Reviews of Chitabe Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
69 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Chitabe Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Chitabe Camp review"
Personally, we missed tea and coffee facilities in the rooms, hence rooms rated as good, when they were new and some of the best we had stayed in.
Our guide was Oats - who was an amazing patient guide who wanted to show us all Chitabe had to offer, including stillness and quiet. We saw good game but also experienced the vastness of the area in a way we hadn't at other camps. We learnt a lot about Botswana, the tourism industry, education system etc - Oats left us with a legacy and desire to return." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia
"Excellent game viewing"
The game viewing here was the best of the 4 camps we went too. The rooms were stunning and was visited by some vervet monkeys, Bernard the Elephant and some baboons." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
"Seeing the lions at Chtabe camp"
The tented rooms here are nearly brand new and truly amazing, huge , well appointed and with "acres" of polished wood floors! worthy of a five star hotel in my opinion.
If I have a negative comment it would be that the drives were all very similar, so that two days rather than three would be sufficient. I think I was spoiled in little Vumbura on the drives and missed the rapport I had there a little. Our guide Luke was certainly competent but not as engaging as Sevara at Vumbura and not as willing to go off road or to look that bit further for game.
On the positive side we had wonderful sightings of lions ( particularly two magnificent black maned males ) and a young female leopard who obliged us with her extended company. We also saw a porcupine and african wild cats at night, and a very lucky daytime sighting of a Serval , hunting.
chitabe has very many Impala and Zebra but fewer elephants than in the other camps I was at.
The management here were also outstanding , led by the enigmatic Dawson ( who makes a mean long island iced tea! ) He showed us his detailed facial drawings of all the known leopards in the concession , so that we could recognise the one we had seen ,from her distinctive facial spots..apparently she was away from her usual area.
Chitabe is a largish camp with a very strong team and I enjoyed my time here very much. I had been looking forward to seeing Martial eagles here but had to content myself with several bateleur eagles including four in the camp!" See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
"Small teething problems at Chitabe"
No tea and coffee facilities in rooms, unlike at other camps and no safe in room. Staff very friendly, especially Nick and Dawson. We were rarely collected on time at 6am by the staff though for breakfast and there were inconsistencies in advice given regarding making our own way which I am sure would have not been company policy. Area given for breakfast cramped and poorly laid out. I think this is a reflection of the fact that the camp had only just reopened and that staff had not yet got the feel about what worked well or less well.
Game viewing excellent and Andy the guide superb. Cheetah, lion and superb leopard to be seen. An opportunity for extra night drive would have been welcomed, as there was more to be seen here than at the other camps after dark." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
"Chitabe Camp review"
The weather at times was not great which no doubt affected the wildlife but we still managed good sightings of leopard, lions, buffalo and hyenas mopping up the remnants of a hippo.
Notably spent plenty of time observing various storks and herons feeding in a small pool where evaporation meant the prey was concentrated and also spent time just watching baboons and impala interacting with interpretation from our guide Phinley." See all these reviews: 15n in Botswana
"Chitabe Lediba"
Our private guide, Oates, was excellent, very eager to go looking for game day or night (we did lots of both), and great at finding it and explaining all the natural history. We especially enjoyed seeing leopard, cheetah, lion, African wild cat, honey badger, spotted hyena, and bat eared fox.
The atmosphere at this camp was informal, friendly, fun, and laid back. Our fellow guests were a mix of students, retirees, couples, and savvy travelers of all ages from all over.
On the negative side, our tent was older and less attractive from the outside than at other camps, and there wasn't much of a view. That was a minor drawback at this great place.
Managers Josephine and Kenny were excellent company and excellent managers, taking alternating nights on the job. They dispense with the business of greeting guests on every return to camp.
Nice touch: Our plane was supposed to arrive (when all the flights are supposed to arrive), during the noon lunch/siesta break, but it was delayed so we arrived in later afternoon. We thought this would mean we would miss our late afternoon/early evening game drive, but no! Our guide greeted us at the airport with the "sundowner" picnic hamper already in his truck, and we went right out on the game drive. That was MUCH appreciated." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 1n in Zambia
"Chitabe Camp review"
The sighting was very good, including several leopards, giraffes, elephants, hippos, lions, cheetah, ... One of our best camps in Botswana for sightings and friendlyness. We also enjoyed a "night out", sleeping in a hide - even more remote in the middle of the bush - which was a very unique experience.
The camp is old but nicely setup with a good common area and a particularly nice outdoor shower opening on the bush (we had tent n 8, the last one)." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana
"Chitabe Camp review"
I also appreciated Lazarus taking the time to tell us everything he knew about what he was looking at and/or for in the bush. He would stop the vehicle and point out all the details of the sights and sounds we were experiencing. He was quite militant about being shushing us if we were talking too much or too loudly. I appeciated that.
One drawback to our being the first to find all the animals was our drives seemed to be siginificantly shorter than all the other groups. I often felt there was a quota being filled on each ride. Once a large discovery was made (maybe two), then we were whisked back to camp. There were several times that we were back an hour or more before all the other vehicles.
Chitabe was very comfortable. I appreciated the celing fan very much. I also appreciated the raised walkways. The food was great. I think we could've done without the meals in the boma. Luckily, Bill and I had headlamps so we could see our food, but there were some envious comments that came our way because people could not see what they were eating. We were at Chitabe the longest of all our camps (4 nights). I think that may be too long. I think 2 or 3 nights would've sufficed-- only because there were no water activities to break up the driving." See all these reviews: 13n in Botswana
"Another excellent Wilderness camp"
In common with other Wilderness camps, there is an emphasis on early game drives - we were very grateful to Celine for tactfully encouraging people into the vehicles for the morning game drives! (although our fellow guests were also very keen and so less chivvying was required than at other camps). We would certainly revisit Chitabe.
The outside shower was excellent....taking a shower as an elephant walks past within a few yards is not an everyday occurrence!
One note for guests wishing to charge batteries etc....there is a socket in the room but it needs an international/US adaptor rather than the South African adaptor we took with us. The camp managers will however, happily charge batteries etc" See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana
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