Fabia Bausch and Nicolas Negre built Little Chem Chem around a single idea: slow the safari down. The camp sits on a private concession in the Burunge Wildlife Management Area, within the Kwakuchinja corridor that once linked Tarangire and Lake Manyara before hunting and grazing wore it thin. Six vintage-style canvas tents look out over the plains of Lake Burunge, with the Babati mountains beyond.
Fabia Bausch and Nicolas Negre built Little Chem Chem around a single idea: slow the safari down.
Because the camp lies on a private concession rather than in a national park, the country opens up in ways the parks cannot allow. Guests walk with Maasai trackers, drive off-road for close sightings, and follow game on foot through acacia woodland. Every stay comes with a private guide and vehicle, so the day bends to the guest rather than the timetable, while elephants, giraffes and zebras move through the grounds at will.
The land here was a worn-out former hunting concession when Negre and Bausch took it on in 2013. Negre, a former professional hunter, had given up the rifle for conservation. Bausch left investment banking in Switzerland. Together they rebuilt the corridor from the ground up, and opened Little Chem Chem as their second camp in 2013.
Negre, a former professional hunter, had given up the rifle for conservation.
The reward is a stretch of country that carries lion, cheetah, leopard, eland and lesser kudu, with elephant herds drawn to the seasonal waterholes through the dry months. A wealth of bird species has been recorded across the concession and the parks that flank it. Sitting between two well-known reserves, the land stays quiet while the mainstream tracks of Tarangire fill up, so the great sightings come without the great crowds.
A butler brings coffee to the tent at first light, and birdsong fills the acacias as the sun climbs over the plains. Mornings might mean a walk tracking spoor with a Maasai guide, a sunrise hill climb for views across the Rift Valley, or a game drive that leaves the road for a cheetah on the hunt. Because this is a private concession, night drives are possible too, something the national parks do not permit, and the day rarely runs to anyone’s schedule but your own.
Meals rarely land in the same place twice. Breakfast may be cooked over an open fire beneath a baobab, lunch packed for a day in the bush, dinner served by lantern light beside a private campfire. The kitchen draws on fresh, seasonal produce, much of it a daily harvest from the camp’s own greenhouse. As the light goes, sundowners are laid out on the shore of Lake Burunge, cocktails and small plates against the colours spreading over the water.
Lions can be heard in the dark, and the fire is often still going on the veranda come morning.
The six tents carry a golden-age explorer feel without slipping into costume. Weathered hardwoods, canvas, cotton linens and local lava stone run throughout, put together by African craftsmen. Interiors stay understated, with private verandas, campaign-style furniture and lanterns, and the camp runs largely on solar power. Lions can be heard in the dark, and the fire is often still going on the veranda come morning.
Full-day trips reach Lake Manyara for its groundwater forest and birdlife, and Ngorongoro Crater lies within range for a longer excursion. Balloon flights drift over Tarangire, and scenic helicopter flights turn long drives into short hops across the corridor. Tarangire itself is at its most dramatic from June to October, when the elephant herds concentrate and plains game gathers around the last water. The concession, for its part, delivers its own game viewing the year round.
accommodation
Six vintage-style canvas tents look out over the plains, five for up to two guests and one family tent for two adults and up to three children. The larger units have king or twin beds, a study desk, a dressing area and a canvas-partitioned en-suite bathroom. All have private verandas, fire pits, fans, safes and Wi-Fi, with portable air-conditioning on request.
activities
Walking safaris and big-game tracking on foot with Maasai trackers, off-road day and night game drives, and sunrise hill climbs, all within the private concession. Full-day trips run to Tarangire and Lake Manyara national parks, with balloon flights, scenic helicopter flights, a photography hide, and visits to a Maasai village and school.
conservation
The Chem Chem Association, founded in 2008, rehabilitated the Kwakuchinja corridor so elephants and other wildlife could move again between Tarangire and Lake Manyara. Guest fees fund anti-poaching ranger patrols. Community work includes classrooms and a school bus for Mdori Primary School, deep-water boreholes, and English and tourism training for local staff.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
Most guests fly. The scheduled hop from Arusha to Lake Manyara airstrip takes around twenty-five minutes, with a road transfer of roughly an hour and a half on to camp. The route we like better runs through Tarangire itself: a twenty-minute flight from Arusha to Kuro airstrip inside the park, then a game-drive transfer of anywhere from two and a half to four hours that works as a first safari rather than a journey. We can also arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, and the concession has an airstrip of its own for charter arrivals.
By road the camp sits around two hours from Arusha and three and a half from Kilimanjaro International. The light aircraft take soft bags only, about fifteen kilograms per person including hand luggage.
Yes. The camp stands on the Rift floor at well under the 1,800 metres at which the CDC and the UK's official travel health advice agree Tanzanian malaria risk falls away, so antimalarial tablets are usually recommended, and the tents are screened against insects for good reason.
Guidance is reviewed through the year, so confirm the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, then cover up and use repellent once the sun drops.
Yes, from eight years old, with children under twelve sharing a tent with an adult; the family tent takes two adults and up to three children under one roof. Book the whole six-tent camp for your party and the age limit lifts altogether.
The camp is unfenced and wildlife walks through it, so younger children need an adult close at all times. In return they get the real thing: tracking lessons, bush skills with the Maasai guides, and animals at a proximity no fenced lodge can offer. Tell us the ages and we will be straight about what fits.
Two nights is the working minimum, and it is enough for Tarangire's big game plus a day on the private concession. Three is where the slow safari the camp was built for actually slows down, with room for the walking, the sunrise hill climb and a night drive alongside the park day.
The rhythm matters more than the count here. With a private guide and vehicle to every booking, nothing is squeezed into a shared timetable, so even two nights feel unhurried if we plan the arrivals well.
Easily, and it is often the best-value way to see the whole concession. Chem Chem Lodge, the original camp, sits on the Lake Manyara side of the private land, while Little Chem Chem holds the Tarangire side, and two nights at each covers both characters of the corridor, with the transfer between them run as a game drive rather than a journey.
Forest Chem Chem, the exclusive-use camp nearby, suits a family or private group wanting a camp entirely to themselves. Tell us who is travelling and we will shape the split.
Warm Rift-floor days, mild nights and a long dry season from June to October, when the dust rises and the game concentrates on the remaining water. October to February brings the hottest afternoons, and the short rains land around November. The long rains fall from March to May, and the camp has traditionally closed through April and May for them; we confirm the exact dates for your year when we plan.
Pack light, breathable clothes in neutral colours, a fleece for early drives, a hat and strong sunscreen, and closed shoes for the walking.
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our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
