Matetsi Victoria Falls.
Matetsi Victoria Falls.
Image: Supplied

1. MATETSI VICTORIA FALLS

Contemporary African interiors, top-notch service and stellar game — all on the banks of the Zambezi River.

What will inspire you? Gourmet food is cooked and served in the middle of the bush by former Singita chef Shane Ellis — and all of it is created with locally sourced ingredients.

What will excite you? The lodge’s position means you’re close to forests, plains, and rivers — all at once.

What will relax you? A spa treatment followed by a dip in your private plunge pool and, later, a dip into the owner’s private wine collection.

What will you Instagram? Victoria Falls from the air (a four-night stay includes a helicopter flip over the Falls).

What will you boast about? Activities. Zambezi River boat cruises, canoeing, game drives, night drives, walking safaris, fishing, white-water rafting, bungee jumping, and horseback safaris.

What can you experience only there? The lodge lies along 15km of the Zambezi River, where no other boats can pass. It’s also the only lodge within an unfenced 55,000ha private game reserve.

Where will you sleep? In a stunning, glass-fronted, river-facing suite.

What will you see on a game drive? Huge numbers of elephant and, perhaps, sable, lion, buffalo, leopard, wild dog, and hyena.

2. SINGITA PAMUSHANA LODGE

The Singita group has long set the standard for top-end safaris — and this recently revamped lodge in the southeast is a reminder why.

Singita Pamushana Lodge.
Singita Pamushana Lodge.
Image: Supplied

What will inspire you? The setting: on a hill overlooking an expanse of water, and surrounded by baobab trees.

What will you Instagram? Fabric patterns and textures, artwork, wall and tile mosaics, huge imposing baobab trees and the view — always the view.

What will you boast about? The quiet experience of sundowners on the dam — in a beautiful boat, among leadwood skeletons.

What will you eat? Simple and elegant dishes, plus there is a help-yourself deli where you can find fresh salads, cold meats, and cheeses.

Where will you sleep? In your suite or, simply, under a cotton mosquito net and the stars. 

Victoria Falls Lodge.
Victoria Falls Lodge.
Image: Supplied

3. VICTORIA FALLS RIVER LODGE

A treehouse on an island in the middle of the Zambezi. Yes please!

What will inspire you? The jaw-dropping Victoria Falls. Photos don’t do it justice.

What will you Instagram? Start with the visiting elephant, snapped from your private plunge pool. And don’t forget the fiery sunrise and sunset snaps.

What will you boast about? Don’t boast — take your friends, and live it up on the island together.

What will you experience only there? The upstairs bedroom in the double-storey Starbed Treehouse. The night sky is its ceiling.

What will you eat? Fresh fine-dining fare inspired by the flavours of southern Africa.

Where will you sleep? Nestled within the cool green recesses of the private Kandahar Island’s leafy canopy. In a four-poster bed, in one of five open-plan Island Treehouses suites.

What will you see on a game drive? All the stars of the Zambezi National Park, including hippo, crocodile, lion, buffalo, and leopard.

- From the November edition of Wanted.

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