With no roads for a hundred miles, we follow chimpanzees on forest paths, and ply the crystal waters of a miraculous lake.
Our main quest is always on foot to a wild living group of chimpanzees, whose complex social and political manoeuvrings are played out within a few feet of us. Their behaviour is interpreted by their greatest fans, our team of chimpanzee experts who can recognize each individual and the significance of every action.
This lake is a phenomenal natural habitat for us to explore. But we also pleasure-seek here, unashamedly: kayaking towards the Congo at sunrise, the unsurpassable feeling of diving off the dhow into its sunset waters and watching hippos moonwalk through the depths.
On winding forest trails, our guides show life beyond the chimpanzees; eight other species of primate alone, insects unseen elsewhere, a pharmacopeia of medicinal plants. Often you get just a flash of what’s in the shadows: the silhouette of a red-tail monkey, the scarlet wing of a turaco, the neon of a beetle’s back.
Get the feel of a Tanganyika village and see the work of the Nomad, with a visit to Katumbi on the park boundary. You can call in at the primary school, where we have built and furnished classrooms and installed solar power, and the community clinic, where we fund vital healthcare from first aid and midwifery.
Our Western Tanzania camps bring a safari of extraordinary contrasts. Katavi is about remote, expeditionary safaris. Mahale takes you further off the map, to meet our chimpanzee cousins. Put simply, this is the pinnacle of life-changing safaris.