Southern Circuit Selous Game Reserve

Selous Game Reserve is the place where people enjoy dosing off to the sound of a fish eagle as they glide about in search of food. The winding Rufiji River, sunset over the Beho Beho mountains are what make Selous a special place, especially when you compare it with the typical rush around the Northern Parks of Tanzania.

Unlike most of the other major safari parks of Tanzania, Selous is at low altitude. Being near to the coast. This means that the climate of the area is similar to that prevailing in coastal circuit. That is to say that it is a typical tropical climate, hot and humid all year round. In Selous there are over 789,000 major mammals, 40% of the total in Tanzania and perhaps almost 10% of the total world Elephant population.

Most of these elephant spend their time in the inaccessible swamps which occupy the majority of the park, but there are usually plenty in the game-viewing areas to the North. There are also 2500 - 3500 lions. Wildcats, servals, caracal and leopard also inhabit the park. There are also many giraffes in some areas. In addition, the rivers play host to large populations of hippos and crocodiles, as well as an elusive population of dugong down in the Rufiji delta.

Selous Game Reserve was first set aside as a wildlife reserve in early 1905, the park takes its name from renowned hunter and soldier Frederick Courtney Selous. In 1982 the Selous Game Reserve was designated a World Heritage Site. One of the most attractive aspects of the Selous is the incredible diversity of the environments within its ecosystem, miombo woodland (deciduous hardwoodland), open grassland, rocky acacia clad hills, palm woodland, seasonally flooded sand rivers and swamps, lakes and riverine forest. The miombo woodland, second in biodiversity only to the rainforest, contains a plethora of wonderful hardwood tree families such as brachystegia, julbernadia, isoberlina, pterocarpus (bloodwood), dalbergia (blackwood), combretum (leadwood). In fact, most of the 2,149 species of trees and plants in the reserve are found nowhere else in the world.

At its best season 'the green season' (December to June); all the trees have new leaves and flowers; the grasses and shrubs are luscious and in bloom, and consequently almost every flower, animal and bird that it is possible to see in the Selous is there in abundance. As such the reserve is ecologically one of the most important habitats in Africa.

The fact that Selous remains a game reserve rather than a national park is one of the main reasons that walking safari is still permitted. This is fantastic because to approach animals on foot is a completely different experience than doing it in a vehicle. A lot more scary for one, but very rarely dangerous so long as you do what your guide says at all times. Don't necessarily expect to see a great variety of large game while out on a walk, you usually don't cover enough ground for that, but enjoy the detail of the flora and fauna, while bearing in mind there might be a huge bull elephant around the next corner. The park is pretty seasonal, although there is no bad time to be in the bush.

From mid November to mid June green season the Selous is at its most beautiful, with verdant vegetation and the rivers nearly overflowing. This is a time of plenty during which most of the animals have their young. There are also fewer visitors around, which can make the safari experience considerably more intimate.