Reviews of Chikoko Tree Camp
(99%) From 104 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Chikoko Tree Camp review
Beautiful.
Excellent birdwatching around camp and while walking.
Great two storey huts, amazing walking.
The unusual two storey reed huts are a treat and the walking with Amon and Scout Renaldo was first class.
And saw cook Patson who we first met at Mwaleshi 19 years ago.
Lots of Elephant around, and Leopard kills in the trees. Also Giraffe and Lion.
Room with a view
Difficult to pick a winner between Chikoko and Crocodile, and many people visit both.
With your first floor bedroom opening directly into the bush (just a bar there to avoid you falling out!), you may like us have the odd sensation of hearing an unidentified animal grazing outside on a moonless night and be completely unable to determine what it is.
The cook at Chikoko makes everything in a hole in the ground wood oven
lovely bush camp
It makes a change to be upstairs looking down on the wildlife.
Great walking.
Chikoko Tree Camp review
This camp was our favourite. The rooms are built on stilts which provides incredible views across the bush from the bedroom.
The facilities are a little more basic than the other camps but if you don't mind the odd frog or snake in the bathroom it should not be missed.
The food again was amazing and we asked to visit the kitchen so we could see for ourselves how this was achieved. The chef was a delight and was very happy to show us around his kitchen. Fresh bread and cakes baked every day.
Amon was our guide again and he made our walks interesting and fun.
Walking into a totally different experience
On foot you are in much closer contact with the natural environment than when you are in a vehicle. On the Chikoko side of the river there are no vehicles, and no other nearby camp, adding to its feeling of remoteness.
We were surprised to be walking through such dense vegetation, where visibility was very limited at times. The scout and guide (Bryan) communicated with each other - often by silent signs - and were clearly used to working together. This proved very useful when we encountered hippo and elephant at very close quarters and had to take evasive action!
We saw the bush kitchen with its wood-burning open fires and 'hole-in-the-ground' oven, and can vouch for the excellence of the variety and quality of meals they produced.
Chikoko Tree Camp
We walked here from Crocodile Camp which we visited first. Seeing a large herd of roan as we approached the camp was a real highlight
Stephen was a great guide, and Renardo the scout was entertaining. Once we had been walking with them a day or so, we completely trusted them to spot any large game and take us safely walking through this beautiful wilderness.
In October, with the rivers dried up, the view from the huts was not quite as enchanting or interesting as Crocodile Camp, but it was still a great experience of the bush.
Again, the food was good - and there was lot of it!
A True Wilderness Camp
Chikoko camp was a true wilderness, yet you'd never know you were literally in a place with no "roads"! The camp was run really well.
The guiding was excellent. We felt like we were on a geography field trip, it was amazing. We also felt totally safe with the armed Scout and the guide. Bearing in mind where we were located the food and service was truly excellent. Very different from game drives, but unforgettable.
The food was much better here as the evening meal was served to us and we took as much as we wanted, so no waste going on!
A night at chikoko with family
We spent a single night at Chikoko as a family with our sons aged 14 and 12. The camp is absolutely beautiful and the service amazing - I did feel a little spoilt with more staff than guests and every need catered for. Even down to jugs of hot water provided for our early morning at 5am. The food was fantastic and more family friendly than at Tafika - I'm not sure whether this was deliberately planned because there were no other guests but we loved the burgers and chocolate mousse at lunchtime - and the huge cake at tea which was so fresh it was still warm - the quality of cooking in this environment was simply amazing (all the food is walked into the camp).
After four nights at Tafika we walked in the morning to get to the camp - about 3.5 hours. This walk was beautiful and with lots of game - kudu, buffalo, zebra, waterbuck and of course many birds. The camp itself is also a great birdwatching place. Very comfortable and peaceful.
The chalets are set up high in the trees and the whole camp is very open. We chose to sleep one parent one child in each chalet as they are quite far apart so we felt safer with this configuration.
I think one night was a good choice with the children, since the camp is quite small and apart from the walking not much to do. I personally would like to return to do more walking but family life is always a compromise!
