Even thought I am off from work on Saturdays many of my friends are not. On 8th August 2009 was Farmer’s day and a public holiday in Tanzania. Rohan uncle & Thushara has organized a trip to Selous Game reserve. That was the first safari I ever went on with such a big group, we were 13 adults and 2 kids. At about 5:00am in the morning we started our journey to the largest protected Game Reserve in Africa (second largest in the world).
Selous covers more than 5% Tanzania’s total area. Size is about 55,000 sq. km. Named after Captain Frederick Courtney Selous, a legendary 19th century naturalist, explorer and hunter, the Selous Game Reserve was founded in 1905. Situated in southern Tanzania it is bordered by Mikumi National Park to the northwest and by the Udzungwa Mountains National Park and Kibasira Swamp to the west.
Due to its unique ecological importance, the Selous Game Reserve was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982.
All of us traveled by three 4WD vehicles. One our way, at around 9:00am we stopped in a small town (I don’t remember the name of that town) to have our breakfast, which we had brought from home.
After having our breakfast we started our journey again. By 10:45, we reached to Ndovu Tented camp. It was about 6 hours drive from Dar es Salaam. The road was really rough and dusty one.
Once we reached there, each tent was occupied by two of us.
There after we took a wash and we went to have our lunch. Around 2:00pm we headed to the bush from our camp for a game drive. After 20 minutes drive we arrived at the entrance. We paid park entry fee and entered to the reserve. During our almost 3 hours drive we saw many Giraffes, zebras, crocodiles, wildebeest and a pair of lions. End of this page you will see the photo stream of selous safari.
After having our breakfast we started our journey again. By 10:45, we reached to Ndovu Tented camp. It was about 6 hours drive from Dar es Salaam. The road was really rough and dusty one.
Once we reached there, each tent was occupied by two of us.
By the time it was falling dark we reached our camp. We had a wash and then we went to the restaurant to have dinner. We then went to sleep hoping to see more game the next day.
The next day we woke up early in the morning, after breakfast we went for a game drive. During the game session we saw may Giraffes, Elephants and different birds. Lilac breasted roller was the most interesting and colourful bird we have seen. Passed noon we came back to our camp for lunch. After lunch at around 2:30 we started our journey back to Dar es Salaam. On our way back, we stopped for a tea, at the same place we stopped for breakfast on the first day. It was dark when we returned home after a good time in the bush.
