Katavi National Park | Tanzania Private Safari

Katavi National Park

Welcome to Katavi National Park

This park is truly wild with few camps and very few visitors. Katavi is one of the few places left in Africa today where you genuinely feel that you could have slipped back a thousand years. Many safari connoisseurs would argue that this is the quintessential Tanzania safari park; we certainly believe it to be the country’s best kept secret. Combine this park with Mahale, specifically at Olaitoriani Expeditions Greystoke, and there is a good argument that this is the finest week to be had in Africa!

The volume of game in Katavi is outstanding, with some researchers believing that the concentrations are even higher than in Ngorongoro. Huge herds of buffalo and vast lion prides duel daily, whilst hippos and crocodiles gather in pods and nests not found anywhere else in Africa. The cost of getting here is undeniably high, however this has protected the park from the crowds that have affected other areas and once you get here, lodge prices are reasonable and the majority of the camps of a very high standard.

Located in the far west of the Tanzania, Katavi is a park for the safari enthusiast. Often combined with nearby Mahale, Katavi receives very few travellers due to its relative inaccessibility and consequent high cost of flights. Travellers who spend the time and money to get here, however, are richly rewarded – Katavi is nothing short of magical

Katavi – The Activities

The main activity in Katavi is daytime game driving; night safari is not permitted. Some of the camps offer walking safaris and Olaitoriani Camp operates exceptional short fly camping trips with nights spent out under the stars.

Katavi – When to go

Like the Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha National Park, Katavi is a classic dry season park with the game viewing getting progressively better towards the end of the year. As the water holes and rivers dry up, game moves down from the surrounding hills and congregates around the remaining river system – now the viewing gets seriously good. July to October is absolutely peak season for Katavi but more and more travellers are trying Katavi out of season, if only to have the park completely to themselves!

Visitors

The number of visitors to the park on an annual basis is extremely low, in comparison to better known parks. As there are hardly any campsites and lodges, offering only a dozen available rooms, Katavi National Park still remains a hidden jewel among Tanzania’s Safari Parks.

Katavi – The Wildlife

We can’t think of anywhere else that showcases buffalo and lion duels quite so well as Katavi; game drives here can be seriously explosive! Katavi is equally famous for its enormous crocodile and hippo populations – the huge hippo pool can see 600 hippo at its peak and nowhere else in Africa do crocodiles hibernate in dens as they do here. The wildlife in Katavi hasn’t read the species behavioural rule book! Sizeable elephant herds and good numbers of zebra, giraffe, topi, leopard, waterbuck, hyena and very occasionally wild dog make this a park to compete with the finest safari experiences in the world.

Katavi – Where to stay

Olaitoriani is the most famous, and our favourite, camp in the park. With only six classic safari tents, it epitomises the essence of a remote safari camp, and the guiding and overall standards are what we have come to expect from a company as good as Olaitoriani. Foxes Katavi Wildlife Camp has probably the best location in the park; although larger and not quite as well-tuned as Olaitoriani, it has come up in recent years, and is a more economical option than Chada.

Why to go to Katavi National Park

A remote and old-world experience

Katavi is a hidden gem in a sometimes busy safari world. You can visit during the peak season, yet feel very much on your own. And that’s not because wildlife viewing is not exceptional – it’s just because it’s so remote, making it more pricey to get here. But if you are looking for a secluded safari experience to immerse yourself fully in the rhythm of one of Africa’s remaining wilderness areas, you will get more for your money than you might have ever imagined. You may only go to Katavi once in your life – make it count.

Highlights

For those lucky enough to visit Katavi, the dry season – June to October – is by far the best time to see animals.
The Katuma River is one of the only sources of water in the dry season and is the lifeline for creatures both large and small when they congregate along the river to drink and bath.
Then, when the last lakes and swamps are drying, up to a thousand hippos at times would huddle together for that last bit of water. Large crocodiles can be seen basking in the sun or in the remaining mud pools.
The Katisunga plains in the heart of the park attracts large numbers of wildlife and it is one of the few parks where visitors can catch a glimpse of both the roan and sable antelope in the same place. Other animals grazing here are zebra, hartebeest, eland, giraffe and defassa waterbuck.
Katavi is also one of the last parks that boasts massive herds of buffalo; some herds easily reaching a thousand animals or more. A healthy population of roughly 3000 elephants also reside in the park.
Predators such as cheetahs, hyenas, jackals, and servals are also present in the area and the resident prides of lions are always around looking for their next meal. Leopards also call Katavi home.
With over 400 species of birds, Katavi is a great place for birdwatchers. Large flocks of storks like saddle bills, open-billed and spoon bills as well as African fish eagles, Bateleurs, lilac breasted rollers, crested barbets and paradise flycatchers are but a few on the long list of birds in Katavi