The story of Chem Chem began with a shared love for wide-open skies and conserving Africa’s wild spaces. In 2007, dream became reality for owners Fabia Bausch and Nicolas Negre, when the Chem Chem-Burunge Wildlife Management Area (WMA) was established, conserving an ancient migratory corridor linking the Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks in northern Tanzania.
A mutual passion for freedom, privacy and the wild beauty of the African bush led them to northern Tanzania, a place Nicolas knew intimately.
It was here he had lived for 15 years filling a hunger for adventure that had stirred in him as a child in Albi, France. Fluent in Swahili and a sought-after guide with his extensive knowledge of the African wilderness, his focus was now the plight of the African elephant, target of ruthless poachers. Fabia, after years in the corporate jungle, was seeking to create a more fulfilling life, one with more meaning and less frenzy.
Both of them envisioned a conservation haven where all – the wildlife, the people, the land – would be respected. That dream became a reality in the form of the Chem Chem – Burunge Wildlife Management Area (WMA), a place of boundless beauty between the Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks.
It is home to all that fuels Fabia and Nicolas’ passion. An ancient migratory route for animals to freely move. A luxurious safari sanctuary where visitors can slow down to age-old rhythms. A community to help conserve and protect all the wilderness, not least those most majestic yet most vulnerable of creatures, the African elephant. A place of meaning where education and opportunity can lift peoples’ lives.
Chem Chem is testimony to their shared vision and values. The merging of Fabia and Nicolas’ different paths has resulted in a place that is both beautiful and purposeful.
Come share it with them…