Nyerere National Park

The Selous — now formally renamed Nyerere National Park in honour of Tanzania's founding president — is a wilderness on a scale that is genuinely difficult to comprehend. At 30,893 square kilometres, it is the largest game reserve in Africa and one of the largest protected areas on earth. The Rufiji River is its artery: a broad, slow-moving body of water flanked by palm forest, oxbow lakes, and fever tree woodlands where lions, crocodiles, and hippos share the banks with extraordinary bird life. What makes Nyerere different from the northern parks is water — the safari here is partly conducted by boat, drifting silently past sleeping hippos and ambush-posed crocodiles, with fishing eagles overhead. It is one of the few places in Tanzania where you can walk with an armed guide, canoe on the river at dawn, and go an entire day without seeing another vehicle.