Botswana's Chitabe Lediba
Chitabe Lediba
Chitabe Lediba (pronounced Chi-taah-bee) is located in a 28,000-hectare photographic reserve built on one of the most beautiful islands in the Okavango Delta, in a private area that is bordered on three sides by the Moremi Game Reserve. The reserve's boundary in the east is the Gomoti Channel and the Santantadibe River in the west. The area is made up of a superb variety of habitats, which include waterways and marshlands, dry acacia and mopane woodland, riverine areas, open grasslands and seasonally flooded plains.
Chitabe Lediba is situated on the same forested island as Chitabe Camp; however, the two camps are run as totally separate entities, each with its own staff, managers and guides. Chitabe Lediba accommodates guests in the same luxurious tents as those of Chitabe.
Accommodation consists of five spacious and luxuriously appointed East African style tents that have en-suite facilities with flush toilets, and a shower and basin with hot and cold running water. Each room also has an additional outdoor shower, which overlooks the floodplain. The rooms are on a raised deck and each has an outdoor shower. The room interiors are of the same standard as at Chitabe Main.
This camp is ideal for small parties that are interested in their own exclusive camp, as well as individuals who prefer a smaller camp. There is a very nice pool and one of the tents is the honeymoon tent. The camp overlooks a waterhole, where Elephants and plains game often come down to drink during the day. Complimentary laundry services are provided.
Chitable Lediba also offers two family tents. The family units are tents number four and five. Both units are identical. The back room contains two ¾ beds, bedside tables, a chest of drawers, chairs, etc. Both units have a door in the bathroom which leads to the back room, so the bathroom is shared by the children and the adults. Both family rooms have extended decks on the front, with a 6-seater dinning room table and chairs, plus umbrella. This is so families may have private meals on their decks (if they so choose) and the children have a place where they can paint and do games, etc. Both family units also include an additional outdoor shower.
All units at Chitabe Lediba (including the two family rooms) are linked by walkways to the main area, pool, curio shop, etc. The family units are not necessarily accessible from main camp, unless guests are driven back and forth. Chitabe Lediba can accommodate two families, using both family tents, even if that bumps the Lediba guest total to over 8. If this happens, then the number of guests accommodated at Chitabe main camp is reduced accordingly in order to stay within the 24-guest concession limit. So, conceivably if Lediba camp has four people in each family unit and two in the other three units, then Lediba could become a 14 bedded camp. This is fine as the main area at Lediba can easily accommodate 14 guests.
Both camps at Chitabe offer guests game drives in open 4x4 vehicles during the day and at night accompanied by an experienced guide, as well as nature walks. Chitabe is strictly a game viewing area - no water activities are offered here.
Typically guests leave for a game drive in the morning and again in the afternoon, returning usually after dark to take advantage of the many more elusive nocturnal animals often seen here. The two camps utilize the same game drive areas, so the game viewing experience is identical at the two camps.
Game walks with an armed and experienced guide are also a specialty at Chitabe and recommended for those wishing to get the true feeling of being in Wild Africa.
