While visiting Zimbabwe, we were lucky enough to be invited to spend one night at Somalisa Camp, located in the heart of the Hwange National Park that hosts more than 100 types of mammals and more than 400 bird species.
Somalisa is called a bush camp, but it was much nicer than a number of the hotels we stayed in during our trip. It was recently rebuilt, adding beautifully furnished luxury canvas tents each with an en suite bathroom that included flush toilets, double copper sinks, indoor and outdoor showers, and copper slipper-style bathtubs.
There was a privacy cabinet so that food service could deliver meals from the outside without disturbing the guests. The provided toiletries were natural products of the highest order in handsomely crafted containers.
In the tent where we spent the night, amongst the other high end furnishings, there was a king-sized bed with Egyptian cotton linen and a well-stocked wood-burning stove we made good use of, as it was near the end of autumn with bitterly cold nights.
Built-in shelves lined one wall, and the opposite wall was a very large-screened window that could be covered by canvas flaps to keep in the heat. The window looked out toward one of the the watering holes. Outside the screened window was a covered porch so that we could sit outside our room and watch the passing animals.
Nestled under a canopy of Acacia trees and overlooking two watering holes, Somalisa Camp and Somalisa Acacia, twin camps located in a private concession at the park, offer their guests ultimate luxury. Herds of elephants come to drink at the waterholes, as well as numerous other animals drawn to the available water.
Possible activities for visitors are game drives through the private concession, safari walks, game viewing from a blind near the watering holes, and visiting Victoria Falls. There is also the possibility of a night drive using the camp’s rovers driven by the rangers. This is what we did, which allowed us to see elephants, lions, and other animals “on the hoof,” so to speak.
The main building where the dining room is located includes split level-decking with a separate lounge, as well as a small splash pool for guests. Dinner was served buffet style while we sat by the bonfire and was fairly simple but tasty and satisfying.
The Somalisa camps are located about halfway from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city, and Victoria Falls, the tourism center by the Zambezi River. The trip involves traveling by highway and then by land rover.
One thing to note is that Somalisa keeps a highly carbon-neutral footprint by using large photovoltaic panels (solar cells) located over the camp’s auxiliary buildings, garage, and offices. The panels charge batteries during the day that provide all the necessary electricity day and night. They also make sure the watering holes are filled by using electric pumps that operate with electricity generated from smaller solar panels.
The water is cleaned and filtered at a sewage plant near the camp, making it pristine enough to drink. The elephants stand and wait by the water pumps, as they seem to know when the sun becomes powerful enough to get them working.
Somalisa is an open camp, so the animals walk freely around it day and night. For this reason, you have to react quickly to unexpected arrivals. You are in the middle of the “bush” here, and after sunset, there are lots of carnivorous animals. During that time, you will be escorted by gun-toting rangers from dinner to your tent, and in every tent there is an alarm-raising horn to call for assistance if an animal comes too close.
When you visit any of the bush camps, make sure to bring a flashlight with you, as you’ll need it at night even, although the rangers also carry flashlights along with their weapons.
The author received a complimentary stay at this lodge, but as always, we are dedicated to giving you unbiased accounts of our experiences. See our Disclosures page for more information.
Manos Angelakis
Manos Angelakis is one of the founders, the former Managing Editor for 25 years, the current Managing Editor Emeritus, and Senior Food & Wine Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. He is an accomplished travel writer, photographer, and food and wine critic based in Hackensack, New Jersey. As a travel writer, he has written extensively about numerous cities and countries. Manos has also been certified as a Tuscan Wine Master and has traveled to wine-producing areas in order to evaluate firsthand the product of top-rated vineyards. In the past year, he has visited and written multiple articles about Morocco, Turkey, Quebec City, Switzerland, Antarctica, and most recently the South of France. Articles in other publications include Vision Times and Epoch Times.
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