Chada Katavi
When To Go
When To Go
Katavi has two vastly different faces.
January
February
March
April
May
June
Still green, wildlife starting to gather
LOW season rates, up to 20% off
Beautiful green bush after the rains and plentiful food for the wildlife which is starting to return to the plains. Grass can be long so viewing can be more challenging.
Pleasant temperatures - warm days, cool nights.
July
Wildlife converging in open plains
Combine with Greystoke Mahale and get one night free.
Bush starting to thin out and a wide variety of species congregate on the open plains, making for great game viewing.
Drying out, starting to warm up. Still cool in the early mornings and evenings.
August
Great variety of wildlife
Combine with Greystoke Mahale and get one night free.
Wildlife competes for the available water and the bush is dry and grass low, ideal for walking. Wiildlife often on the plains or taking refuge from the heat of the day in the treeline.
Hot days, warm nights and dry.
September
Great variety of wildlife
Combine with Greystoke Mahale and get one night free.
Peak wildlife viewing time as wildlife gathers around available water and food pressure increases. Large pods of hippo fight for territory and crocodiles start to aestivate in riverbanks.
Middle of dry season - hot days and warm nights, surface water thinning out.
October
Game gathering in larger numbers
Combine with Greystoke Mahale and get one night free.
Vast hippo pods and dozens of crocodiles are a unique Katavi phenomenon at this time of year. Otherwise great month of big game and walking.
Hot and dry. Clear skies ideal for nights out in the flycamp.
November
Possibility of first rains
LOW season rates, up to 20% off
First rains start to ease the pressure on the water and food while still offering great opportunities for big game viewing.
Generally hot and dry with the possibility of first rains.
December
Our dry season, which runs from June through to end October, gets more and more intense as the temperatures rise. As the season progresses, the river - life blood to so many of its animals - starts to dry up; the pools and watering holes fill up with pods of hippo almost stacking up on top of each other to try and get into the water. The savanna grass is golden and the sunsets are dusty, the heat shimmers like a mirage over the plain. This is Katavi as raw and real as it can possibly be, and when Chada comes into its own.
The rains usually come mid November and go through until early June. Katavi then undergoes a complete transformation. Almost as soon as the first rains hit the ground, everything goes green; long green and lush grasses sprout from what was just dry and cracked earth. The rivers flow again, the pools overflow and there is space for all. It's a birders paradise as all the migratory birds flock back. Grass as high as an elephants eye, but there is still so much to see. Chada closes for the main part of the rainy season.
