CHADA KATAVI
Chada Katavi is situated in the core of Katavi National Park, in western Tanzania, and is reputed to be one of the wildest places on earth. From its elevated vantage point on a peninsula that rises out of the miombo woodland, the camp is perfectly positioned for panoramic views over the Chada plain. Filling the floor of the Rukwa Valley – a minor fault of the western rift – Katavi National Park spans over a million acres. From the escarpments, rivers run down through Tamarind and Albida forests to feed vast floodplains. Across these plains run the last great herds of buffalo in East Africa. In this untamed land full of huge wild creatures, man needs a really good place to hole up, and Chada Katavi has been man’s retreat for a decade, hidden on a shady spit of acacias and tamarinds on the edge of the wide Chada plain. From a distance the camp is invisible against the browns and golds of the surrounding bush.
Since we first pitched the guy ropes ten years ago – the only camp in a million wild acres – it has evolved into a rather civilized campaign HQ. Come dinnertime, the mess is nothing short of splendid, silverware and glasses shining in the lamplight.
Walking safaris take you even deeper into Katavi´s untamed world. Rare roan and sable antelope, normally skittish and shy, graze openly on these plains. On foot you experience another side of Africa, that which takes flight at the sound of approaching vehicles. The game is unbelievable with sightings of elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, crocodiles and hippo amongst many others. And then at the end of a day of adventure and discovery, you return to the creature comforts and welcoming fireside of camp.
This camp can be combined in a superb flying safari circuit with its sister camp Sand Rivers in the Selous and a few days Chimpanzee trekking at Greystoke Mahale Camp on Lake Tanzania. If time and budget permit the trip can be further enhanced by a stay in Ruaha National park at Mwagusi Camp and a few days on the beach in Zanzibar.