SELOUS GAME RESERVE:
The Selous Game Reserve is the largest protected wildlife area in Africa. A UN World Heritage site, this pristine, uninhabited area is larger than Switzerland. The Reserve covers more than 5% of Tanzania's total land area, and is three times larger that the Serengeti.

The topography of the park varies from rolling savannah woodland, grassland plains and rocky outcrops cut by the Rufiji River and its tributaries, the Kilombero and Luwegu, which together cover the greatest catchment area in East Africa. The waters of the Kilombero Game Controlled Area are home to the ferocious tiger fish and vandu catfish, the latter equipped with a primitive set of lungs which allows it to migrate from one landlocked pool to another.

Three-quarters of the Reserve is woodland of various types, short grassy plains, and seasonally flooded pans. Impressive riverine forests and dense impenetrable thickets are important habitats within the Selous. The wide, meandering Rufiji River is one of the largest water systems in East Africa. With its associated wetlands, lakes and swamps, it is one of the most outstanding ecological systems in the whole of East Africa. The Rufiji, which flows from north to south, provides the life-blood of the Selous. The best time to visit is during the dry season, when game is forced from hiding places to the river to drink.

The park supports enormous numbers of wild animals - 200 000 buffalo, 30 000 elephant (more than half the country's population), and 80 000 wildebeest, as well as one of the healthiest populations of the endangered African Wild Dog. Only in the Serengeti will visitors see a greater concentration of wildlife - other species commonly seen are rare sable antelope, lion, bushbuck, impala, giraffe, eland, baboon, zebra and greater kudu. Walking and boat safaris, as well as traditional game drives, are on offer to visitors to the Selous' small and remote camps and lodges, with little chance of bumping into any sign of human life.

Although the Selous is best known for its spectacular large mammals, it is equally celebrated for its abundant and varied birds. The most conspicuous bird life is to be found around the constantly changing pattern of sandbanks, oxbow lakes, lagoons and channels along the Rufiji River. The river scenery is made all the more spectacular by the groves of Borassis palms, an indigenous species whose tall fronds sway in the African breeze. Ancient baobabs stand majestically against the far-reaching horizon. Their dead, hollow, leafless trunks provide vantage points for Fish Eagles and nest sites for Egyption Geese and Dickinson's Kestrels.