Katavi National Park
Tanzania is so full of ‘don’t miss’ wildlife
destinations that safari enthusiasts will just
have to accept that they cannot all be done
in one safari. However, Katavi Plains is a must for
the enthusiast, and being far away and remote but
also within 30 minutes flying time from Mahale, it
can be combined well with the Mahale Mountains.
Katavi at 4,471 sq. km is large and protects only part of an
even larger ecosystem. Extensive open plains alternate
with broad-leafed woodlands, flat-topped acacia bush
country and wide swamps and lakes.
This is a highly seasonal place only accessible in the dry
months from July to October. It is extremely remote,
and this very remoteness is its strength for during the
long wet season from October to May (8 months) the
wild animals have free domain over a huge hinterland
of several thousand square kilometers both within and
outside the Park, virtually untouched by man. They can
move, live and multiply here. As the dry season arrives
they are forced slowly back to the swamps and lakes of
Katavi, where they get more and more concentrated.
Large areas of the Park are hardly ever visited such as the
Mlele escarpment with its waterfalls, Lake Paradise and
the country in between.
Katavi is one of those places that have not changed
since early European explorers first started entering
Africa’s interior, and it is the kind of place that gave this
continent its reputation for being impenetrable, of huge
scale and swarming with big game. You will need at least
three days there.
Wildlife
By September, elephant can be seen daily and the
numbers of buffalo are phenomenal with herd upon herd
of 1000 strong grazing the dried-out flood plains. Hippo
and crocs numbering in thousands get increasingly
confined to shrinking pools and mud wallows, with
regular fights erupting amongst the hippo bulls. Large
herds of topi also concentrate into the flood plains.
The predators are here in force, especially lion and
spotted hyena. Male lion are characterized by very short
manes, but large powerful bodies.
In the hinterland are huge expanses of Acacia and broadleaved woodlands (Miombo), and it is here that Roan
and Sable antelope are found, as well as Lichtenstein’s
hartebeest.
Air. Scheduled flights from Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Kigoma,
Tabora, Mwanza and Dar es Salaam operate into
Katavi National Park via small, bush-compatible
light aircraft such as Cessna Caravan.
It is very approximately a three-hour flight from Dar
es Salaam to Katavi and similarly 3 hours from Arusha. The flight from Mwanza is about 2 ½
hours.
All flights will require landing on a dirt airstrip;
the Ikuu airstrip (near the Ikuu Ranger Post).
Road. The drive from Mbeya is 550 km/340 miles which
makes a spectacular full day’s journey. Mbeya
is 838 km from Dar es Salaam, making the total
distance from Dar approximately 1,400 km (870
mi) and requiring 20 + hours. In the dry season
the drive from Kigoma is 390 km/240 miles.
Rail. It is possible to reach Mpanda by rail from Dar via
Tabora, then to get public transport to Sitaliki,
where game drives can be arranged. If travelling
overland, allow plenty of time to get there and
back.
The area was originally a Game Reserve and the Park
was established in 1974.
