Safari At Selous Wilderness Reserve: Day 1

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We were picked up at 7AM by our driver & guide, Katuku (Kah-too-koo) and our chef, Scarce (Scar-ssss). We jumped in the Toyota Land Cruiser and set out on our drive south and slightly to the west. On paper, the drive should have taken us about 5 hours. In reality, it was about 4 hours on paved roads and then 3 hours or more on rough roads. We were heading to the Selous Wilderness Reserve. This is not one of the many national parks, but rather a reserve where some come to enjoy the wildlife and others come to hunt it... Sad, but true.

Wikipedia describes Selous as...

The Selous Game Reserve is one of the largest faunal reserves of the world, located in the south of Tanzania. It was named after Englishman Sir Frederick Selous, a famous big game hunter and early conservationist, who died in the area in 1917 while fighting against the Germans during WWI. The Selous was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982 due to the diversity of its wildlife and undisturbed nature.

The reserve covers a total area of 21,100 sq miles. Within the reserve no permanent human habitation or permanent structures are permitted. All (human) entry and exit is carefully controlled by the Wildlife Division of the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.

We were staying at The Hippo Camp, a rustic series of buildings and tent sights where animal enthusiasts crash for the night before heading back to the park each day. This was the real deal.... we had running water and plumbing, but we also had frogs that would come up through the drains, flying cockroaches (okay, just one that we saw), snakes (one big green one), geckos, bats, and spiders galore. Dayna was a trooper for being so new to it all.

On we were settled in our cabin, we set out on a Rufiji (Roo-fee-jee) River Safari to get a better look at the birds, animals, and locals that live along the river. The Rufiji lies entirely within Tanzania. It is approximately 375 miles long.

The boat cruise was roughly 90 minutes in length and the highlight was seeing the hippos as they came up for air. It was quite funny (and frustrating) because the motor on the boat was so loud that the hippos would disappear any time we would get close to them. A boat with a quieter engine would be more beneficial... Just sayin'. We managed to get some decent shots of the hippos, not knowing what was in store for us the next day.

After the river cruise, we watched the sunset as we had an amzing meal and headed off to bed... Day Two of our safari promised us some incredible animals in their natural habitat.

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Photos

The Rough Road
We traveled these kind of roads for 2 1/2 hours.

Local Homes
These houses are made of mud and sticks. Most have thatched roofs.

A Rest Stop At The Boabob (Bow-Bow) Tree
I had Dayna stand in front of the tree to give it some perspective.

Hippo Camp: The Bar
The tourists would meet here at the end of every day to trade stories about what animals they saw.

Hippo Camp: Our Cabin
Kind of looks like something out of a Dolly Parton documentary, doesn't it?

Inside Our Cabin
Dayna's bed with mosquito net.

Inside Our Cabin
My single bed. They beds were made up when we got there, in case you were wondering.

The Yellow Weaver And Its Nest
As you can see, the nests look like little lanterns. The males make the nests and the females tour them before deciding where they will live.

A Local Fisherman
He told us the fishing wasn't very good that day. His canoe is carved out from a tree trunk.

A Baby Crocodile
There are no alligators in Africa, apparently.

The Local Taxi Service
The boats go back and forth across the river. They take the locals from the village to their farms and back everyday.

Comments

[Cath Lawlor]

I could happily eat a meal looking out at that last-shot sight. The Hippo Camp sign looks like it was attached to a hippo.