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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This is to South Africa’s Kruger Park what most safaris are to Whipsnade Zoo.
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Safari game drives are commonplace on the continent, but few do them like Nomad. Its camps are not only located in some of the most far flung corners of the country, but are a mix of permanent sites, removable tents that disappear with the seasons, and mobile camps that mirror migration routes.
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To look down into the immense bowl of the Ngorongoro Crater is to stand at the gates of heaven.