Luxury Livingstone Accommodation

Luxury

LIVINGSTONE ACCOMMODATION

It is amazing how sophisticated the northern banks of the Zambezi have become. Once the ‘poor relation’ in the Victoria Falls ‘experience’, Livingstone has undergone an incredible transformation in recent years and now has some truly special places to stay with some serious luxury on offer. After my visit there I can confidently say I have never felt so pampered in my life!

We had our first taste of what Livingstone can provide at Thorntree Lodge. Thorntree is Livingstone’s most recently opened luxury river lodge... and what an awesome time we had there. Perfectly appointed rooms right on the banks of the Zambezi, sundowners beside our private swimming pool, morning wake-ups to drink tea in bed, with the vast expanse of the river stretching out before us… these were all parts of an experience never to be forgotten. Thorntree is located in the 66-squarekilometre Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, home to buffalo, zebra, giraffe, elephant, various antelope, warthog and much more; but also, home to 12 endangered white rhino. On a game drive through this tiny park we had the fabulous opportunity to get out of our safari vehicle and walk right up close to a mother and baby rhino. action’, Thorntree even had a gym with a view. I visited the treadmill every morning, while the rest of my family were ensconced in their beds, and came back with reports of the beautiful birds, monkeys, baboons, giraffes and even elephants that I had watched while ‘running to nowhere’.

Moving on after some fabulous days at Thorntree, we arrived at the Stanley Safari Lodge. The Stanley has a very different viewpoint and perspective to most of the other lodges in the area, most of which are built right on the river banks. Here you are

perched on a hill overlooking unspoilt bush, with snaking stretches of the Zambezi River and the spray of the Victoria Falls visible in the distance. We arrived in a deluge and had to make a mad dash from the car to the welcoming shelter of the dining room—this rain was to continue for the rest of our stay. A thunderstorm during dinner provided a spectacular display of lightning across the border in Zimbabwe, and the reflection of the lightning in the swimming pool, which we could see from our table, was incredible. Our next move found us at Royal Chundu River Lodge, located 60 kilometres from Livingstone, upstream of the Falls. Royal Chundu operates two lodges: River Lodge and Island Lodge. From the minute we arrived at River Lodge we knew we were in paradise! Having relied on Google maps to get us there, we had taken a very circuitous route and were feeling rather flustered by the time we arrived. All that fell away though as we took the first sip of our welcome cocktail and stepped aboard the boat that would take us from River Lodge out to our room at Island Lodge, on nearby Katombora Island.

Having gone into town for dinner we arrived back at River Lodge after dark. Boarding the boat again we took a short, moonlit boat ride upstream to the island. Reaching our room we found a freshly-drawn bath on our verandah, with bubbles that must have been at least a metre high. I hopped into the tub, watching the Southern Cross and the Milky Way while being serenaded by a chorus of frogs. Lions roared in the park across the water. It was an absolutely perfect moment—warm water, cool night air, mountains of bubbles, brilliant stars and the sound of lions.

On our final night at Island Lodge we were treated to a special Zambian tasting menu. Normally I cringe at the thought of activities that sound overly touristy or are labelled a ‘traditional’ or ‘cultural’ encounter, but this dinner was nothing like that at all. It was an inspired use of traditional Zambian