Page 32 - Foxes Safari Camps EBrochure

32

Getting to Know

Katavi National Park

Katavi National Park is universally recognized as one of the few truly remote and

untouched areas of Tanzania’s immense conservation areas. This is primarily due to it’s

position in the far south west of the country and the associated cost and time involved in
reaching the park. For those who do take the time to visit, an unforgettable safari awaits

them. Being one of the least visited National Parks is a bonus for the few who make it,

not a reflection on the experience to be had there - it is a place for those seeking the
Africa of decades ago.

Katavi is predominantly high plains grassland, which becomes swampy wetland during

the rains, interspersed with fringes of miombo woodland and scattered acacia. At more

than 1 million hectares, Katavi is the third largest National Park with two lakes, Lake
Katavi in the north and Lake Chada in the south, fed by the Kutuma River. These lakes

are cracked open plains during the dry season from June to November, only filling in the

rains. Kutuma River shrinks to a narrow stream, with pools which become the extremely
cramped quarters of hundreds of hippos and crocs during the dry season. In fact, Katavi

has the highest density of hippo and the largest crocodiles in East Africa.