Robins Camp

The camp is arranged across two distinct sections, joined by the broader common areas that give the whole place its sociable, unhurried character. The restaurant looks out over the pool and a small waterhole, making even a leisurely lunch a potentially eventful affair. The Hyena Bar — named, one assumes, with full awareness of the neighbourhood — is where guests congregate in the evenings, and is reliably good company. A newly opened spa offers treatments in the heart of the bush, which, after a morning in an open vehicle crossing the basalt plains, requires very little persuasion. The swimming pool overlooks a second waterhole, and the lawns between the chalets are kept green enough that wildlife occasionally wanders through them. Solar power runs the camp, with a backup generator for emergencies, and there is an airstrip on site for charter arrivals.

Two distinct chalet styles offer different characters without dramatically different levels of comfort. The Acacia chalets are the more atmospheric of the two — thatched, decorated inside and out with hand-painted Matabele designs and furnished using recycled local materials — with eight of them arranged in a laager formation around a central lapa that makes them ideal for groups or families travelling together. The Mopane chalets are more contemporary in feel, with private covered verandahs and a cleaner, less ornamented aesthetic; only two are thatched, the rest sitting under a more modern roof. Both styles have en-suite bathrooms with hot showers, overhead fans, mosquito nets and twin or king-bed configurations. Triple rooms are available in the Acacia section for families sharing. A campsite with electric perimeter fencing, mostly private power points and full access to the lodge facilities rounds out the options for the self-drive crowd.