The Selous Game Reserve is the largest protected wildlife area in Africa. UN World Heritage site, this pristine, uninhabited area is larger than Switzerland. Only in the Serengeti will visitors see a greater concentration of wildlife. Yet Selous boasts Tanzania’s largest population of elephants as well as large numbers of buffalo, hippo and wild dog. Other spicies commonly seen are lion, bushbuck, impala, giraffe, eland, baboon, zebra and greater kudu. The topography of the park varies from rolling savannah, woodland, grassland plains and rocky outcrops cut by the Rufiji River and its tributaries, the Kilombero and Lumegu, which together cover the greatest catchments area in Eastern Africa.
The Rufiji which flows from north to south, provides the life-blood of the Selous and sailing or rafting down the river is a superb method of seeing game, especially during the dry season between June and October.