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Introducing Selous Game Reserve
Report Presented by AfricanMecca Tanzania Resource Team
Selous Game Reserve - Content Table
The Selous Game Reserve lies in a region that is too familiar to us. It is a reserve, which is just a hop, skip and jump away from our maternal grandparents homeland in Southern Tanzania. From a non-scientific perspective, the Selous Game Reserve and some of the regions surrounding it, are in the same pristine conditions they had been decades back, as we recall, with dense forests, wildlife seeping out to homesteads, impressive concentrations of wildlife in the Selous Game Reserve as well in the pockets surrounding it, and diverse vegetation types which included tall palm trees on the Rufiji River, acacia, and savannah grassland scattered all over the reserve. I remember our mother telling stories of how during the good old days when they had to go fetch water from the well in the middle of night, the bushes would produce two small watchful eyes reflected by the light from her lantern, which was quite normal to encounter such moments.
The term Selous, pronounced Se-l-oou without including the letter "s" as suffix, was named after an Englishman by the name of Frederick Courteney Selous. The game reserve has one word to describe it: Unique. Selous Game Reserve has an area of 48,000 square kilometers, which is 5% of Tanzania's surface area, and bigger than Switzerland or Denmark. Although Selous being so full-sized, only less than 16% of the game reserve is accessible to visitors who are interested in nature, wildlife and photographic safaris. This fact is not revealed commonly when Selous Game Reserve is being discussed as a destination for nature and wildlife lovers. Regardless of the size, the wildlife and nature resource opportunities are endless, superb as well in pristine conditions. The area accessible to AfricanMecca guests includes everything north of the Rufiji River; everything below the Rufiji River is accessible only to professional hunters and game controllers.
Time of the Year to Visit Selous Game Reserve
The best times to visit Selous Game Reserves are from the late-May to beginning of November with short rains that include some dry spells occurring on and off to the end of February. From March through the mid or late May, depending, are the long rains. The time of the year which gives the best botanical experience is between the months of January and February during the short dry spells, which gives the vegetation an opportunity to soak up some sunshine and lets them pride their beautiful colors and lush greenery.
Getting to Selous Game Reserve
AfricanMecca guests wishing to visit the Selous Game Reserve have three choices for their mode of transportation:
One would be undertaking a road safari from Dar-es-Salaam, where the normal circuit tour would include a visit to Mikumi National Park, leading to Ruaha National Park, and heading out to Selous Game Reserve by using the Morogoro access road, which leads to the far left end of the Selous Game Reserve, and entering the Matambwe Gate. The road from Morogoro is a good experience because it gives our guests an opportunity to drive through Morogoro town and also have the opportunity to see the town superbly back-dropped against the Uluguru Mountains, just a beautiful experience, especially in the morning, where it feels like a day in spring with the sun shine rays peeping through the lush green vegetation!
As you drive heading away from Morogoro town, you will have the opportunity to see how people work and live in the rural villages in Tanzania, where the modern popular culture is yet to erase their preserved way of life except for few stores that may be selling soft drinks bottled by international brand names. The best opportunity to see something unique would be a market day when driving over the hilly path of the mountainous region towards Selous. There is an overlook that displays a whole village setting and a corridor area setup for trading. The road from Morogoro also leads a superb way to the contours around Sable Mountain Lodge and Uluguru Mountains at a distance. The alternative to coming to Selous through Morogoro would be by taking the access road from Dar-es-Salaam, which is a pleasant ride with nice views of the Tanzania countryside displaying tall palms and lush grassland in semi hilly areas. As you enter Selous from Dar-es-Salaam, the narrow access path can lead you directly to animals and gazelles that may have strayed into game control pockets.
The second way to get to the Selous would be through the TAZARA (Tanzania Zambia Railway) Railroad system, which starts from Dar-es-Salaam dropping off AfricanMecca guests at the Matambwe rail stop. The journey takes you through a four to five hour scenic tour of Tanzania rural countryside, which is also a very smooth and enjoyable excursion. This is a cost effective way to get to the Selous Game Reserve.
Third way one can get to the Selous is through air safari with departures from Arusha, Zanzibar and Dar-es-Salaam, landing at the various accommodation or public access airstrips. This is the quickest but also the most expensive way to get to the game reserve.
Why Visit Selous Game Reserve?
• High Concentration (numbers) of animal, reptile and bird life: The Selous Game Reserve prides the largest concentration of elephants said to be more than 55,000, over 3000 lions, approximately 40,000 hippos, over 110,000 buffalos and an increasing population of the African hunting dog whose population is noted to be approximately 1300. The high numbers of animals means more nature watching and photographing opportunities for AfricanMecca guests. Did you know more that 50% of Tanzania's elephant population is resident in the Selous Game Reserve?
• Diverse Species of animal, reptile, fish and bird life: Apart from the Selous having a high concentration of animal, reptile, fish and bird life, it has a diverse species list. It has: 440 different species of birds, animals on land as well as in water. It has fishing opportunities where guests who have obtained a license can have a go on the river. Diverse species of the Selous include but are not limited to leopards, African hunting dog, hyenas, elands, crocodiles, hippos, black rhinos, tiger fish, catfish, batleur eagles, storks and hornbills. The great characteristic about the Selous is that it is possible to view wildlife not seen elsewhere.
• Superb Landscape and Vegetation: Selous Game Reserve has a mixed variety of landscape that includes rocky hills, small mountains, and flat plains with vegetation types that include grasslands, acacia, Miombo woodlands, riverine forests, and with the presence of the permanent Rufiji River, guarantees a one of kind authentic wilderness experience.
• Multiple Adventure Activities: An adventure seeker to the Selous can be guaranteed three different activities in one single game reserve: game driving which enables you track more biodiversity to add to your checklist, boat rides which serve as classic alternative to relaxation with incredible sundowners for honeymooners, couples and others who prefer to view the best of an African sundowner and wilderness trekking also called walking safaris where one can come very close to nature.
• Preserved Ecosystem: The Selous Wildlife Management Plan makes a conscientious decision to limit the number of guests visiting the game reserve for the purposes of preserving and creating a sustainable ecosystem. This means that AfricanMecca guests visiting Selous Game Reserve can limit the chances of bumping into other vehicles that can startle an animal one may be already watching, and we can say this from our personal experience.
• Reasonable Transportation and Accommodation Choices: Access to Selous Game Reserve can be arranged via the 3 transportation modes: road, rail, and air. These choices allow AfricanMecca guests to select a program that best fits their budget. This is also true of the accommodation in the game reserve.
Next Section - Understanding the Selous Wildlife, Birdlife, Vegetation, Locations and Attractions
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