Month by month
Katavi in December: the wettest month, and still open
December is the wettest point of Katavi's entire year by the numbers, yet it is also one of the four wet months where the camps keep running rather than closing. The Katuma is back in flood across the Katisunga and Chada plains, festive supplements show up on a few camp rate cards, and the birding, carried by migrants still resident through the season, stays strong.
If you only want the answer
December brings Katavi's heaviest rainfall of the year, 185 mm over 26 days, with camps open throughout and festive-period pricing at some properties around Christmas and New Year. Book six months or more ahead if your dates fall over the holiday period specifically, since festive supplements do not mean festive availability.
The wettest month on the books
December's average of 185 mm across 26 rain days makes it the single wettest month in Katavi's year, ahead of both January and March. The Katuma is fully back in its flooded state, spread across the Katisunga and Chada plains, and game disperses accordingly, the same trade every wet-season visitor makes here in exchange for near-total solitude.
Birdlife stays a genuine draw: migrants remain present through December as part of their November-to-April window, so the resident fish eagles and storks share the flooded margins with species you will not see again once the dry season returns.
Open through the holidays, at a price
Katavi Wildlife Camp holds its low-season rate of $445 through most of December before a festive-period rate applies over Christmas and New Year, and other camps in the park follow a similar pattern of a short seasonal supplement layered onto an otherwise quiet month. Flights remain on-request only, part of the same charter arrangement that has applied since November, so build the extra lead time for booking a seat into your festive planning.
This is the one wet-season month where demand does not track the rain at all. Travellers wanting a Christmas or New Year safari book December regardless of the forecast, which can fill a small camp's handful of rooms well before the weather itself becomes a factor.
One thing to do differently
If your dates fall over Christmas or New Year specifically, book six months or more ahead; the festive supplement on the rate card is not a sign of extra rooms, and Katavi's camps are small enough that a handful of holiday bookings can fill them regardless of season. Outside the festive window itself, December keeps the same relaxed booking timeline as the rest of the wet season.