Muchenje is an attractive, unpretentious lodge in the Chobe Forest Reserve, which is approx. 45 mins from Kasane by good tarred road. This reserve lies adjacent to Chobe National Park in the western side of the Park (with open borders). The plus point is that this is a much quieter part of the Chobe National Park so that you don’t get that sense of congestion (in peak season) at the Park gates with several lodge’s safari vehicles heading into the park at the same time. This is a big plus for most of the year and especially in the busier peak months of June to October.
The lodge itself has a pleasant ambience, offering comfortable, spacious accommodation. They have employed Paul Moleseng, well-known for the Young Explorers programme, as their head ranger and he is introducing his own brand of kids safaris into Muchenje, which is good news.
The only downside is that they cannot do water safaris from their location, because of the variable water levels in the Chobe river. Thus they offer a full day game experience. You start with a short morning game drive or walk, then you return to the lodge for breakfast, then take a leisurely morning game drive through the park back to Kasane where you enjoy a boat cruise over the middle part of the day, with lunch on the river. You meander back via an afternoon game drive arriving in the late afternoon. Everyone seems to enjoy this ‘big day’ in terms of the quality and quantity of game-viewing.
