Safaris of a lifetime to Selous Game Reserve Tanzania

The best place to see African Wild Dog in Africa is in the sensational Selous Game Reserve in thriving Tanzania, renowned for its compelling safaris of a lifetime, its captivating scenery and its exquisite solitude in nature. 

Named after English conservationist, hunter and explorer Frederick Courtney Selous, this trailblazing African game reserve is home to about one-third of all African Wild Dogs globally. This is the right place to be for all you need to know about the Selous Game Reserve, so check out our list of handpicked safari itineraries to Tanzania and come and stay at the finest camps and lodges, in search of Africa’s painted dogs!

Not long ago, Selous was divided into two sections, becoming Selous and Nyerere National Park. So, this means that the Selous Game Reserve, now renamed Nyerere National Park in honor of the first President of Tanzania, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, is a protected area in southern Tanzania covering a total area of 50,000 square km plus extra buffer zones. 

The main attraction of course is epic game drives into rare habitats that reveal some of the awe-inspiring and diverse wildlife of the miombo – such as the elephant, black rhino, hippo, lion, Masai giraffe, zebra and crocodiles – and of course Wild Dogs. 

This has to be your bucket list holiday destination, one of Africa’s largest protected areas and a place of such international biodiversity importance that it is an official UNESCO World Heritage Site. The sheer enormity of the combined conservation areas contributes to more than one-fifth of Tanzania’s entire protected area network, a veritable biodiversity hotspot.

Selous Nyerere first became a protected area in 1896, then this enthralling piece of land became a hunting reserve in 1905. The game reserve is also now a defined Lion Conservation Unit. 

The reserve was named after Frederick Selous, a famous big game hunter and early conservationist, who died at Beho Beho in this region in 1917 while fighting against the Germans during World War I.

• Experience one of the largest natural trans-boundary ecosystems in Africa where an estimated 64 400 elephants roam between two huge parks, 84% coming from the Tanzanian side of Selous into captivating Niassa Game Reserve, Mozambique.
• Travel the Rufiji River, the lifeblood of Selous, supporting hundreds of animals along its banks especially in the dry season – herds of antelope grazing, crocs basking, hippos wallowing; rolling grassy woodlands and plains, rocky outcrops and more than 2,100 plant species recorded.
• Explore the reaches of the Great Ruaha River that also flows into Nyerere National Park (Selous), north of Beho Beho Hills, passing through a string of volcanic hot sulphur springs, healthy rapids and ravines. Look out for raptors and monkeys, plus the more than 440 bird species endemic to this blessed wildlife refuge. 
• Head to the northern section of the park along the Rufiji River designated as a photographic zone and highly popular with keen and amateur photographers and animal lovers then stay in one of several high end lodges and camps nestling along the river and lake systems.