Where Chitabe sits
Chitabe occupies a 22,000-hectare private concession in the south-eastern Okavango Delta, bordering the Moremi Game Reserve across the Gomoti Channel. The camp stands on a peninsula formed where the Gomoti and Santantadibe channels converge — a piece of ground that concentrates game because the water funnels animals onto it.
The suites
There are nine tented suites taking eighteen guests. Each is 113 square metres, with insulated canvas walls and roof, evaporative air coolers, high ceilings, mesh windows and a private deck over the floodplains. The camp was recently rebuilt on steel frames with minimal ground contact, which is a meaningful design decision in a place that floods.
The main areas
The camp has a swimming pool set up for sundowners, a well-equipped gym with yoga mats, a gift shop stocking locally made crafts, laundry, and dining that was revamped in the rebuild.
The solar farm
Chitabe runs an extensive solar installation, and it is open for back-of-house tours. Seeing how a remote camp actually powers itself is more interesting than it sounds, and Wilderness treats it as part of the offering rather than hiding it.
Game drives, day and night
Morning and afternoon drives run in open 4x4s, and night drives are permitted because this is a private concession rather than national park. Chitabe is well known for predators — wild dog, lion, leopard and cheetah all use the concession, and the open floodplain edges make for good visibility.
Walking safaris
Guided walking safaris run seasonally. As with the night drives, walking is a concession privilege that Moremi itself does not allow.
Birding
The concession is a designated Important Bird Area. The combination of floodplain, riverine woodland and dry islands within a short radius produces a long list without much travelling.
Water activities and helicopters
Mokoro and motorboat excursions run seasonally, depending on the flood. Helicopter safaris can be arranged for an aerial perspective over the Delta’s channels.
Getting there
Chitabe is a 30-minute flight from Maun with Wilderness Air, followed by a road transfer of about 40 minutes, run as a game drive.
Who it suits
Travellers who want predator viewing on private land with night drives and walking, at a high standard of comfort. The minimum age is six, and Chitabe itself has no family rooms — the sister camp, Chitabe Lediba, is a five-tent camp on the same concession and does have them. Private vehicles can be booked in advance at Chitabe. The camp operates year-round.
