Niassa Special Reserve

Striking Scenery in a Vast Isolated Reserve

I’ll never forget arriving by small aircraft in Niassa National Reserve. The dramatic landscape took my breath away. Massive granite domes rise up hundreds of meters above the canopy with the sluggish Luganda River meandering through. This scene seemed to extend to infinity in every direction.

There wasn’t a lot of wildlife around, but that didn’t stop us enjoying our morning and afternoon outings in the bush, usually with a lovely coffee stop or sundowners thrown in. We got excited when we came across a cheeky elephant charging our vehicle. Even more thrilling was sneaking up on foot to a herd of sable. These stately antelopes thrive in the pristine miombo woodland, which makes up more than half of the reserve.

My highlight was a canoeing trip on the river. Again, we didn’t see much wildlife, but we stopped to look for spoor on the sandbanks, and the feeling that we were the only people around in this vast, wild area will stay with me forever.