Africa Part 1 - Elephant Valley Lodge
When we first arrived in Africa we stayed at Elephant Valley Lodge. This was a tented camp and the tents themselves were nice; glamping equivalent or 3-star style accommodation. They offer both forest valley tents and one family tent which can sleep four. The beds had electric heating and were comfortable, it got very cold in the morning and night so this was a nice comfort.
The bathroom is open air design, however, the water pressure wasn’t great but you must remember where you are; the middle of Kasane forest amongst the wildlife!
The tents had a nice deck area at the front and were well situated from each other to ensure privacy. The beauty of this property is that you are right in the middle of the forest reserve, so there is plenty of action regarding wildlife. I enjoyed the excitement of being kept awake at night with the roar of Elephants, Hyena and Lions.
In front of the lodge is a waterhole which is well used by the animals, you can see them coming to have a drink during the day and mostly at night. The main lodge was lovely with a good breakfast bar, relaxation deck and pool around the back. We enjoyed a buffet style dinner each night which was situated around in the bush boma with the fire going.
Two game drives are offered each morning at 6:00am and afternoon at 3:00pm. Zambo, our guide, was the absolute highlight of this lodge! He was amazing at finding the game and his knowledge and personality couldn’t have been better. The first afternoon we were on our way to Chobe Park and saw a tower of Giraffes including three babies. When we got into the park we saw a pride of Lions who had taken down a Buffalo. A very rare sighting!
Zambo was a good driver and at times exciting as he left us viewing the game for as long as possible and on occasion would speed back through the park to get home! The vehicle was comfortable with tiered seating and during the safari they give out warm blankets and ponchos if needed. I saw the most amount of game from this side of Chobe with our guide Zambo.
Overall I feel that this lodge was the highlight of the trip and I would highly recommend this to anyone going to Africa to experience a safari. Read my next blog post where I review Ngoma Safari Lodge.