Selous National Park, Tanzania

We left early and headed south in an old VW van (not exactly your typical 4WD safari jeep).  After driving for five hours through the bush we successfully removed ourselves from civilization; local children would run up to our car and yell and wave as we drove through their remote villages.  The villagers, sustained by fishing and rice farming, had houses made of mud and roofs of grass.  The more fortunate villages (nearer the park) had homes with tin roofs and women used sewing machines.

Our camp set-up on the river included ten tents with a separate large hut for meals.  We took a quick boat safari and caught a glimpse of animals along the riverfront at sunset.  The next day, our first “game drive” through the national park produced significant animals and caused us to gawk like little kids:

Giraffe (over 300, we counted them)

Hippopotamus (in the water and on land)

Water Buffalo

Kurus (kind of like big elk)

Elephants

Zebras

One lion sleeping under a tree





Crocodiles

Birds (vibrant colors of blue, red, yellow)

Monkeys

Impalas (not Chevy, but more like a deer, too many to count)

Warthogs

Wildebeest

We had a laugh with our “armed guard” at the campsite that night, as he was required to escort us to our tent safely should any animals attack.