When it comes to safari experiences Kenya and South Africa usually win the popularity vote, but those wanting something more private and unparalleled would do well to point their compass towards Zimbabwe, a country known for its dramatic landscape and diverse wildlife. One way to do this in style is with Matetsi Victoria Falls, a beautiful lodge with its own private section of the Zambezi River where you can call 136,000 acres your back garden. Not only that, but the lodge has just opened its own private airstrip, to compliment its private helipad, enabling socially-distanced travel from take-off to touch-down.
Guests can stay Matetsi’s West Camp (one of the two camps at Matetsi Victoria Falls), with its seven rooms and one family room, accommodating 14 adults, or if you’re looking to hideaway en masse, you can hire the whole lodge, which ensures the 136,000 acre Matetsi Private Game Reserve and nine miles of Zambezi River frontage are for you and you alone. Either way, silver service awaits in your ‘safari bubble’, with a private chef and butler, private safari vehicles, and personal guides and trackers to help you tick elephant, buffalo, lion and leopard off your must-see list.
Early-rise safaris are complemented with canoe excursions, fishing trips, walking tours of Victoria Falls, sunset cruises and night drives, with tired bodies brought back to life in the spa, library, 20 metre lap pool and private wine cellar. Safaris and solitude... Has quite a nice ring to it.
