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Bisected by the mysterious Rufiji River, the Selous is one of the most remote and least visited parks in Africa and, at 55 000km˛, is the second biggest conservation area in Africa, and the largest game reserve on the continent, and a proclaimed world heritage site. To give scale to these figures, the reserve covers an area more than twice that of Denmark, is bigger than Switzerland and is nearly four times the size of the Serengeti.  The Selous is a grand African experience. Once home to the biggest concentration of elephant on the continent (over 110 000) the 'Ivory Wars' of the late 70s and early 80s had a devastating effect on the herds, reducing numbers to an estimated 30 000 to 50 000 today.
The black rhino population was similarly laid waste, and today there are perhaps 150 to 200 left out of a population of 3 000 in the early 70s. It would be easy to reduce the Selous to just a set of numbers - 120 000 buffalo, 150 000 wildebeest, 50 000 zebra, an estimated half the African population of wild dog, some 4 000, 350 bird species, 50 000 impala, and a mere 2 000 visitors a year - but that would be doing it an injustice. The defining feature of the Selous is the great Rufiji River, which naturally splits the ecosystem into two distinct parts. Stiegler's Gorge, 100m deep and 100m wide, is a magnificent natural feature with a rickety and gut-wrenching cable car that ferries safari vehicles across the river - not for the faint of heart. While the bulk of the reserve is miombo (brachystegia) woodland, there are sections of magnificent grass plains, wetlands and swamps and areas of dense canopy forest. Perhaps the most sublime way of exploring the reserve is by boat, meandering through channels and swamps, and exploring hidden lagoons where elephant often come to bathe. Angling in the river for tiger fish and the giant catfish (vundu), which can reach up to 50kg, can be an exciting way to pass an evening, keeping a wary eye open for crocodiles, hippo and lion.
Read more about Selous Game Reserve
Other national parks include Katavi, Kilimanjaro, Mahale Mountains, Rubondo and Udzungura Mountains. Zanzibar Zanzibar is an island partner state in the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago nestling in the Indian Ocean made up of the larger islands of Pemba and Unguja (Zanzibar) and about 50 smaller islands including Tumbatu, Kibandiko, Chapwani, Bawe, Chumbe, Mnemba, Latham and Uzi. Zanzibar is also known as 'The Spice Island' due to the large number of spices such as Vanilla that are grown on the island.
The island of Zanzibar (Unguja) is located approximately 35 km's off the coast of mainland Tanzania. Zanzibar Island is the most popular of the islands and serves as the main access point to reach the other islands. The scuba diving off the coast of any of the tourist islands is spectacular to say the least, and is more often than not the reason for so many people visiting the region. |
