Greysoke Mahale

home flights hotels safaris car hire tours offers honeymoons northern circuit safari southern circuit safari With no roads for miles and miles, everything is done by foot or boat. As if a day's chimping was not enough, you can kayak along the lakeshore, snorkel or fish, have a private barefoot dinner on the beach or get friendly in the wildly thatched mess. Zanzibar Magic currently takes bookings on: info@zanzibarmagic.com	greystoke mahale the home of chimpanzees
	Welcome to Greystoke Mahale, the home of chimpanzees. There are few places left on earth that might rightfully be called Eden, and Greystoke Mahale is one of them. Striking mountains soar to 8,000 feet above the turquoise waters of Lake Tanganyika, which at 420 miles long and 30 miles wide, is a veritable inland sea, and also the second deepest lake in the world. Mahale's rainforests are exceptional in their biodiversity and remain unscarred by the footprint of man. The nearest road is almost 100kms away, and that is the most minor of tracks.
		On a far-flung beach along the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika, below a huge story-book tropical forest, is the tiny sanctuary of Greystoke Mahale. The water is as clear as gin, the air scented, and the living very easy indeed. The slopes of the Mahale Mountains rise behind camp, home to the worlds largest known population of chimpanzees. Within hiking distance is one such group of 60. Every day you can venture out into the forest to observe them, our closest relatives, as they groom, wrestle and forage across the leafy floor.
	For some evening pizzazz, there is the bar of all bars on the rocks of the headland, complete with twinkly mirrors, fresh sushimi, iced vodka, and a view looking way out west across the mighty waters of the lake. ACCOMMODATION - LAYING DOWN YOUR HAT As you make the approach to Greystoke by dhow, the outline of the camp is visible against a backdrop of deep green forest and pale beach. The focal point of Greystoke is the bar and dining area rising up from the sand and loosely modelled on traditional Tongwe architecture Your home at Greystoke Mahale is in wildly exotic wooden bandas looking out across the beach, with interiors fashioned from seasoned dhow timber. The six-suites are open-fronted, with adjoining bathrooms, and upstairs chill-out decks, designed for the most demanding castaway.
		ACTIVITIES I MONKEY BUSINESS A trek through the rainforest takes you to Mahale's chimpanzees. Tracking the primates is all part of the experience of observing the nine species of primate, of which the endangered chimpanzee is the most famous. Sixty chimps live in the mountains close to camp, and have become habituated to human presence over two decades of contact.
	There is also the opportunity to observe leopard, bushbuck, bush pig, and a multitude of birds and butterflies. The waters sparkle with over 250 species of tropical fish. Mahale offers the opportunity to sit and quietly watch chimpanzee daily life; grooming, wrestling, bickering, foraging, and mothering.
		The local tribe believes that chimpanzees were once people who retreated into the forest and just a few hours with these amazing apes explains why. GETTING DHOW AND FUNKY WITH IT After a morning of hiking through the rainforests, there is no better way to recoup your energies on the soft sand beach, and the waters of the lake. It is a physical place, but strangely undemanding. Perhaps because it seems to have been created for Great Apes: figs, flowers, sun, shade, water.
	A natural opulence seeps into the camp. Lamplit dinners on the dhow serve lake-fresh sashimi and ice cold cocktails, the perfect end to the day. WHO NEEDS ACTIVITIES? The mess stands out on the beach, and is a thatched Tongwe chief's hut which has recently been extended with two soaring prow-like wings. This has increased the area within with more room for simply lounging around. The upstairs area, with its cushioned rare books and specialist primate library, now has four decks that look out to every point of the compass, and are the perfect vantage points to sit and appreciate this incredible place. The mess stands out on the beach, and is a thatched Tongwe chief's hut which has recently been extended with two soaring prow-like wings.
		This has increased the area within with more room for simply lounging around. The upstairs area, with its cushioned rare books and specialist primate library, now has four decks that look out to every point of the compass, and are the perfect vantage points to sit and appreciate this incredible place. IT CAN GET A BIT MESSY AFTER DARK On the northern headland, right on the rocky lakeside but hidden in the forested sides of the hill, you'll find a cosy bar with stepped decks that falls down to the waters edge. This is the perfect hideaway during the day, and at night is the place to be for pre-dinner drinks and a spot of star-gazing.


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