Selous Game Reserve Forum: is there much game to see in selous.

August is a better time to go than January, in theory, but I've been in both Jan and August and still saw plenty of game in January.

Not sure where they stayed.Thanks for info. puts a different perspective on things.Will do more research before making a decision.Also considering Ngorogoro crater.

can anyone reccommend ruaha.Thinking of visiting there as well then maybe Ngorogoro crater.Any tips please,

Not sure where they stayed.Thanks for info. puts a different perspective on things.Will do more research before making a decision.Also considering Ngorogoro crater.

Ruaha is superb. It has cheetah, which Selous doesn't, and, being at the crossroads of East and Southern African habitats has a huge mix of bird and wildlife.

It's about half the size of Selous, but that is misleading as there is no hunting - it's a park, so it probably has about 10 times the amount of area for tourists as Selous.

It's about 3 times the size of the Serengeti NP and gets a fraction of the visitors there. I once saw 7 vehicles around a lion and our driver apologised for teh crowds, and promptly drove off to find a pride with no-one else around. I'm not sure exclusive sightings are as common in the north.

However, I'd be cautious of combining the north (Crater, Serengeti) and the south, as most of the transfers are in small planes. Selous to Ruaha is about 2 hours. You can't exactly stretch your legs and wander back to the toilets during the flight....there are no toilets! So check the transfer time between the north and south and check if its for you..

Again - look at

http://www.adventurecampstz.com/

to see what a typical operator offers.

There are also a few good agents in the UK who would be worth talking to, or you can do it all yourself, probably with some advice from people on here. Depends what you want.

I was in Ruaha December 2009 and Selous January 2010. No shortage of "Game". (hunting term . Yuk)

Wildlife seen included Leopards around Camp, Wild Dogs ditto, lots of Elephant, Buffalo and Lion. Kudu, Giraffe, Zebra, Impala, Wildebeest.

I came away well pleased with what I saw. I cannot understand your friends comments.

August should in theory be even better.

If time is a factor stay south. There is plenty to see without wasting time in small planes to visit the north too. Save that for next time.

Thanks for your help.Will take on board what you have said.Meeting up with a holiday company who specialise in African holidays on Thursday.Only off putting comments is hunting in Selous.Don't even like horse racing.However,Selous sounds better option than Ngorogo for cost reasons as well.

The hunting goes on south of the River. You will be in the north side.

While I'm not pro-hunting, I think it's worth considering the economic impact that hunters have on a poor country.

Since many rich Western countries have wiped out most wildlife in their own countries, it can seem hypocritical if we tell other countries not to allow hunting, especially when it brings in much-needed foreign currency.

If the choice is hunger or hunting, which should people choose?

(However, I know that much of the income will not go to the hungriest locals..).

As for the holiday company, I would check they have experience of Tanzania. Not all companies have, and they may be southern African specialists. Its worth asking and seeking out some of their happy (or otherwise) clients). There may be feedback on here, if you do a search for the company, or say who it is.