Selous Game Reserve is the largest game reserve in Africa . To put it in perspective, the Selous is larger than Switzerland and measuring about 54.600 Sq. Km. and almost four times the size of the Serengeti National Park. This Africa's largest protected area uninhabited by man, is considered important enough to be World Heritage Site, in which the lucky few can experience a safari in absolutely wild and unspoiled bush.

Until recently, Selous Game Reserve was only accessible by plane or by train. However, with an improvement to the road network, the area is now accessible to everyone. The concentrations of wildlife in the Selous are understandably huge. The Selous, named after a German explorer and author, boasts Tanzania's largest population of elephant – currently about 10,000 animals – as well as some of Africa’s largest numbers of buffalo, hippos, Nile crocodile and wild dogs.

Other species commonly seen in Selous Game Reserve are lion, bushbuck, impala, giraffe, eland, baboon, zebra and greater kudu. The Selous also contains one of the few viable populations of black rhinos in the world, with between 150 and 200 individual animals. The reserve also contains more than 350 different bird species and 2,000 different species of plants. The Selous was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983 due to its unique ecological importance. The only human habitations allowed are limited tourist facilities.

that provide a high standard of accommodation. The most pleasant time to visit the Selous Game Reserve is during the cool seson from the end of June until October. The rainy season is from November to May. There is a dryer spell in January and February, and this is also a beautiful time to visit as the trees and flowers are blossoming and everywhere the vegetation is green. During the heavy rains, normally from the end of March to May, the Reserve is inaccessible and the tourist camps are closed.

Selous contains about one third of all the wild dogs (often called painted dogs), in the world. Their need to roam vast areas and their formidable hunting skills have caused many to be shot by farmers, but here in Selous they have boundless woodlands and savannahs in which to roam.Along the Rufiji River, an array of grazing antelopes, crocodiles and hippos are

In the dry season an ancient migration of elephants takes place between the Selous Game Reserve and Mozambique's Niassa Game Reserves. This is one of the largest natural trans-boundary eco-systems in Africa and at the last consensus it was estimated that 64,400 elephants roam the two parks, with 84% on the Tanzanian side. Fierce tiger fish and smooth slippery vandu catfish are caught in the rivers. The latter is equipped with primitive lungs allowing it to cross land for short distance in an attempt to find water water during the dry season.

The same demise is thought to explain the spooky silhouettes of ancient leadwood trees that remain preserved intact when they die after up to two millennia of life, leaving a skeletal perch for songbirds and raptors. This is an area that naturally appeals to a photographic lens, as the waterways and plains reflect all the changing colours of the sun and attract numerous fine-feathered water birds and raptors.

The Selous Game Reserve conserves a surprisingly colourful African landscape, and the white forms of the leadwoods are in stark contrast to the surrounding vibrancy of well-watered greens and a ranging palette of sandy terracottas that reflect the moods of the sun on the waters.