Covering over 50,000 square kilometers, Selous Game Reserve is a wild and diverse landscape, largely untouched by people. It is the perfect place to escape to and enjoy one of the best safari experiences Africa has to offer.
The Game Reserve
Selous Game Reserve is four times larger than the Serengeti in the north of the country and, according to the Tanzania Tourist Board, is the largest protected wildlife reserve in Africa. The reserve is named after Frederick Courtney Selous, an English explorer who died in the area in 1917. The reserve is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Being 200 km west of Dar es Salaam, Selous can only be accessed by road in the dry season. Because of this, the majority of tourists arrive via chartered flights, which means the amount of visitors to the area can be controlled and closely monitored.
Habitat and Seasons
The reserve has a unique landscape of open plains, scrubland, shady woodland, lakes and rocky outcrops. The area is dominated by the Rufiji River, which cuts through the game reserve and attracts the largest hippopotamus and crocodile populations in Africa, according to the Selous Safari Company. The reserve is also one of the few places in the world to see wild dogs in their natural habitat.
June to September is typically dry and warm. This is the ideal time to see the larger animals, such as elephants, as they are drawn to the lakes and rivers.
October to March is the rainy season and hot. It is however the best time for bird watching and to witness the diverse landscape and plants come to life. The added bonus of seeing animals with their young will make up for the hot and humid conditions.
Accommodation
Staying in Selous Game Reserve is not cheap. Prices range from around $400 (US dollars) per person per night, to nearly $1,000. The price does usually include all your food, drinks and guided safaris, as well as accommodation.
Lake Manze Camp
This camp is one of the most affordable places to stay in the game reserve. Situated on the edge of Lake Manze, it is a small camp with only 12 tents, where you can really embrace getting back to nature. There is no electricity, but each tent does have an en-suite bathroom with a flushing toilet and hot water. Each tent also has views across the lake. The communal area is rustic with sand floors, comfy armchairs and sofas, and is lit by kerosene lamps.
Selous Safari Camp
Selous Safari Camp is a luxurious tented camp set in open forest with spectacular views down to Lake Nzerakera – a huge lake fed by the Rufiji River. Split into North and South camps, each camp has its own open air dining and communal living area, bar and swimming pool. Each luxury tent has a double bed that looks out towards the lake, and an en-suite bathroom with an open air shower. Verandas on raised platforms have a comfortable seating area as well as a writing desk facing the lake. There is a very good chance that a hippopotamus will graze in front of your veranda at night or an elephant will wander through camp.
Beho Beho
Up in the hills, Beho Beho has only eight luxury stone Bandas with far-reaching views across the highlands. It is a private and quiet camp that offers walking and boat safaris or fly camping – that is if you can bear to leave the luxury of camp for a night or two.
Sand Rivers Selous
One of the most romantic yet expensive camps, Sand Rivers offers not only luxury but an unrivaled location overlooking the Rufiji River. There are eight rooms and suites, as well as a Honeymoon cottage called The Rhino House.
The Safari Experience
The diverse landscape of Selous dictates the safari experience. Of course there is the standard jeep safari, enabling you to spot elephants, giraffe, lions and zebra from within the comfort and protection of your vehicle. However the lakes and rivers that snake from the Rufiji River offer the very special experience of a boating safari. Lake Nzerakera for example is filled with hippos cooling off in the lake, and crocodiles sliding down the banks into the water. From the boat you can get much closer to the crocodiles and hippos than you can in a jeep. There is also the chance you will get to see giraffe and buffalo at the edge of the lake.
The camps in the reserve also offer walking safaris. At least two armed guides will accompany a small group and track any animals in the vicinity of camp. The knowledgeable guides will teach you about the surrounding landscape; the insects, birds, trees and plants and about how to identify animals from their dung.
If you opt for a safari in the Serengeti, one of the selling points is the guarantee that you will see the "big five": lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo. You may well get up close and personal with lions in the Serengeti, but it will be you, plus another four or five safari jeeps filled with people, surrounding the animals. Selous Game Reserve is different. There is no guarantee that you will see any of the "big five". But if you are lucky enough, the likelihood is it will be just you and the occupants of your jeep, in the middle of nowhere, watching a pride of lions in their natural habitat. It doesn't get any better than that.
Kate Frost - Kate Frost has had work published in New Welsh Review and The London Magazine. She has a MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa ...
