Overview
The largest game reserve in Africa covering an area the size of Switzerland, Selous is possibly Africa's last great wilderness. Despite its size, however, this UNESCO World Heritage site has only a handful of high-end safari camps, allowing it to maintasin a low-impact exclusivity that is granted by few parks elsewhere.
Opportunities for foot safaris and game walks, boat explorations and the classic 4WD safari in open vehicles add a further unique element to the Selous safari and ensure its reputation for pure bush adventure remains untarnished by volume.
Selous stands unique amongst the major safari destinations of Africa in offering a wider range of safaris than the traditional 4WD-based vehicle safari. Boating explorations along the Rufiji River are a wild and adventurous safari experience as can be had, cruising amongst hippos, crocodiles and a full checklist of water birds, and getting closer to the attendant wildlife that drinks from the bank, as any other method would allow. Elsewhere, the game walks with armed ranger and guide allow a privileged viewpoint of the game that teems along the riverine
Ruaha is also a great birding park with over 500 species listed, including a few Tanzanian endemics, spread across the wide range of biospheres. Mountains and rivers, woodland and floodplains that make up this park's terrain. Whilst only slightly smaller than the Serengeti, Ruaha has a far more tangible wilderness feel and, in conjunction, with Selous or Katavi, offers a very genuine feeling of what safaris should be about
Best time to visit:
June –September : Elephant and buffalo abound in dry riverbeds to east of camp. Wild dog start to den this time of year. Best time for walking safaris. Warm comfortable days with cool nights. Dry October – November : Heavy concentrations of game around inland lakes and river, Elephant and buffalo often seen wallowing in the water. Lion and leopard moving close by waiting for game to drink. Hyena and wild dog lie in the shallow water. Migrant birds start to arrive and the trees start to sprout leaves. Crocodiles are at their most active and weather becoming dry and hot. December – March : Miombo is in leaf and pans have started to fill with water. Lots of elephant and general game in woodland, Prolific bird life, especially waders and water birds. Most animals calving, so lots of newborn and youngsters, Hot with possibility of rain, and increasingly humid. Year-round but again, but wildlife viewing becomes easiest at the end of the dry season when the wildlife roams close to water sources
