Chitabe Reserve has plenty of shady, wooded glades but few open plains, and is almost surrounded by Moremi Game Reserve. In contrast with the areas further north, it's largely forested: an interesting mosaic of mopane and acacia woodlands, riverine forests and occasional lush channels.
Chitabe supports a varied range of animals and birds, with numerous leopards thriving on a prolific population of impala. Buffalo, elephant, lion and periodic sightings of wild dog are also highlights here - ably recorded by the camps' owners in their excellent coffee-table book on wild dogs, Running Wild. The two camps here offer a classic dryland safari experience, concentrating on 4WD game drives both day and night.
The birdlife is often good, too, with raptors especially common - although obviously you won't see the full range of waterbirds found elsewhere. (Though many birds occur throughout the Delta, their distribution is often very localised.) Western-banded snake eagles, Gabar goshawks and martial eagles are just a few of the more sought-after sightings in drier areas like this.
The main Chitabe Camp has eight luxury tents, built on raised wooden decks and linked by walkways. There are ceiling fans as well as the usual en-suite facilities, an atmospheric outdoor shower and a great view from the veranda. Chitabe has a comfortable lounge and dining area, and a plunge pool.
Central facilities: From the arrival area, Chitabe camp is accessed by a wooden walkway which leads upwards to the main lounge area. This is large and thatched, and beautifully designed. On the left and right there is a very comfortable seating area with big squashy sofas. In front is a very cleverly designed bar, hewn from a single trunk of a sausage tree, which can be found in the area. The bar is fully stocked with a wide variety of soft drinks, local beers, some good red and white wines and most local spirits. In the centre of the main area, there are large steps leading down to a round boma with a fire pit in the centre.
One of the nice things about Chitabe is that you can find little areas tucked away – to the right of the bar there is a walkway which leads to a small library – designed to be in the middle of the branches of a large tree, this makes one feel a little like Tarzan – there is a seat designed from the branch of a sausage tree, other comfortable and stylish sofas, and a great view over the plains – this is a lovely little “snug” area to retreat to with a gin and tonic.
On the other side of the bar, accessed by a few steps, is the Chitabe swimming pool – actually more of a plunge pool, but with a good view over the plain in front of camp. Surrounded by sunloungers and naturally shaded by the enormous trees above, this is a great place to cool off in the heat of the day.
To the left of the main area is the dining room. Reached by a walkway, this is a large thatched open-sided room, with views over the surrounding plains. Brunches and dinners are served here.
Chitabe also has a small curio shop selling traditional Okavango crafts and baskets made by the local staff.
Directions: Guests will take a small plane flight to the Chitabe airstrip and it is then a half hour game drive to camp.
Accessible by: Fly-and-Transfer
Key personnel
Owner: Flamingo Investments own the lodge, which is marketed by Wilderness Safaris.
Food & drink
Usual board basis: Full Board
Dining style: Group Meals
Dining locations: Indoor and Outdoor Dining
Room service: No room service - this is a safari camp.
Cost of meal e.g. lunch: Included
Drinks included: Bottled water, soft drinks, local beers and spirits, and a limited selection of South African red and white wines are included. Champagne and imported wines and spirits will cost extra and may need to be requested in advance.
Special interests
Birdwatching: The Chitabe area has a good population of birds including Pel's fishing owl, slaty egret, brown snake eagle, wattled crane, saddle-billed stork, woolly necked stork, marsh harrier, tawny eagle, black coucal, black egret, martial eagle and of course the African fish eagle.
- See more of our suggestions of the best places for Birdwatching
Wildlife: The Chitabe area is renowned for its wild dog population. Also worth noting is the regular lion and leopard sightings, tsessebe (the fastest antelope in Africa), blue wildebeest, giraffe, zebra, reedbuck, duiker and steenbok. We were told that pangolin had also been sighted recently.
- See more of our suggestions of the best places for Wildlife
Children
Attitude towards children: Children are welcome with the restrictions below.
Age restrictions: The camp may accept ages 8 – 12 if a private vehicle is booked but this must be requested in advance. 12 years and over are welcome. 7 years and under are not accepted.
Activities: None.
Equipment: None.
Generally recommended for children: We would recommend Chitabe Camp for children over the age of 12 years.
Notes: When children are accepted at this camp, they tend to be kept separate from other guests. Note that the walkways to the rooms are raised fairly high off the ground.
Central communications
Power supply: Generator
Communications: Chitabe Camp has a CB radio link in case of emergencies, but for all intents and purposes you should consider yourself out of contact. There is no mobile reception.
TV & radio: No TV or radio - this is the bush!
Health & safety
Malarial area: Yes
Medical care: All camp managers are first aid trained and various medications are kept in the camp. In severe emergencies Wilderness can arrange for clients to be flown out either via helicopter or medical rescue plane.
Dangerous animals: High Risk
Security measures: Because of the Okavango Delta's large population of dangerous game, and the fact that Chitabe Camp is unfenced, guests are escorted to their rooms after dark. Alarm sirens or whistles are provided in the rooms in case of emergency.
Fire safety: There are extinguishers outside all the rooms.
Extras
Disabled access: On Request
Laundry facilities: Full laundry service is included, except for underwear, for which washing powder is provided in the bathrooms.
Money: No exchange facilities offered. There are safes in all the rooms.
Accepted payment: Mastercard and Visa credit cards are accepted. Diners Club and Amex are not accepted. Credit card transactions attract no commission. Rand, US Dollars, Pounds, Euros and Botswana Pula are accepted.
Chitabe Camp review
Chitabe stood out for me in one way-- our guide, Lazarus, was the BEST guide we had on our entire trip. He was incredibly knowledgable and his tracking ability was uncompared to our other guides. He...
Another excellent Wilderness camp
Chitabe is an excellent camp. We had a great time and the game sightings were excellent - 5 separate leopards on day 1 alone!
In common with other Wilderness camps, there is an emphasis on early g...
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Chitabe & Chitabe Trails camps