Selous Game Reserve
Selous exists on an unimaginably grand scale. Indeed, it is the world’s largest game reserve, covering an area of 45,000 sq km, making it about 50 percent larger than Switzerland or Belgium. Bisected by the life-sustaining waters of the muddy Rufiji River, this vast tract of uninhabited semi-arid woodland also forms the core of the transfrontier Selous-Niassa ecosystem, a 155,000 sq km tract of dry bush that supports Africa’s largest remaining herds of elephant, buffalo, sable antelope and much else besides.
Much of this vast wilderness is practically inaccessible, but the sector to the north of the meandering Rufiji is well developed for tourism, with a good network of 4x4 tracks complemented by a scattering of small low-key camps catering to the discerning safarigoer. Excellent game-viewing aside, this is one of the few major African reserves that can be explored by road, boat and on foot, making it the ideal destination for the more active and adventurous visitor.
Vegetation and habitats
- The vast bulk of the reserve consists of monotonous tsetse-infested savannah and woodland, with areas of open grassland interspersed with park-like stands of trees, and thickets of tangled spiky scrub.
- By contrast, the Rufiji is one of Africa’s truly mesmerising waterways, supporting a ribbon of riparian woodland and a maze of lushly vegetated channels and small lakes.
Wildlife
- Some 65,000 elephant roam the greater Selous ecosystem – the largest population anywhere in Africa.
- This is the most important stronghold for the endangered African wild dog, harbouring around 25 percent of the world’s free-ranging population. Sightings are most frequent in the denning season (June-Aug).
- The Selous also supports an estimated 4,000 lion, 8,000 sable antelope, 25,000 impala, 35,000 zebra, 40,000 hippo, 50,000 puku antelope, 100,000 wildebeest and 150,000 buffalo.
- It is arguably the place to see a lion kill, especially in the late dry season, when hungry prides loll below lakeside trees waiting to nab any antelope that passes within pouncing range.
- Another unusual sight associated with the lakes are aggregations of several dozen giraffe drinking together – often alongside smaller ungulates such as impala, waterbuck and zebra.
- The wide sandbanks of the Rufiji are lined with outsized gaping crocs, and the river is a showcase for Africa’s aquatic birds, from the mighty fish eagle and localised African skimmer to a variety of handsome storks, bustling plovers and colourful kingfishers.
Activities
- Game drives are the main activity, and offer the best chance of seeing lion, elephant and wild dog.
- The jungle-fringed Beho-Beho hot springs and Selous’s Grave can be visited in the west of the tourist sector.
- Motorboat trips offer a thrilling hippo’s-eye perspective on the mighty Rufiji, with its resident crocs and waterbirds, and parade of terrestrial animals coming down to drink.
- All lodges offers guided foot safaris, which are led by armed rangers, and routinely involve close encounters of the pachydermal kind.
- Most camps can arrange fly-camping excursions, which typically involved setting up camp near one of the lakes, separated from the nocturnal wanderings of hippo and by nothing but canvas and/or netting!
Getting there
- The main tourist season runs from July to February. Several lodges close at the height of the rainy season (March-May), when internal roads may be impassable.
- Most visitors fly into Selous, using a daily scheduled flight from Dar es Salaam and Ruaha National Park. There are also flights to Zanzibar, and charters to Kilwa.
- The drive from Dar es Salaam, realistically undertaken in a 4x4 only, might take anything from 8-12 hours, depending on the route used, and the state of the roads and the vehicle. The shortest route (240km) involves following the coastal road to Kibiti then travelling inland to Mtemere Gate, but most operators prefer the longer route (330km) via Morogoro, the first 200km of which is on asphalt.
Where to stay
- Half-a dozen upmarket lodges and tented camps are scattered north of the Rufiji, ranging in size from 7 to 20 units.
- Immediately outside the reserve, two relatively inexpensive lodges overlook the Rufiji east of the Mtemere Entrance Gate. Campers can pitch a tent here, or at one of two official campsites set within the reserve.
- There is no permanent accommodation in the vast southern part of the reserve, which is given over entirely to hunting concessionaires.
Nearby places of interest
- The island-bound ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani, 50km south of the Rufiji Estuary, pay fascinating testament to what was the most important mediaeval gold trading emporium on the Swahili Coast prior to the arrival of the Portuguese in 1505.
Checklist of conspicuous and noteworthy mammals: lion, African wild dog, side-striped jackal, spotted hyena, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, common waterbuck, impala, greater kudu, sable antelope, bushbuck, African elephant, African buffalo, common zebra, hippo, warthog, Maasai giraffe, yellow baboon, vervet monkey.