Tanzania: crossing the Massaï Steppe and trip to the Selous Game Reserve

Sunday, January 9, 2000

Tanzania: crossing the Massaï Steppe and trip to the Selous Game Reserve

July 1-8, 1979 - With our Norwegian & British friends we took an exciting trip through the Massaï Steppe (starting in Arusha and going South) in complete autonomy for 6 days...

The Maasai Steppe has traditionally been home to nomadic pastoralists who relocate frequently and use traditional conservation techniques to avoid exhausting scarce natural resources.

The steppe has a prairie ecosystem (baobab and acacia trees dot the savanna), with annual dry and rainy seasons producing areas that are lush or dusty depending on the time of year and proximity to permanent water resources.

The Maasai Steppe Landscape’s celebrated elephants, wildebeest, zebras, buffalo, giraffes, and Thomson’s gazelles cover vast areas of land to find food and water in different locations during different seasons.

Two birds in one shot!

Asbjorn the hunter provided good meat for the trip!

Another exciting trip to the Selous Game Reserve with Maggie and John

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 at Beho Beho in this territory in 1917 while fighting against the Germans during World War I.

The reserve covers a total area of 54,600 km2 (21,100 sq mi) and has additional buffer zones. Within the reserve no permanent human habitation or permanent structures are permitted.

Some of the typical animals of the savanna (for example elephants, hippopotami, African Wild Dog, cape buffalo and crocodiles) can be found in this park in larger numbers than in any other African game reserve or national park.

The Selous was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982 due to the diversity of its wildlife and undisturbed nature.