Be mates with the primates

You can't blame the chimps for hanging out in a place like this. Lake Tanganyika, a veritable inland sea, laps at the golden sands of Kangwena beach, behind which the Mahale Mountains gently rear up to a clear blue sky.

The western slopes of these mountains are spared from an unbecoming baldness by a bespoke rug of semi-tropical gallery forest. And this is home to the chimpanzees, the tiny sanctuary of Greystoke Mahale, where the 60-strong M group has learned to put up with human beings - as long as they do not make a nuisance of themselves.

Fortunately, there are not many human beings around, beyond the few locals and a group of dedicated Japanese chimp-watchers who maintain a constant but discreet presence. This is because there are no roads, and the nearest airstrip - very small aeroplanes only, no Jumbos - is a one-hour dhow ride away. Nobody tips up here by accident.

Which is not to suggest that meeting chimps is an arduous affair. Greystoke Camp, where my luxury tent with thatched roof stood at the commingling of beach and forest, is not run along the lines of an army training camp.

The softest of wakeup calls alerted me to a cup of tea on my wooden front porch, and the sun coming up from behind alerted me to the presence of a lake that was made for a morning swim. After the swim, a shower of warm water from a suspended bucket, and a visit to the egg man, lazily concocting fabulous omelettes on an open fire.

While guests slowly come to terms with the fact that they have landed in paradise, the guides are out in the forest, tracking the chimps, whose movements within a given area are anything but predictable.

The news comes in that a couple of chimps have been spotted, not too far from the camp. It is time to assemble the equipment for the expedition: one pair of chinos, one T-shirt, one pair of walking shoes, one stout stick, camera (optional).

What follows could scarcely be described as arduous, a gentle ascent along well-worn paths, with the occasional sharp scramble up or down rocks, the fording of a lively stream. This can either be achieved by skipping from rock to rock, or almost immediately slipping into the water ankle-deep and pretending to be wading.

I chose the latter course. Sunlight dappled the path, birds called overhead, small lizards scuttled about. Occasionally, a group of monkeys would act up shriekingly and start rocking the tops of trees, prior to a mass jump-off. This is forest life.

Then, round the bend in the path, we come across an immobile figure gazing into the middle distance. It is one of the Japanese chimp-watchers, and he is monitoring the activities of a mother and child high up in the trees.

Dead silence, except for the loud snapping of twigs which accompanies my every effort at being a ghostly presence. The two chimps are taking it easy - who's to blame them for that?

Mummy - Ako, as I later discover - is peeling figs and eating them in a ruminative manner. Junior - Acadia - is quietly checking out the action on the block without straying too far from Mum and the large and comfortable tree-top nest they have recently spent the night in. Looking through a zoom lens, it is clear that this pair of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom are simply chilling out.

After a couple of hours' further ascent, we reach a waterfall falling elegantly into a large rock pool. Here is a place for hot feet and bodies to be refreshed. On a rock, a group of carnivorous butterflies is picking delicately through the remains of a crab left there by a gourmet otter. Other, larger butterflies flop around over the water like pocket handkerchiefs, flashing brilliant blues and yellows.

This is the sort of place the chimps would come to drink, but they are not here today and we are about to find out why. It appears that chimps, like humans, relish the occasional power struggle. One such is currently in progress between the new alpha male, Alofu, and his predecessor, Fanana.

Stirring the pot is the ancient kingmaker, Kalunde. Being civilised fellows, these top chimps and their acolytes have taken their argument into the most private recesses of the forest, well beyond the reach of paths and unwanted onlookers. When it is settled, they will be back.

That will be for another day. For now, the task is to head back to the beach for a rest, before a short ride in the dhow to snorkle by the rocks where 200 species of colourful cichlid fish swim. On the way back, another mother-and-child partnership is spotted, this time hippos snoozing beneath the surface of the lake's clear water.

Clearly, the keynote here is relaxation. For humans, this is best accomplished caressing a lakuga - tall glass, fresh grated ginger, lime, soda, rum - and awaiting the best efforts of a chef who combines the finest local ingredients with the recipes of such non-locals as Jamie Oliver. It would take a rare chump not to enjoy it.

MEET THE CHIMPS
Pete Clark flew to Dar es Salaam with British Airways (0870 850 9 850, www.ba.com), returns from £528.50 (12 April to 15 July). Audley Travel (01869 276 250, www.audleytravel.com) includes four nights at Greystoke Camp, Mahale, as part of a nine-night itinerary from £3,801pp full-board which also offers three nights at Chada Camp, Katavi, all game drives, time with the chimps and activities such as dhow cruises, fishing, forest walks, all flights and transfers.

For chimp-watch only, a six-night trip, including four nights all-inclusive at Mahale, one night in Dar es Salaam and return British Airways flights (overnight on outbound leg), costs from £2,128 per person.

For further details, contact Audley Travel (as above).