Greystoke, Mahale Mountains National Park – Western Tanzania
Located in Tanzania’s remote Mahale Mountains National Park, Nomad Tanzania’s Greystoke stakes its claim as one of the finest camps on the continent. A worthy contender for the most striking design of any camp, Greystoke sits on an idyllic beach at the bottom of a chimpanzee filled mountain range on the edge of Lake Tanganyika. Greystoke is one of Africa’s most iconic lodges. Offering an experience that of an exceptionally high quality, yet one that cannot be described as overtly luxurious, Greystoke is a camp that epitomises the adventure of African travel. Amazing sunsets and the clearest possible skies are the norm here whilst the chimpanzee viewing is the finest in Africa.
Tafika and Remote Africa’s bush camps, Luangwa Valley – Central Zambia
The Luangwa Valley is the National Park that safari enthusiasts savour the most. High quality camps, superlative guiding, high game densities and the best walking safaris in Africa tick the boxes for what, makes one safari park better than others. The company that epitomises the Luangwa valley is John Coppinger’s Remote Africa. One of the very few owner run companies left in Africa today, Tafika is Carol and John Coppinger’s home. This beautiful camp has a team of exceptional guides operating some of Africa’s finest walking safaris into the North and South Luangwa at Crocodile Camp, Chikoko and Mwaleshi.
Beho Beho, Selous Game Reserve – Southern Tanzania
Sitting up in the hills in the Northern sector of Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve, Beho Beho is the first of our truly luxurious camps in the top ten. With sweeping views across the valley below, Beho Beho’s stone cottages are quite unlike any other property we work with. Individually crafted from local stone and thatch, the rooms have antique furniture and open fronts along with outside showers and a meticulous attention to finer details. Quite simply, this camp is utterly beautiful yet manages to retain that personal, unpretentious charm that Africa’s remote Wilderness areas deserve. Amazing guiding and some of the best walking anywhere, Beho Beho backs it all up with superb food and service. All of this in the Selous itself – Africa’s oldest and largest Game Reserve; a vast, beautiful area of true wilderness.
Old Mondoro, Lower Zambezi National Park – Southern Zambia
With only four rooms, Old Mondoro is one of the smallest camps to make our top ten. Situated on the banks of the Zambezi in Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park, Old Mondoro looks out over an island in the middle of the Zambezi and across to Zimbabwe beyond. Striking the perfect balance of comfort and respect for such a wild and beautiful location, Old Mondoro offers some of the best boating and canoeing on the continent as well as great game drives at day and night and also superb walking. In short, this little camp offers a huge number of different activities in a stunning location.
Located in the North of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, Duba Plains is famous for its incredible lion and buffalo viewing. Trapped on a large island, approximately 1,200 buffalo face the daily challenge of being surrounded by one of the highest concentrations of lion anywhere in Africa. Filmed by National Geographic and made famous by Derek and Beverley Joubert’s two films, the lions of Duba have taken on an almost mythical status. The lions here are diurnal hunters and guests staying in this lovely little camp have the opportunity of witnessing these two beasts of the African savannah at their most ferocious.
Wilderness Safaris’ fantastic Savuti Camp is located in Botswana’s Linyanti Reserve. As with Duba Plains, Savuti Camp is located in one of Africa’s finest private reserves. Paying the high prices of Botswana’s private reserves guarantees you exclusivity; huge tracts of pristine wilderness all to yourself. Savuti sits on the banks of the Linyanti river, flowing again for the first time in 25 years. The camp has an unexplainable charm and a location in a phenomenally good game viewing area. One of the best small camps in Africa, without any doubt.
Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park is the mother of all safari parks. Justifiably famous for the mobile camps that follow the Great Migration herds throughout the year, no list of top ten camps would be complete without a Serengeti mobiles. Alex Walker’s Serengeti Serian is our pick of the bunch, especially from December through to March when the camp offers guests the opportunity of exploring the Rift Valley and untouched tribes, as well as thousands of acres of untouched short grass plains filled with the largest herds on the planet. What we love about this classic camp however is Alex’s determination to keep guests guessing about what they are going to do the next day.
Mombo Camp, Moremi Game Reserve – Northern Botswana
Generally regarded as the finest safari camp in Africa, it came as a bit of a surprise that Mombo Camp didn’t simply cruise into our top ten! Debate raged in the office about whether this camp deserved its place given that the activities from Mombo are so limited; no night driving or walking is permitted and due to the shallow flood plains, no boating is possible either. However, no one was arguing about was the sheer quality of game viewing on offer here. This is the ‘predator capital’ of Africa. And what a beautiful camp. Our conclusion: rightfully in the top ten.
Many of Africa’s finest experiences are more basic than one might expect and the Schoeman’s Kunene Camp on the Kunene river in Northern Namibia is no exception. This camp does not offer bells, whistles and chandeliers, but a simple camp that’s located in the absolute middle of nowhere. Privately guided by one of the Schoeman brothers themselves, your hosted stay at Kunene Camp offers an experience that will genuinely take your breath away, on numerous occasions. Located on the top of a cliff directly above the Kunene river itself, Kunene camp is Africa’s most remote camp, in one of the most extraordinary locations we have ever seen.
The Serengeti’s most expensive lodge, Sasakwa easily makes the top ten. The lodge is as luxurious as any we’ve ever seen, and the sheer volume of cash that is going into the Grumeti Reserve itself (courtesy of an American philanthropist/hedge fund owner) has resulted in a huge protected zone where the Great Migration and the Serengeti’s immense predator concentrations roam free. The lodge is also one of the most brilliantly run properties we have ever seen and offers a huge range of activities including riding
Simon Pardoe is a director and co-owner of The Healthy Holiday Company, which owns three luxury healthy holiday brands: fitscape, destination yoga and in:spa. Established in 2003, the company is now the UK’s leading provider of healthy holidays with a selection of large private villas and boutique hotels in Italy, Spain, Morocco, France, Greece and India.
What is it that you do exactly?
One of the reasons why I love our business so much is that it involves me in so many different ways, so there’s really no such thing as a typical day. However, my primary role is to develop and expand the business. I look after the negotiation and contracting, so I travel a fair bit. In the office, most days there’s some requirement for discussions with partners or agents; meeting with new or existing members of our team of yoga teachers, chefs, fitness trainers or nutritionists; discussing or planning promotions or marketing initiatives; talking with our staff about ideas for running the business better or making the holiday experience for our guests even more exceptional.
What do you enjoy most about what you do?
Providing the environment and the expertise for our guests to return from their holidays looking and feeling amazing. It’s fabulous that so many of them write or call us to say what an incredible time they had and how much they’re looking forward to booking their next trip.
What would you say are the 3 best places you’ve ever stayed?
For both summer adventures and winter skiing in the mountains, I would always choose Hotel Rosa Alpina in the Italian Dolomites. It’s a charming family run 40 bedroom Relais & Chateaux hotel with exquisite service, wonderful food and a superb spa. The hiking in the summer is incredible and the 740 miles of piste in the winter makes it an ideal base for a ski trip.
My favourite place in Africa is Tongabezi, an exceptional lodge on the banks of the Zambezi. I first visited Tonabezi 20 years ago and it has slowly evolved to become a truly fabulous 16 bedroom suite lodge with awesome river views. It is on a par with anything anywhere in the world, but for Zambia it’s astonishing. My favourite times to visit are April and October.
For a romantic getaway, you can’t beat Turtle Island in the Yasawas, Fiji. It’s a private island with 14 guest cottages (called bures) and 14 different beaches, pristine azur seas surround it and it feels delightfully remote, yet fabulously luxurious. A Robinson Crusoe environment with first class accommodation and fine dining. It’s where The Blue Lagoon was filmed.
What’s been your most memorable dining experience to date?
A tough question! Probably discovering Gordon Ramsay at his first London restaurant in Chelsea in the early 90s before he became famous and his prices became exorbitant. Most memorable was the starter of green bean cappuccino with truffle oil served in a coffee cup.
Have you rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous, either through your work or your travels?
We have a lot of celebrities and high profile guests on our holidays but, as you would expect, I am not prepared to divulge any secrets!
What currently ranks highest on your travel wish list?
I would love to explore the coastline of Croatia on a yacht with my family. Hopefully next summer!
Thank you for taking part in our interview, Simon. Sadly I have never been, but I’ve heard lots of good things about Turtle Island.
Zambia is one of the most exciting and progressive tourist destinations in Africa today. A land that still feels the socio-political growing pains of a community long suppressed by colonial rule, Zambia is quickly finding its feet on the world stage and the world in turn is quickly discovering a country of incredible diversity, beauty and cultural heritage.
Although Zambia is a pervasive and eclectic place the focus of this article will be on the region’s rich South Western territories, home to the vast Zambezi River and the inimitable Victoria Falls. The Zambezi is one of Africa’s longest rivers and has its source in the highlands of north western Zambia before meandering around and then west; forming part of the border with Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Meaning ‘God’s River’ the Zambezi’s most impressive feature is of course the Victoria Falls, the World’s largest waterfall and considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders. The powerful river plummets dramatically 108m vertically down into a transverse chasm known as the First Gorge which also operates as a border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The renowned Scottish explorer Dr. David Livingstone was the first recorded European to witness the falls and named it in honour of his monarch, the reigning Queen Victoria.
Understandably Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya (Smoke that Thunders) as it is indigenously knownis a major tourist attraction drawing thousands of people each year to confront its raw power, scale and beauty. Visitors can retrace the footsteps of Livingstone by walking across the eponymous Livingstone Island, the only land mass accessible in the centre of the falls and the site from which the adventurer originally viewed them. Two bridges have been established along the river; the Victoria Falls Bridge originally commissioned in 1900 which offers a stunning panorama of the falls ahead and the deep lying gorge below and the Knife Edge Bridge on the Zimbabwean side of the border which runs parallel to the river. During the wet season such is the density of the water vapour that ‘smokes’ up from the falls, views from the Knife Edge are actually largely obscured by a wall of mist, although many consider the haze a refreshing and cooling break from the warm Zambian sun (just don’t take anything with you that you don’t want to get wet.)
For the adventurous traveller there are a number of more ‘unique’ perspectives to be had of the falls; one of the most famous being from the ominously named Devil’s Pool; a naturally formed rock walled basin that when the water flow is low enough allows visitors to quite literally swim to the edge of the falls and peer over into the abyss. A more sedate and lofty vantage can also be appreciated during a micro-light flight over the area, promising superb views of the surrounding scenery. Adrenaline junkies may even choose to throw themselves off the Victoria Falls Bridge into the gorge below attached by a bungee rope; certainly not for the faint hearted.
The wider Zambezi region with the falls as a catalyst is becoming an increasingly popular destination for discerning travellers. Wildlife viewing is readily available in the immediate area with the nearby Mosi-O-Tunya National Park offering game drives as well as the extensive Chobe National Park only a few miles over the border in Botswana.
A number of luxurious safari lodges and camps have been established along the Zambezi to the north of the falls including the stunning Safari Club and Tongabezi river lodge. The islands of Siankaba, an exclusive all chalet camp has also been ingenuously constructed on two densely forested sand islands that nestle within the Zambezi itself, promising unrivalled privacy and intimacy. The grand dame of the region is the Royal Livingstone resort which stands less than a five minute walk from the falls themselves. Set out into a succession of colonial homes that line the river bank they offer the grace and elegance of a forgotten era.
However you see the falls and whatever you do after your visit, gazing up at their grandeur and appreciating this wonder in its full glory is one of those epochal moments in your life; truly magical and unforgettable.
The exquisite Royal Zambezi Lodge in Zambia provides the perfect bush honeymoon for couples looking to make their trip of a lifetime extra special. Not only do they offer firm favourites such as indulgent dining, couple’s spa pampering and game adventures, Royal Zambezi Lodge goes above and beyond expectations to ensure couples enjoy a truly magical and unforgettable honeymoon.
Together, couples can experience the wonders of the Zambezi while drifting down the river in a canoe, picnicking on a private island or simply by watching the elephants and hippos pass by from their veranda whilst sipping a G+T. Royal Zambezi Lodge is world famous for its fishing, with guides on hand to help couples test their skills at catching the elusive tiger fish.
Royal Zambezi Lodge is the perfect place for couples to enjoy the natural wilds of Africa. Guests can enjoy a vast array of exciting activities or spoil themselves at the heavenly bush spa with treatments such as the Ukuchina Zambian massage or refreshing and soothing facials. The spa is inspired by the natural beauty surrounding the lodge and is Zambia’s first and only bush spa. The minimalist design offers couples a chance to feel peace and tranquillity and to restore the body, mind and spirit.
The team at Royal Zambezi Lodge organise private honeymoon bush dinners on a secluded private island in the middle of the Zambezi River. Guests dine on the delicious local food whilst listening to the sounds of the African night and watching the pods of hippos pass by. Alternatively guests can have dinner served on their private deck or dine under the stars by a romantic roaring fire.
At night, couples retreat to their tented suite or chalet, each with a thatched canopy and spacious bathroom. Both the suites and chalets assure guests a blissful night’s rest, with extra length sprung mattresses, pure cotton linen and the finest down pillows. The deluxe chalets are the epitome of luxury safari elegance with private sala, outside shower and bath and revitalizing plunge pool overlooking the river.
Legendary explorer, Sir David Livingstone, said “I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward.” When the David Livingstone Safari Lodge and Spa celebrated its opening on the banks of the mighty Zambezi River, it was apparent that the hotel has more in common with this famous pioneer than just its name; it has also adopted his visionary stance. With 72 river-facing rooms and 5 luxury suites, guests here are treated to views that can only be described as glorious.
One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the area is renowned for adventure offerings and, an abundance of birds and wildlife. Guests can also indulge in a colonial fantasy as they are immediately plunged into an era of exploration, adventure and old-worldly splendour upon entering the lodge.
The spectacular two-storey property offers breathtaking views of Siloka Island. Décor incorporates elements of wood, earth and raw stone, accentuated by touches of gold, bronze, copper and ivory, creating a sensual allusion to the Orient. The lodge also boasts a Camelot Spa where guests can experience productsand therapies inspired by the harmony of the Earth, and the Ukuchina Massage, a signature treatment to the lodge.
You can see the lodge on this short video courtesy of vicfallstours.com:
Located in the Mosi Oa Tunya National Park, Zambia, Thorntree River Lodge features breathtaking scenery with river views and sightings of a variety of animals on the Zambezi River. Adventure and excitement of the true Africa beckons as views of the unspoilt bush, natural waterholes and spectacular sunsets welcome you with luxury and superb hospitality. Guests are accommodated in luxurious suites, all with private decks overlooking the river. Your safari experience at this, ‘the home of the elephants’, will include on site river activities as well as elephant back safaris. Thorntree’s close proximity to Victoria Falls means that a visit to see ‘the smoke that thunders’ is a must for every guest staying at the lodge.
Bush comfort is the ultimate aim as guests can relax in paramount luxury while they take in the sights. Each secluded and spacious room overlooks the Zambezi River. Enjoy the African bush and Zambezi River from your own covered verandah. All rooms offer en suite facilities and are designed with comfort and space in mind in an unparalleled, quality, bush experience.
Footage from the Mosi Oa Tunya National Park, taken in August this year from someone staying at Thorntree River Lodge, can be viewed below:
Zambian Horizons is a collection of luxury camps and lodges in Zambia’s top national parks and this Autumn saw the addition of a new safari house and a complete refurbishment of their private island retreat.
Sausage Tree Camps Kigelia Safari House
Recently opened, Kigelia House is the ideal place for groups of friends and families to enjoy a more exclusive luxury Lower Zambezi safari experience. Set slightly apart from the main camp and closest to the Zambezi River, guests can soak up the panoramic views, the picturesque winding river and abundant wildlife. Kigelia House is the ultimate private safari house, complete with a fully stocked bar and large dining area guests can dine in privacy away from the main camp. A spacious open plan living room boasts deep leather sofas and a high canvas ceiling which spills out onto the verandah overlooking the Zambezi River. It is here too after adrenalin packed safari drives that guests can unwind on the day beds which surround the large infinity pool.
Sindabezi Island
The long awaited, private island paradise of Sindabezi Island is now complete and open to guests. All five thatched cottages have been rebuilt from the ground up, two of which have been transformed into honeymoon suites complete with ensuite bathrooms and roll top baths for the ultimate luxury. To enhance the romance of this secluded island two new star gazing decks have been built offering uninterrupted views of the Zambezi River and the African sky. In addition a private ‘Mokoro’ overwater deck is ideal for sundowners and romantic candlelit dinners whilst the main dining area in the centre of the island sits on stilts offering stunning dawn and dusk vistas of the River and its wildlife. Each open fronted cottage sits on the edge of the island overlooking the River, where Hippos wallow only metres away. Private valets will make guests stay effortless, from turning the beds down at night, switching the flickering safari lamps on and closing the mosquito nets around the bed, so that guests can climb in and feel cocooned to waking you in the morning with a cup of tea and a selection of freshly baked biscuits to kick start your action packed day.
Take a step back to the romantic appeal of the ‘Golden Age of Aviation’ as you travel through southern Africa in a DC-3. Experienced 4th generation local guides tailor the voyage to the interests of a select group of 14 travellers as you explore Zululand, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa with Travcoa Flying Safaris. You ¹ll be a distinguished guest at a private ceremony, the Zulu King ¹s Reed Dance. This is a once-in-a-lifetime privilege to observe a celebration of 20,000 African maidens rekindling their people ¹s pride in dance and traditional culture.
On the Zambian side of the Victoria Falls there is a natural pool known as Devil’s Pool, right next to the 1,708 metre drop. If you were visiting, would you dare to take a leap of faith into the pool? Take a look at the video before answering!
Blog reader Mitch – who I know from the Aardvark Travel Forums – has kindly brought it to my attention that Chongwe River House opened last month for a press trip and should now be open to the public. The property can accommodate up to 8 people in four large en suite bedrooms. The design of the house is such that you get good views from all the bedrooms, as well as from the sitting room and outside deck, ensuring that you don’t miss the passing wildlife. This part of Zambia is famous for huge male elephants which feed on the winterthorn grove in which the house is situated.
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Greystoke, Mahale Mountains National Park – Western Tanzania
Simon Pardoe is a director and co-owner of 
Zambia is one of the most exciting and progressive tourist destinations in Africa today. A land that still feels the socio-political growing pains of a community long suppressed by colonial rule, Zambia is quickly finding its feet on the world stage and the world in turn is quickly discovering a country of incredible diversity, beauty and cultural heritage.
The exquisite 
Take a step back to the romantic appeal of the ‘Golden Age of Aviation’ as you travel through southern Africa in a DC-3. Experienced 4th generation local guides tailor the voyage to the interests of a select group of 14 travellers as you explore Zululand, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa with 
globrati
This is post nine of twelve in 
Blog reader Mitch – who I know from the