Location
Katavi National Park, Tanzania

Guests at Chada Katavi will feel as though they've stepped back into the Africa of a century ago. The camp is stylishly simple, with a light footprint, yet filled with plenty of comforts. Six spacious safari tents with wide-open fronts offer panoramic views of the Chada Plain and animal life that constantly comes and goes. Yet you'd be hard-pressed to spot the camp at any distance; from placement to color, it has been meticulously designed to blend into the environment. In fact, it accomplishes this so well that guests frequently observe game wandering in and out of camp, as if it were just part of the natural landscape. Elephants are frequent visitors, drawn to the fruit-bearing shade trees, while great herds of buffalo graze on the floodplain in front of the tents.

Each tent is fully shaded, and cooling breezes drift in through generous net windows. En suite bathrooms are at the side, also on platforms, with eco-flush loos and an urn of cool water for refreshment. Classic safari-style bucket showers do a great job of washing off the Katavi dust while supporting an ecological approach to water use – water is a valuable resource here, especially during the dryer months, and the camp shares it with a great many thirsty animals. The dining tent and library are located in the clearing, where a campfire each evening invites guests to settle in with a drink and share stories beneath the stars – the essence of safari.