The Selous And Ruaha National Parks
For travellers who enjoy a more exclusive and remote safari experience in a true wilderness setting the Selous and Ruaha National Parks of southern Tanzania will not disappoint.
Northern Tanzania has a wealth of wildlife and well documented scenic delights it is true, however, this also means the game reserves and parks are far busier with numbers of visitors. If you have already visited the Serengeti and Ngorongoro and love the warmth and hospitality of Tanzania then the parks located in the South of the country will be an excitingly new exploration.
The Selous National Park is surprisingly the largest park in Africa and accounts for over 5% of the total land area of Tanzania, however, with far less visitors than other wildlife areas you will enjoy almost total privacy on your game drives. The park has a diverse range of habitats and landscape with dense forests and sweeping plains that support huge populations of plains game and their predators; hot volcanic springs, lakes and many tributaries spilling from the Great Ruaha and Rufiji Rivers.
Elephant lovers will be excited to learn that these mighty animals thrive here in numbers that total almost 70% of Tanzania's total elephant population. The river systems support vast numbers of hippo - approaching 40,000 and although rhino do exist in the Selous their numbers are unfortunately low. However, certain areas have flourishing packs of Wild Dog, one of Africa's notoriously elusive predators, as well as Lion. When planning a safari holiday that flows well logistically and with locations that compliment each other the Selous National Park sits well alongside a stay in Ruaha National Park. Ruaha is fantastically unspoilt and undeveloped with many areas inaccessible. It has the feel of an ancient place with its landscape of rustling grasses and wide sand rivers.
By comparison to those in the north, the Ruaha National Park is one of Tanzania's least accessible wildlife areas and as a result visitor numbers are relatively low compared to those of the more populous parks and conservation areas. The absence too of numerous camps and lodges favoured by large chains together with their associated visitors and vehicles ensures a minimal impact on the environment. The Ruaha has the feel of a truly authentic wilderness.
The Ruaha has more than 500 bird species making it a very important destination for enthusiastic ornithologists. The Great Ruaha River is the only perennial river in the park and home to large pods of hippo lazily wallowing but keeping an eye open for any threatening males or stealthy crocodiles that stray into their domain. The predators - lion, leopard, jackal, African hunting dog and spotted hyena are well fed by the buffalo, waterbuck, reedbuck and a high diversity of antelope species.
The game viewing is often conducted on an almost totally private basis within a remote landscape of iconic baobab trees and gorges hewn from rich orange sandstone. As well as game drives visitors can strike out with a personal, armed guide on a walking safari or explore the area by boat on the Rufiji River.
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