Chada Katavi is the kind of remote we like – not the one lost down the back of the couch, but a location way out in western Tanzania. It’s a three-hour flight from the busy safari hub of Arusha and a million miles (or something) from the tourist crowds. This little six-tent camp is set under tamarind trees in Katavi National Park, home to some of the largest buffalo herds in the world, elephants, lions and leopards, giraffes, cheetahs, hippos and crocs. Drive, walk, even fly-camp your way around this incredible park, returning to this comfy bush camp at the end of every epic day.
Nesting arrangements
The six tents are well spaced out, simple and cosy, set on ground-level wooden decks. The side panels are mesh, so the bedrooms are light and airy during the day, while keeping the bugs out. Most importantly, the beds are big and super comfy.
Separated by a canvas wall from the bedroom, the bathrooms double as wardrobe space, with a bucket shower outside (the water is heated to your preferred temperature – no surprise cold-water immersions here). Sit out on your deck and watch the elephants and giraffes that often stroll in front of camp.
Food philosophy
Everything at Chada Katavi revolves around the safari schedule, including your food. If you’re heading out on an early game drive, you’ll probably take breakfast with you – and lunch too if you’re planning to spend the whole day out.
In camp, you’ll have a choice of fruit and cereals, with cooked items like eggs, bacon and sausages to order, and light meals for lunch such as quiche and salad. Guests usually dine together in the mess tent. For dinner, expect a three-course menu, with simple, comfort food based on local ingredients, such as grilled tilapia.
Secret sauce
Katavi National Park is in western Tanzania and well off the usual tourist map. If you’re looking for an antithesis of the hugely popular Serengeti or Ngorongoro, this is it.
Katavi’s an effort to reach, we won’t lie – but that’s all part of the adventure. And you’re rewarded with some of the biggest buffalo herds on the planet – plus waterways where hippos and crocodiles coexist with a tense pact to leave each other alone, elephants lording it over every other species just because they can, and lions, leopards and hyenas prowling the open plains. All this – and virtually no other tourists.
From Chada, you can explore Katavi National Park on game drives or on foot. There’s also an option to fly-camp for a night, amping up the wildness with just a mosquito net between you and the star-spangled sky.
One more thing…
The camp sits in the shade of tamarind trees – sacred in many countries, including Tanzania. In Katavi, they’re associated with the park’s namesake, the legendary hunter Katabi, whose spirit is said to live in a tamarind tree. Elephants also worship these trees – but that’s more to do with the tasty fruit than anything else.
