Selous Game Reserve

The Serengeti ecosystem is a geographical region located in north-western Tanzania  between latitudes 1 and 3 S and longitudes 34 and 36 E. It spans some 30,000 km2.
The Serengeti hosts the largest and longest overland migration in the world,[1] a semi-annual occurrence. This migration is one of the ten natural travel wonders of the world. The Serengeti National Park  is a large national park in Serengeti area, Tanzania. It is most famous for its annual migration of over one million wildebeest and 200,000 zebra. The park covers 14,763 km² (5,700 square miles) of grassland plains and savanna as well as riverine forest and woodlands. As a result of the biodiversity and ecological significance of the area, the park has been listed by UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites.

Location
South of Tanzania, 300km south of Dar es salaam.

Area
54,600 km² (21,081 square miles)

Getting there
Scheduled and Charter flights from Dar es salaam. 5-6hour drive via Morogoro and Mikumi National park. Scheduled trains also available.

What to do
Game Drives, Guided walking Safaris and Boat Safaris.

Wildlife
Selous Game Reserve contains the world’s largest concentrations of elephants and buffalo. Other animals include leopard and African Wild dogs (the reserve has one third of world population of wild dogs), as well as lions. The muddy Rufiji River is full of hippos and Massive crocodiles. Antelopes, white bearded Wildebeest and Giraffes are commonly seen north side of the river.

Birdlife
Variety of birdlife, fish eagle, African Skimmer, waders, horons, king fisher and weavers are some of the bird spicies found in Selous.

Best time to Visit
The best time to visit parks in Southern Tanzania is during the dry season (June – November) because the roads are passable and you can actually drive around (which helps on safari!). The dry season also means that the game is more concentrated around the rivers that run through these vast parks, thus making it easier to spot wildlife. From December – March you get more chance of seeing young animals but the weather is very hot and humid.

Highlights
Selous is Africa’s largest reserve, a world heritage site, and not nearly as crowded as the Serengeti.