Above: A boating safari on the Great Ruaha River in the Selous Game Reserve

East Africa is famous as a place of 50-mile views and immense grasslands, on which tens of thousands of grazing animals can be seen in a single glance. The region’s most celebrated landscape is that of the Serengeti — specifically its southern short-grass plains — where every January and February, the wandering herds of wildebeest converge to give birth to the next generation. But there is another East Africa. Much of the Serengeti lies at an elevation of more than 5,000 feet, but a little lower, the savannas are replaced by a mysterious and secretive world of tangled bush, where huge herds can hide away in the thick vegetation.

Join Andrew Harper today to continue reading our exclusive content.