Katavi Safari Holiday Guide – Remote Western Park With Superb Game Viewing And Few Visitors

Katavi National Park, one of Tanzania’s most westerly and remote parks, is only just beginning to gain recognition for it’s beauty and the quality of it’s game viewing. It is remote in the extreme and with just over 600 visitors a year it is the ultimate in off-the-beaten-track safari destinations. If you have the time and resources, it is the definitive safari destination.

The area under National Park protection at Katavi has recently been doubled to 4,000 sq. km so that it has superseded Mikumi as Tanzania’s third-largest park. Yet while over 120,000 people annually visit the northern parks, less than 1,000 reach Katavi and you will feel privileged when you flick back through the visitor’s book to find the last people to have been there.

Lake Katavi and Lake Chada boast one of the largest population of Hippopotamus and crocodiles whilst the floodplains provide a habitat for an abundance of waterfowl. Its vast size, infinite grassland plains, isolation and inaccessibility have meant that herd sizes are huge and it is not unknown to see up to 1,500 buffalo at once!

Birdlife in Katavi National Park

The park is home to over 350 different bird species. Ostrich, Pelican, Cormorant, Herons, Egret, Stork, Hammerkop, Ibis, Spoonbill, Duck, Vulture, Harrier, Eagle, Buzzard, Goshawk, Kite, Falcon, Crane, Moorhen, Guineafowl, Plover, Sandpiper, Coucal, Owls, Nightjar and Kingfishers to name but a few.

Safaris in Katavi National Park

Game drives through the park are the best way to enjoy Katavi. Very few people drive to Katavi, most fly-in to be hosted by their chosen tented camp. Game viewing activities are undertaken in lodge vehicles with the possibility of walking safaris with adequate notice.

Hours can be spent watching hundreds of hippos wallowing, elephant, buffalo, lion, giraffe, crocs and birdlife.  Sunsets are breathtaking, particularly with a cold sundowner in hand.  In between game viewing sit back on your veranda and enjoy the local wildlife, birds and just being in the bush!

Highlights of Katavi National Park

 1 Game viewing without the crowds – there’s nowhere else like it!
 2 Lion, and other predators, wait along the fringed woodland to ambush the game.
 3 The park is home to over 350 different bird species and abundant animals.