The Selous Game Reserve in central Tanzania is one of Africa’s last, great,
uninhabited safari areas, delivering all the big game without the big (human) crowds.
Few wildlife parks in Africa allow you to drift lazily along a calm stretch of water like something out of “The African Queen” and take in an incredible amount of wildlife from a boat. The Selous Game Reserve, a remote and spectacular wildlife refuge in central Tanzania, is one of them.
Last year, I took a wonderful safari here with my family, and on one of our first afternoons, we glided along a shallow lake in an aluminum-hulled skiff. There’s something serene — and a little sneaky — about seeing animals from the water. You’re not trailing behind them as they step out of the bushes and move toward their watering holes; you’re inside their watering hole.
As we floated along, maybe 100 yards from shore, a distance close enough to observe, but hopefully not, disturb, we watched baboons, zebras, giraffes and gazelles head down to the lake for a drink. Palm trees on the water’s edge cast long pillarlike shadows.
