Katavi
When the water in Katavi National Park slowly begins to dry out, and the sun beats down on the savannah, the crocs in Katavi have nowhere to hide. They need to keep their body temperature stable so they dig caves into the river beds. This is one of the unique things we see on our mobile camping Safaris to Katavi.
Special sightings we had a lot of this year were of Roan. These beautiful antelope are one of the largest on the savannah and are rare to see in the southern circuit of Tanzania. It is always a special moment when our guides spy them. They are named for their reddish brown (roan) colour, and can be confused for Sable antelope. However the Sable males are a lot darker (black rather than brown). Like many antelope species, Roan form harem groups, with a dominant male protecting up to 15 females.
Katavi holds many treasures in addition to being a great place to see Roan. On our last safari there, our Authentic Tanzania guide Steve daily saw a pride of Lions relaxing near the river bed. One day a group of elephants wanted to come for a drink, but soon realised that the waterhole already had our pride of Lions there.
With water difficult to come across, the matriarch of the herd took it into her own hands and she came gunning down at full speed on to the pride. She was fearless given her desperate need to get her family access to the water.
The pride of Lions instantly realised this was an elephant not to be messed with and they scattered, giving the Elephants a nice chance to bathe and rehydrate.
If you would like to find out more about a very special Solar Eclipse safari to Katavi in August 2016, please contact us on info@authentictanzania.com. A few places are still available!. Take the chance to visit this most remote of national parks with an affordable group tour.