The Selous Game Reserve is a unique and unusual safari environment; a vast, thriving wildlife area of forests and woodlands around the lagoons, sandbanks and lakes of the Rufiji River. With its diversity of game and scenery the Selous is an area that naturally appeals to a photographic lens, as the waterways and plains reflect the changing colours of the sun.
Selous Game Reserve: Wildlife
The Selous wildlife is all the more interesting because it attracts both East and Southern African wildlife, both resident and migratory, and over 440 known species of birds.
The waterways of the Rufiji River Delta attract elephant herds, and are packed full of grunting hippopotami and yawning crocodile that lumber into the water at the first sound of a boat.
The banks attract large herds of plains game depending on the season, dispersing after the rains and regrouping when the water sources concentrate. To get a good idea of a safari experience in the Selous, click to view our Selous video.
Selous Safaris: Walking, Boating, & Camping
The conservation area allows walking and boating safaris, unlike any National Parks, and guiding standards are high. Many camps will arrange fantastic fly-camping nights in the bush, bookable in advance.
Selous Game Reserve: Scenery
Selous scenery is widely varied, with unusually green grasses and tangles of vegetation. The river routes are characterised by legions of tall Borassus Palms along the banks that grow up to 25m tall, and leave a tall headless totem when the water courses move to leave them high and dry. The Selous conserves a surprisingly colourful African landscape, with white leadwood trunks in stark contrast to the surrounding vibrancy of well-watered greens and a ranging palette of sandy terracottas.
