Close to Chitabe main camp, the smaller Chitabe Lediba (formerly known as Chitabe Trails) has five lovely tents, also on raised decks, which have outdoor and indoor showers. Two are suitable for families sharing. The lounge/dining room has recently been redesigned, and is beautifully furnished with comfortable sofas and a good little library. At one end of the main area is the bar, the sitting area is in the middle, and the other end is the dining table, with wrought iron chairs. A wooden walkway leads to the “loo with a view” and further on there is a small plunge pool surrounded by sun loungers which has an uninterrupted view over the plains.
It's the staff that make this camp though – unfailingly friendly and cheerful and always happy to chat about the camp and the surrounding wildlife. The guiding is superb (on our last visit we were guided by Newman whose birding knowledge is encyclopaedic!).
The area around the camp 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 riverine forests, mopane and acacia woodlands and occasional lush channels.
Chitabe supports a wide range of birds and animals, with numerous leopards thriving on large numbers of impala. Buffalo, elephant, lion and periodic sightings of wild dog are highlights here - ably recorded by the camps' owners in their superb 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 highly localised.) Western-banded snake eagles, Gabar goshawks and martial eagles are a few of the more sought-after sightings in drier areas like this.
Central facilities: From the arrival area, the camp is accessed by a wooden walkway, newly constructed, and raised about a metre off the ground. This leads to the main area of the camp, a beautifully designed thatched area with a bar and very comfortable seating area on the left and a large dining table with wrought iron chairs on the right. A selection of wildlife and birding magazines are available for guests to borrow. Steps from the main area lead down to a round boma area with a fire pit in the centre. Surrounding this are comfortable directors chairs and the fire is lit after supper.
From the main area there is a wooden walkway leading to the loo-with-a-view and further on, to the swimming pool – a smallish pool complete with sunloungers and a superb panoramic view over the floodplains in front of camp.
Situated a little further from the main area is the camp curio shop which stocks a variety of safari clothing, local Okavango crafts and surprisingly, a selection of silver Ethiopian crosses!
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 (Dave and Helene Hamman) own the lodge, which is marketed by Wilderness Safaris
Staff: It's the staff that make this camp – unfailingly friendly and cheerful and always happy to chat about the camp and the surrounding wildlife. The guiding is superb (on our last visit we were guided by Newman whose birding knowledge is encyclopaedic!).
Food & drink
Usual board basis: Full Board
Food quality: We found the food at Chitabe Lediba to be of an exceptional standard – delicious and fresh. The meals are served buffet-style, and guests dine together.
Early morning breakfast is served on the deck where you can watch the sun rise. We were served cereal, fruit, muffins, tea and coffee, which was just right for lining the stomach before our game drive. We were then offered a cooked breakfast (cooked in front of us by the chef) at brunch time, along with various salads, bread and an assortment of other dishes. At tea time savoury and sweet snacks are served – we had cheesecake and mini quiches served with iced tea (sweetened and unsweetened).
Our dinner on the evening we stayed there was a particular highlight – we started with a grilled tomato and aubergine stack with balsamic glaze, followed by an absolutely mouthwatering mushroom stroganoff which was so good we both went back for more and requested the recipe! This was served with a selection of fresh al dente vegetables and butternut squash chunks with cinnamon, a surprisingly good combination. To finish we had Malva pudding – Botswana's equivalent of a sticky toffee pudding – with cream.
The camp is able to cater for all dietary tastes – vegetarian, vegan, gluten free etc as long as they are informed in advance.
Dining style: Group Meals
Dining locations: Indoor and Outdoor Dining
Room service: No - 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, marsh harrier, tawny eagle, black coucal, black egret, martial eagle and of course the African fish eagle, whose haunting cry can often be heard in camp.
- See more of our suggestions of the best places for Birdwatching
Wildlife: The Chitabe area is renowned for its wild dog population, although our stay was too brief to spot the resident pack. Also worth noting are the regular lion and leopard sightings, tsessebe (fastest antelope in Africa), blue wildebeest, giraffe, zebra, reedbuck, duiker and steenbok. We were also told that pangolin had 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 Lediba Camp for children over the age of 12 years.
Notes: The camp has a family room for those with children, which is essentially a double tent with the bathroom in the middle.
When children are accepted at this camp, they tend to be kept separate from other guests. Note that the walkways are raised about a metre off the ground.
Central communications
Power supply: Generator
Communications: Chitabe Trails 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. The camp does have a satellite phone which can be hired to guests if need be.
TV & radio: There is no television or radio - this is deepest Africa!
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 Lediba 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.
Sunsets behind the palm trees
With only 5 tents, Chitabe Lediba was wonderfully quiet (and for the most part, there was only one other guest besides us). Both O.T. and Andrea were good guides with a strong knowledge of natural hi...
A Return Visit
It was good to return to Chitabe trails [Ed: this is the old name for 'Chitabe Lediba' camp] and see old friends, it was two years since our last visit and three of the friends we made then we...
Read in more depth...
Click on the links below to read sections from the Bradt guidebook which are related to Chitabe Lediba.
Chitabe & Sandibe General sections about background, flora and fauna of the Chitabe Reserve, as well as a menu of all the camps there
We want you to understand more about Chitabe Lediba. We're also confident that a trip there with us cost you the same or less than booking it any other way, even directly. So follow the links below.
Chitabe Lediba homepage Click here for the Chitabe Lediba homepage on Wilderness Safaris website. (Wilderness run the camp!) It's slow to load - but worth it.
Chitabe & Sandibe