When we first pushed into Katavi way back, no one had signed the park guestbook for a decade; camp was three bedrolls and a fire. We went feral in the freedom of being amongst such concentrations of beasts. Though we’ve upgraded since then, with comparative luxuries like showers and silverware – we stay faithful to how that felt, and our outpost still sits amongst the elephants, bellowing hippos and tamarind trees.
Deep in the heart of Katavi National Park, in remote Western Tanzania. Our camp sits under a shady canopy of acacia and tamarind trees overlooking the wide Chada Plain and is a hub of wildlife activity, particularly elephants in the dry season.
GPS COORDS:
6°56’12.18″S, 31°15’1.21”E.
OPEN:
June—early November.
A classic expeditionary outpost with just six spacious safari tents with large shade net windows to let in lots of light and cool breezes. En-suite bathrooms with traditional safari style bucket showers, and eco- flush toilets. Hot and cold water available on demand.
Unbelievable game, with vast herds of buffalo roaming the plains; also elephant, lion, leopard, crocodiles and hippo and rare antelope like sable and roan. Katavi is known for hundreds of hippo gathering in limited water sources in the dry season, and aestivating crocodiles in river bank caves. We like to return to our roots in Katavi and enjoy nothing more than an exciting night out fly camping in the middle of one the wildest parks in Tanzania.
Epic walking safaris, game drives in open 4WD vehicles, night drives, fly camping under the stars, outstanding birding and big mammal safaris.
June is green and lush after the long rains, and this is one of the best times of the year to visit. July to October starts to dry out, the rivers and pools are drying up concentrating the game in certain areas which makes for amazing sightings, particularly of the famous phenomenons surrounding hippo and crocodiles in Katavi. The daily temperatures get hotter.
Children over the age of 12. Walking safaris are only available for children over 16.
Mahale & Katavi are over 500kms from Arusha which makes access challenging. Shared Charter flights every Monday & Thursday 0800 from Arusha / (Serengeti at supplement) / Tabora (refuel & loo stop) / Katavi / Mahale / Tabora / (Serengeti at supplement) / returning to Arusha 1800. Additional scheduled flights are also available to/from the South/Dar/ Zanzibar. We can also arrange private charters throughout the region. Transfers between Mahale airstrip & camp are by boat (an hour and a half).
