Matetsi River Lodge

Matetsi spreads along 15 kilometres of private Zambezi frontage on a 55,000-hectare reserve, forty minutes upstream of Victoria Falls along a riverside track. You see no other lodges. Every suite has its own deck above the river, and most evenings there are elephants on the Zambian bank opposite.

That is the moment we come here for. Your own boat sits midstream as the sun drops. A matriarch comes out of the treeline on the far side, the rest of her herd behind her, and they wade across with the water at their bellies and their trunks up. The young bulls push each other about in the shallows. Nobody on the boat says much.

The reserve has game of its own: elephant, lion, sable and buffalo on the morning drives. The Falls are close enough for a day. A helicopter takes the family over them, and anyone who prefers to stay on the ground has a private vehicle to the rainforest path. Another morning starts with a canoe on the Zambezi at sunrise, the river calm, the hippo close and kingfishers working the banks.

It suits families of four to six, up to three generations, and anyone who wants the Falls without the town. Ask us about the River House if you would like a place of your own.

You fly into Victoria Falls Airport and drive out to the lodge.

Good to know

• The River House is exclusive use: four bedrooms for up to eight guests, with its own vehicle. Children under five join activities in that vehicle.
• The Zambezi valley is a malaria area. Speak to your doctor before you travel.
• The Falls carry the most water around March to May. Later in the dry season the spray drops and the gorge shows more of itself.
• The rainforest path on the Zimbabwe side is flat and paved, with wheelchair access to the main viewpoints.

Country: Zimbabwe