The Great Selous Game Reserve

The Great Selous is the largest Game Reserve in all of Africa--over 20,000 square miles in size. It is wild and remote and contains thousands and thousands of animals. The northern portion of the preserve is set aside for photography and wildlife safaris.

Because of this remoteness and the limited roads, only a small number of visitors include the Selous in their safari plans. But these very characteristics make the area attractive to more adventerous groups or those returning for a second safari in Tanzania.

Visiting the Selous, which is in the southern portion of our country, can be planned two ways. You can fly down to Dar es Salaam when you arrive in Tanzania, where we will meet you. You spend your first night in a hotel in the city and then head out the next morning in our Rovers for an interesting drive down to the Selous through a variety of local villages.

Your other option for visiting the Selous is to fly back and forth from Arusha, so you can include some of the northern parks in your safari as well.

You need at least 3 days of game drives, as part of your safari, to do the Selous justice. In addition to your drives in our Rovers you have the unusual opportunity to take a walking safari with armed naturalists, or a boat expedition along the river. The river trip is exciting as the river is full of hippo and crocodiles, plus all the animals you can see coming down to the water.

Walking safaris are unique to the Selous. Walking is allowed in our Game Reserves, but not in our National Parks. Getting out and walking in the preserve is quite different than riding around in your Range Rover.

We recommend that you stay in a permanent tented camp while you are visiting the Selous. After your Selous visit, you can either continue by Rover and drive north to the Mikume and the Ruaha, or opt to fly north to the Serengeti or back to Arusha.

The Rufiji river rises and falls with the rains, so the permanent tent camps are high on the river banks for great game viewing right from camp. A variety of animals are regularily seen coming down to drink or cool off in the river.