Itinerary
Early in the morning we will pick you up in your hotel and drive to Selous Game Reserve.
Selous Game Reserve covers 50,000 square kilometers and is one of the largest remaining wilderness areas in
Africa. The property 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 the property 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. Selous Game Reserve is divided into two parts: Nyerere National Park (formerly Selous Game Reserve) that covers about 30,000 square kilometers and thus has become the largest national park in Tanzania and the second part which is a game reserve that covers 20,000 square kilometers.Once we arrive at Selous Game Reserve will check in to the hotel,where we have lunch and spend the afternoon relaxing at the pool.
Around 4pm we will start our first adventure and do a boat safari at Rufiji River. During this boat safari we expect to see crocs, hippos, and many species of birds. We will also have the time to visit a sand bank within Rufiji River and if the weather allows spot a beautiful sunset. After the boat safari we return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
Wildlife in Selous Game Reserve
The game reserve is one of the largest game reserves in the world. Here you find a huge number of wildlife animals including lions, leopards, hippos and crocodiles. You can spot endangered black rhinos, hard-to-find East African wild dogs as well as hyenas. Cape buffaloes, Masai giraffes, wildebeests and zebras live here too. And of course it is home to impalas, large numbers of Lichtenstein’s hartebeests, waterbucks and sable antelope in addition to elands and bushbucks. It is much quieter here than in the other parks, so you definitely have the chance of a unique experience! Selous Game Reserve was previously home to a very large number of African bush elephants. Unfortunately numbers have greatly reduced because of excessive poaching happening in the game reserve.
Birds in Selous Game Reserve
Selous Game Reserve is home to more than 445 different birds species. The giant kingfishers, the pink backed pelican as well as the African skimmer live for instance near the lake areas. Along the sandbanks you will see the white-fronted bee-eater, fish eagle, carmine, ibises and palmnut vultures. The purple-crested turaco, yellow-billed stork, trumpeter hornbill, white-crowned spur-winged plovers, malachite kingfishers and various small waders are among the other water birds.
Today you can enjoy a full day game drive. We will start early in the morning, have our lunch boxes with us and make our lunch break at Lake Tagalala.
Lake Tagalala is one of the larger oxbow lakes on the northern side of the Rufiji River flood plain and at the confluence of the Rufiji and Beho-Beho rivers. It is home to a wide array of game, from hippo's and crocodiles that live inside it, to those that drink and feed from it - including predators. It is a good spot to see all kinds of animals. The lake offers beautiful sights such as sunsets and vegetation. It still has dried up remains of trees that once inhabited the area.
Late afternoon we will return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
After breakfast will do a bush walk tour at Mloka village to explore the culture and lifestyle. Or game drive depends on what we will have started on Day1.
Mloka village is situated down river from Selous River Camp, only a short drive by car. Home to many of the camp staff, a tour here is a very personal experience and the focus is on meeting locals, learning about their day-to-day lives, and visiting places like the primary school, market and police post. Local artists, tailors and shopkeepers are always happy to be visited and the children are always very keen to say hello! After our little walk we will proceed to Dar city.
