I would like to ask, no plead for fellow GiantBombers to post ANY tips on how to catch pokemon in the Safari Zone here.
 
For you see, I've been spending the last 2 hours trying to get a Larvitar in the Safari Zone.
I throw a pokeball, it breaks it.
I throw mud, still breaks the pokeball.
I throw food, it runs away! 
 
I really, don't know how this system works, does throwing mud twice give you a greater chance of catching him?
Is it best to just spam pokeballs?
Post any tips, please.

For me, catching Pokemon in the Safari Zone is all about luck. I think when you throw mud, you have a better chance of catching it, but at the same time, it might run away. Throwing food has less chance of it running away, but harder to catch. In the end though, it all depends on luck. Like when you throw mud, the pokemon might or might not run away; same thing with throwing food. The only tip I have is keep trying; with enough luck you can catch a rare pokemon there by just throwing a pokeball. Sometimes you might not be that lucky.
 
Also, you can catch a Larvitar at Mt. Silver. I'd go with that approach, since you can actually weaken it and it won't run away like in the Safari Zone.

Catching Pokémon in the safari zone can be fustrating, especially the rare ones.
 
A tip (basic but still a tip!) is to stand still and tap the button slightly so you don't move but you do change direction, you can still get encounters this way but your step allowance wont go down, essentially granting you infinite chances to find the one you are after.

Ok, I did it.
If anyone is still interested the way I did it was the following,
I was spamming safari ballls, and after like 3 or so (this Larvitar wasn't running away) I threw mud once, then continued the spam. After 3 more I caught it!
Hooray!

The new Safari Zone is even more confusing as apparently you can deconstruct and reconstruct the specific rooms of it. I can't even wrap my mind around it. Where's my good ol' fashioned Gold Teeth Warden and the simplicity of finding a Kangaskhan?!

My safari zone strategy: know what Pokemon you're after,and spam Pokeballs at it until you either run out, it runs away, or you catch it. I find throwing mud at it doesn't seem to improve the odds enough to actually try it. Half the time, it'll just run right away.
 
Also, the safari zone in HG/SS is madness! You freaking need a constant guide up if you're looking for how to catch a specific Pokemon you actually want. Either that or you have to wait almost a full year of real life time in order for each decoration block to add up to enough to catch the more elusive ones. OR, you can constantly keep redecorating for each individual one you want, but that also takes a lot of work, and you still have ones that only appear after 20 or so days.