Adventurers who want to get way, way off the beaten track
Katavi National Park, in the extreme west of Tanzania, about 3 hours flight from Arusha.
Chada Katavi's tents, just six of them, have been designed to blend totally into their natural surroundings at the edge of a plain. The en-suite bathrooms are at the side, also on platforms, and have eco-flush loos, and hot and cold water on demand and safari-style bucket showers. You might not even have to leave the shade of your tent’s verandah to see a herd of elephants pass by.
Breakfast and dinner at Chada Katavi are hearty affairs eaten by managers and guests together, in the shade of the dining room tent or outside at tables lit by firelight and kerosene lanterns. Lighter picnic lunches or breakfasts are often set up in the bush. In a clearing you'll a small library and mess tent, shady and comfortable spaces to lounge in the heat of the day.
Chada runs flexible daily early morning and evening game drives in open-sided safari vehicles. Frequent sightings include vast herds of buffalo roaming the plains; also elephant, lion, leopard, crocodiles and tons of hippo. Also on offer are walking safaris and ‘fly camping’ – setting up smaller tents overnight deep in the bush for a total immersion in nature.
Hippos are here in their thousands, and in dry season have an unusual habit of moving around out of water during the daytime.