Selous Game Reserve
The most varied safari experience in the south and in the country, is in the enormous, 55,000 square-kilometre Selous Game Reserve. Not only is there an abundance of wildlife, there is a greater range of ways to enjoy the wildlife with walking safaris, vehicle safaris, and boat safaris on the Rufiji river and on the lakes. Rare and endangered wild dogs are regularly seen here and animals wander through the camps.
The Selous Game Reserve in southern Tanzania can provide the best safari experiences in the country, depending on your criteria. If you want to see tens of thousands of wildebeest and zebra, it's not the place, but if you want to avoid other vehicles as much as possible and enjoy varied environments and activities, it's the place to be. Not only is there an abundance of wildlife, there is a distinct lack of tourism (less than 4500 visitors per year according to statistics), and a greater range of ways to enjoy the wildlife with walking safaris, vehicle safaris, and boat safaris on the Rufiji River and on the lakes. Rare and endangered wild dogs are regularly seen here and animals wander through the camps. A fly-in safari to the Selous can also be combined with a trip to Ruaha National Park, another little-visited gem. To visit the Selous there are two types of camp. Those inside the reserve itself, and those just outside.
Should I stay inside or outside the reserve?
Lodges and camps inside are more expensive but better appointed and better located for access to prime game-viewing as you eat and sleep in the heart of park, amongst the wildlife. Literally. The best way to access them is by flying in from Dar or Zanzibar (via Dar) in a light aircraft, landing on a bush strip, and being collected by the lodge. Flights are from $150 per person each way.
Your vehicle safaris are conducted in the lodge game viewers by a lodge guide and are either shared with other guests, or you can pay a supplement to have private use of a vehicle and guide. You are right in the reserve, animals wander through the camps frequently, and you do not have to go through the main gate twice a day.
Those outside the reserve are of varying quality and size, but can be cost-effective for those with a smaller budget, but still allow guests to fly in and get a decent sense of adventure. Three nights in a decent tented camp outside the reserve cost $900 per person based on two sharing, with full board, safari activities and conservation fees included.
It is also possible to arrange drive-in safaris from Dar-es-Salaam and use the vehicle for driving around the reserve, but this is not the most cost and time-effective way of doing it, and it only starts to be cost-effective when there are four or more people sharing the vehicle costs.
Some itineraries can be found here
More about Selous Game Reserve
The remote and little-visited Selous Game Reserve covers more than 5% of Tanzania’s total area and is the largest of its kind in Africa. At an unbelievable 55,000 sq km it is almost twice the size of Belgium and two and a half larger than the famous Serengeti in the North. The landscape here has remained almost as it was before tourism began and the massive park has only a few accommodation options. The Great Rufiji River and its tributaries are the lifeblood of the reserve, creating a network of forests and woodlands around the lagoons, sandbanks and lakes with tall palm trees adding to the scenic splendour. Boating, walking safaris and fly camping are all available in the Selous.
The Selous Game Reserve is one of the largest remaining wilderness areas in Africa, with relatively undisturbed ecological and biological processes, including a diverse range of wildlife with significant predator/prey relationships. The reserve contains a great diversity of vegetation types, including rocky acacia-clad hills, gallery and ground water forests, swamps and lowland rain forest. The dominant vegetation of the reserve is deciduous Miombo woodlands and constitutes a globally important example of this vegetation type. Because of this fire-climax vegetation, soils are subject to erosion when there are heavy rains. The result is a network of normally dry rivers of sand that become raging torrents during the rains; these sand rivers are one of the most unique features of the Selous landscape. Large parts of the wooded grasslands of the northern Selous are seasonally flooded by the rising water of the Rufiji River, creating a very dynamic ecosystem.
The reserve has a higher density and diversity of species than any other Miombo woodland area: more than 2,100 plants have been recorded and more are thought to exist in the remote forests in the south. Similarly, the property protects an impressive large mammal fauna; it contains globally significant populations of African elephant, black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), and an estimated 1,300 of the worlds’ roughly 4,000 remaining rare wild dogs, giving guests an opportunity to glimpse all of these exotic animals in true unspoilt wilderness. It also includes one of the world's largest known populations of hippopotamus (18,200) and buffalo (204,015). There are also important populations of ungulates including sable antelope (7000), Lichtenstein's hartebeest (52,150), greater kudu, eland and Nyassa wildebeest (80,815). In addition, there is also a large number of Nile crocodile and 350 species of birds, including the endemic Udzungwa forest partridge and the rufous winged sunbird.
Transport to/from Selous
AIR: Airstrip - Selous Lower, Mtemere – a 10 minute complimentary drive from camp.
Flights: Coastal, Safari Airlink and Zanair. 45-minute flight from Dar es Salaam, to Selous Lower Mtemere. Meet and greet and transfer services are provided free of charge. Flights from/to Dar from $150 one way, from $190 to/from Zanzibar
ROAD: 235km from Dar es Salaam, via Kibiti and Mloka - Tarmac to Kibiti, dirt roads from there on. Driving time: 5 hours +, depending on road conditions, from $350 one way per vehicle.
The most varied safari experience in the south and in the country, is in the enormous, 55,000 square-kilometre Selous Game Reserve. Not only is there an abundance of wildlife, there is a greater range of ways to enjoy the wildlife with walking safaris, vehicle safaris, and boat safaris on the Rufiji river and on the lakes. Rare and endangered wild dogs are regularly seen here and animals wander through the camps.
The Selous Game Reserve in southern Tanzania can provide the best safari experiences in the country, depending on your criteria. If you want to see tens of thousands of wildebeest and zebra, it's not the place, but if you want to avoid other vehicles as much as possible and enjoy varied environments and activities, it's the place to be. Not only is there an abundance of wildlife, there is a distinct lack of tourism (less than 4500 visitors per year according to statistics), and a greater range of ways to enjoy the wildlife with walking safaris, vehicle safaris, and boat safaris on the Rufiji River and on the lakes. Rare and endangered wild dogs are regularly seen here and animals wander through the camps. A fly-in safari to the Selous can also be combined with a trip to Ruaha National Park, another little-visited gem. To visit the Selous there are two types of camp. Those inside the reserve itself, and those just outside.
Should I stay inside or outside the reserve?
Lodges and camps inside are more expensive but better appointed and better located for access to prime game-viewing as you eat and sleep in the heart of park, amongst the wildlife. Literally. The best way to access them is by flying in from Dar or Zanzibar (via Dar) in a light aircraft, landing on a bush strip, and being collected by the lodge. Flights are from $150 per person each way.
Your vehicle safaris are conducted in the lodge game viewers by a lodge guide and are either shared with other guests, or you can pay a supplement to have private use of a vehicle and guide. You are right in the reserve, animals wander through the camps frequently, and you do not have to go through the main gate twice a day.
Those outside the reserve are of varying quality and size, but can be cost-effective for those with a smaller budget, but still allow guests to fly in and get a decent sense of adventure. Three nights in a decent tented camp outside the reserve cost $900 per person based on two sharing, with full board, safari activities and conservation fees included.
It is also possible to arrange drive-in safaris from Dar-es-Salaam and use the vehicle for driving around the reserve, but this is not the most cost and time-effective way of doing it, and it only starts to be cost-effective when there are four or more people sharing the vehicle costs.
Some itineraries can be found here
More about Selous Game Reserve
The remote and little-visited Selous Game Reserve covers more than 5% of Tanzania’s total area and is the largest of its kind in Africa. At an unbelievable 55,000 sq km it is almost twice the size of Belgium and two and a half larger than the famous Serengeti in the North. The landscape here has remained almost as it was before tourism began and the massive park has only a few accommodation options. The Great Rufiji River and its tributaries are the lifeblood of the reserve, creating a network of forests and woodlands around the lagoons, sandbanks and lakes with tall palm trees adding to the scenic splendour. Boating, walking safaris and fly camping are all available in the Selous.
The Selous Game Reserve is one of the largest remaining wilderness areas in Africa, with relatively undisturbed ecological and biological processes, including a diverse range of wildlife with significant predator/prey relationships. The reserve contains a great diversity of vegetation types, including rocky acacia-clad hills, gallery and ground water forests, swamps and lowland rain forest. The dominant vegetation of the reserve is deciduous Miombo woodlands and constitutes a globally important example of this vegetation type. Because of this fire-climax vegetation, soils are subject to erosion when there are heavy rains. The result is a network of normally dry rivers of sand that become raging torrents during the rains; these sand rivers are one of the most unique features of the Selous landscape. Large parts of the wooded grasslands of the northern Selous are seasonally flooded by the rising water of the Rufiji River, creating a very dynamic ecosystem.
The reserve has a higher density and diversity of species than any other Miombo woodland area: more than 2,100 plants have been recorded and more are thought to exist in the remote forests in the south. Similarly, the property protects an impressive large mammal fauna; it contains globally significant populations of African elephant, black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), and an estimated 1,300 of the worlds’ roughly 4,000 remaining rare wild dogs, giving guests an opportunity to glimpse all of these exotic animals in true unspoilt wilderness. It also includes one of the world's largest known populations of hippopotamus (18,200) and buffalo (204,015). There are also important populations of ungulates including sable antelope (7000), Lichtenstein's hartebeest (52,150), greater kudu, eland and Nyassa wildebeest (80,815). In addition, there is also a large number of Nile crocodile and 350 species of birds, including the endemic Udzungwa forest partridge and the rufous winged sunbird.
Transport to/from Selous
AIR: Airstrip - Selous Lower, Mtemere – a 10 minute complimentary drive from camp.
Flights: Coastal, Safari Airlink and Zanair. 45-minute flight from Dar es Salaam, to Selous Lower Mtemere. Meet and greet and transfer services are provided free of charge. Flights from/to Dar from $150 one way, from $190 to/from Zanzibar
ROAD: 235km from Dar es Salaam, via Kibiti and Mloka - Tarmac to Kibiti, dirt roads from there on. Driving time: 5 hours +, depending on road conditions, from $350 one way per vehicle.