Katavi is remote, undeveloped and bristling with wild animals. It's far from anywhere and anyone, and is hard to beat for a pure wilderness safari. In Katavi you can game drive in open vehicles, walk and flycamp.

Katavi is in the far west of Tanzania, close to Lake Tanganyika and Mahale Mountains National Park but miles from virtually everywhere else.

Its great distance from Arusha and any other safari destinations, is undoubtedly what has saved it from becoming over run by tourists. At present, although there are rash of new camps being built, Katavi still has relatively few visitors each year. Long may it last.

A safari to Katavi National Park is probably too raw for many people

- it's an incredibly exciting place and has a truly wild, almost primeval feel, which hits you intensely from the moment you first see the game scattered over the Katisunga flood plain as you approach by air. In the dry season, herds of buffalo, two or three thousand strong graze on the plains, pods of several hundred hippo cram the seasonal rivers, herds of elephant feed on the plains and drink from the springs.

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At Natural High, we've all lived and worked in Africa, so our knowledge is born of hands-on experience rather than simply visiting on holiday. We can't over-stress how worthwhile it is to take a few minutes to call us. We're not in the business of churning out thousands of packages so if you'd like to discuss things in detail, take a few minutes and call Catherine, Fiona, Vanessa & Alex on +44(0)1747 898104.

There's little or no infrastructure in Katavi and consequently a palpable feeling of freedom. On safari, one can explore the untouched wilderness, by foot at animal pace, or off-road by land rover, all day, discovering the most secret parts, without seeing another soul. In terms of biomass (literally meat per acre) Katavi is second only to the Serengeti National Park. Katavi is exceptionally diverse in both flora and fauna and at its centre are several large flood plains and the narrow rivers that flow through them.

In addition to the buffalo, hippo and elephant, there are vast quantities of crocs, topi, giraffe, hartebeest, sable, roan, waterbuck and reedbuck and large populations of predators - lion, hyena, leopard (as you'd expect when you see the buffalo). For some extraordinary reason it also seems to hold vast quantities of mice, especially around the edge of Chada flood plain. The 400 plus species of birds reflect an intriguing balance between east and southern African species.

In June 2003, The Daily Telegraph's foreign editor, Alec Russell, traveled to Katavi and Mahale National Parks with Natural High. You can read about his safari and our involvement in it at www.telegraph.co.uk.

See also:

Safari Camps and Lodges in Katavi National Park

Katavi National Park Itineraries

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Katavi National Park, Tanzania

Katavi is in the far west of Tanzania, close to Lake Tanganyika and Mahale Mountains National Park but miles from virtually everywhere else.

A safari to Katavi National Park is probably too raw for many people