Katavi National Park
This is a far-flung, primeval bushland saturated with Africa's mega-beasts.
Way out west, this rugged national park is one of the least known, but most exciting wildlife areas in East Africa.
Katavi is like travelling back in time, maybe to the Pleistocene era. Animals seem bigger and more bestial. As a human, for once, you don't feel like you own the planet. It's a thrilling experience. Survival here depends on fragile seasonal rivers, the Katuma, the Kavu and the Kapapa. Between the rivers, huge herds of buffalo and other herbivores concentrate for the rich grass of four great floodplains, including (our own backyard) Chada.
As months wear on, the grass dries gold and withers. By the end of the dry season, it’s all going a bit mad. As water becomes limited, so animals are drawn to the riverbanks. Hippopotamus in their thousands cram dwindling pools, crocodiles dig riverbank caves. Buffalo and elephant compete for waterholes. Lion, hyenas and other predators know this and wildlife watching here becomes even more outstanding.
Greystoke
Chada
Expeditionary walking camp
Discover our Katavi camps
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Open from June to end October, it offers a changing wildlife spectacle as the Kakuma River dries up, the plains turn gold, and the remaining pools become increasingly contested by the huge numbers of hippos, while crocs hunker down in riverbank caves.
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In a grove of sausage trees in Ruaha National Park on the banks of the Ifuguru River, in the best game area in the park.
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Sweet dreams are indeed made of this.
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In a grove of sausage trees in Ruaha National Park on the banks of the Ifuguru River, in the best game area in the park.