Reviews

I really liked Camelthorn Lodge for its location in the beautiful South-western part of the park and also for its extensive community development programme involving the local school. Camelthorn is a luxurious lodge with spacious chalets. The chalets are very well appointed with high ceilings, fireplaces for cold winters evenings and a roof top sitting area which can also be used for sleep outs under the stars.

Nehimba is a luxurious camp situated in the relatively remote north-west part of Hwange National Park. It would be a great camp to sell in the dry winter months from say late June onwards. It is close to the famous Nehimba seep which is one of the only permanent water sources in this part of the Park. This means excellent game-viewing especially later in the dry season when elephants and other wildlife are in desparate need of water.

Even though it is not as smart as Camelthorn Lodge, I think I enjoyed Bomani Tented Lodge as much because of its lovely setting overlooking the open plains of Southern Hwange. It also offers excellent value for money!
The guiding was excellent, led by Seps, their head ranger with game walks, game drives and night drives in search of lion. We also spent time at their amazing ‘elephant blind’ which is a semi-underground hide at a waterhole which gives you a ground level view of the elephants as they come to drink. Amazing for keen photographers!

It was good to see Ilala Lodge looking so sparky. The public areas have ad a facelift and are now very pleasant and of course they have added a whole new wing of rooms. These new additions now mean that Ilala lodge gives the Victoria Falls Hotel a good run for its money, as they both share an excellent setting, walking distance from the Falls.

The Victoria Falls Safari Club operates as a sort of hotel within a hotel, offering ‘club accommodation’ . I liked the hotel and I certainly preferred Safari Club rooms to the suites at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. They are modern but in keeping with the bush setting.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Stanley and Livingstone. This is an unashamedly colonial lodge (rivalling Victoria Falls Lodge for period ambience). So it is a bit of a marmite experience. You either love it or you hate it.

I loved Zambezi Sands as a riverside safari camp. So if you don’t mind being quite far from the Victoria Falls, this is a stunning camp combining a beautiful location right on the Zambezi, luxurious tented suites each with their own pool AND good game-viewing opportunities. Its perfect for people who want to continue to be ‘on safari’ even whilst visiting Victoria Falls.

So I thought that the view from Zambezi Sands was amazing and difficult to top, but that was before I got to Gorges Lodge! The epic view really did live up to my already high expectations. It is not a ‘grand’ lodge per se, but the chalets are spacious, cosy in feel and well-equipped with an attractive bathroom with walk-in showers. Each one has the stupendous view.

Imbabala is a great little safari camp offering excellent value for money, especially with the three night ‘package’ which includes a guided tour of Victoria Falls either before you transfer in to the lodge (or as you transfer out) as well as a full day visit to Chobe National Park.