Chobe Game Lodge

A slightly imposing entrance gives way to a spacious and inviting main area. Here you will find the reception desk and lounge where the activities-coordinator's desk can be found. Through another sizeable lounge arranged with several intimate seating areas, doors open wide onto a grand verandah, overlooking the manicured gardens and beautiful Chobe River. With lovely details like high arches and barrel-vaulted ceilings, colourful tiles and Persian rugs, the distinct Moroccan decor is an elegant thread running throughout the lodge. You will also find a pool, a riverside boma area, a dining room with open sided terrace, a curio shop, gym and spa. There are two bars on site - the Linyanti Bar, with a large Bedoin-style outdoor patio, and the Tshwene bar - a "cigar bar" furnished with a full-size billiard table.

There are forty-four rooms in total, made up of 22 Standard Rooms, 12 Interleading Rooms, 4 Triple Rooms, 1 Family Room, 3 Family Suites and 1 Honeymoon Suite. Each room has a patio with views of the river, (though some are better appointed than others), and is equipped with the modern accoutrements one would find in a hotel: air-conditioning, a ceiling fan, internal phone service, wi-fi, plug points, a hairdryer, tea and coffee making facilities and a mini bar. The suites are larger, with a separate lounge and a balcony with a plunge pool. Two of the suites have convenient inter-leading gateways, accessed from the terrace, allowing a group to occupy a suite and a standard room – a great option for families with children, or couples travelling together.

An activities coordinator creates a suggested itinerary to help you make the most of your time, but please, feel free to stray from the programme. A day typically begins with a morning game drive, usually ending quite early, around 8.30 or 9 am. After a cooked breakfast, take a mid-morning boat cruise to see what wildlife is gathering around the river when things start to heat up. Though the lodge is located in Botswana's busiest game park and crowds are inevitable, it does a decent job of utilising some of the less-trafficked regions of the Chobe. For novelty's sake, it's worth noting that Chobe Game Lodge has the singular distinction of being the only lodge to have an all-female guiding team. This is a remarkable attribute in a male-dominated industry - a hallmark of a truly progressive operation. But the forward-thinking mindset doesn't stop here - electric game viewers and boats are exclusively used, making for an especially tranquil safari experience.