OUT IN AFRICA
After years in the doldrums, Zimbabwe is re-emerging as one of Africa’s most exciting safari destinations. A game-changer for travel to Zim as well as other parts of southern Africa will be the opening this month of the expanded Victoria Falls International Airport, delivering travellers to a raft of new and rebuilt lodges in Zimbabwe. These include luxury tents at Imvelo Safari Lodges at Gorges Lodge, Victoria Falls, with awesome views of the Zambezi River; Little Ruckomechi in Mana Pools; Matusadona, a luxury boat on Lake Kariba; and Elephant Camp West, a new private-use camp at Victoria Falls. Among the most exciting Zim newcomers will be and Beyond’s Matetsi River Lodge on a 50,000-hectare Zambezi River reserve near Victoria Falls, which reopens in July after a $13.2 million rebuild, and Wilderness Safaris’ Linkwasha in Hwange National Park, which features a sleep-out deck, easy access to some of the park’s best areas and top guides.
The vast Okavango Delta in Botswana is arguably Africa’s most spectacular oasis, and the newly rebuilt and repositioned Belmond Eagle Island Lodge is among the best places to see its teeming wildlife. The lodge’s 12 tented rooms have balconies, pools and monkey-proof outdoor showers.
In Uganda, Baker’s Lodge overlooking the River Nile is now a traveller’s best option in game-rich Murchison Falls National Park and near Budongo Forest, famous for its primate communities.
New in Rwanda is Bisate Lodge, a 12-room sanctuary adjacent to the Volcanoes National Park, setting a new standard for mountain gorilla-trekking lodges, and Gishwati Lodge, six rustic forest cottages with exclusive access to the habituated chimpanzee and golden monkey communities of Gishwati Forest.
In Kenya, 30 tented suites at Angama Mara hang on the edge of the Rift Valley, with views through 11-metre glass walls. In central Kenya, Loisaba reopens this month after a rebuild, with 12 roomy tents and two infinity pools. Namibia Exclusive Safaris’ four new luxury lodges are opening up the remote northern regions of Namibia. Far from conventional tourist routes, they provide rare access to such treasures as the habitat of the endangered black rhino and a national park populated by some 3,000 elephants.