Sabona Tours 2020

A JOURNEY WITH YNGI TO

VISIT YNGI’S VILLAGE DOPOTA AND MEET THE LOCALS EXPERIENCE HIDDEN PLACES IN THE BUSCH SEE BREATH-TAKING WORLD HERITAGE SITES

A GENUINE EXPERIENCE OF AFRICA

– Guided by a local Norwegian

Visit the most beautiful and stunning places you can imagine. A genuine experience of the true Africa, a Zimbabwe felt with your heart.

Ynghild Solholm, or Yngi as she is known locally, came to Zimbabwe in 1999 and ended up living in Dopota, a small village in the northwest region of Matabele, for 7 years. Her love for the country and people of Zimbabwe led her to found Sabona, and as part of Sabonas work she has arranged private trips for Norwegians wanting to explore and experience the Africa she fell in love with.

For the last 15 years she has organized trips that has changed lives; trips which are unique and different, well off the beaten tracks and far away from mass tourism. Her guests are from all walks of life, people travelling together and alone. It brings people together, forges life-long relationships and creates lasting memories of the amazing people you meet and the spectacular places you visit.

You will see the wonders of Victoria Falls, explore the world’s most unique cave paintings, track Rhinos and experience the vast wilderness on safari with the best guides in Zimbabwe.

It all starts with Yngi´s home, Dopota. The footprints you make on the trail entering the village, are just as much footprints in the heart.

You will be welcomed into Yngi’s family, forging new friendship and bond across cultures. Living in and with the village, allows you to experience the real Africa and all the joys, hopes and worries the people face in their daily life. Spend time with them, talk with them and share stories. Around the fire at night you’ll meet the people who partook in starting Sabona and hear their stories of the “Mugabe Days” – whilst sitting under Africa’s might night sky, lit up by billions of stars.

Remember, the village isn’t a tourist attraction. Yngi only invites special guests, people that have been part of the Sabona family for a long time and those wanting to experience first-hand the great projects they are part of. You are welcomed as a long awaited relative and you leave having a new family.

Let us know what you want to experience, do you want close encounters with elephants in the night or enjoy the silence under the stars. Yngi will plan a trip of a lifetime, and from experience she will make sure you get to experience things you have never dreamed of.

MATOPOS

2 nights

Rhino tracking

Amalinda Camp, social area

Amalinda Camp, Dining area

Rock Paintings Nswatugi Cave

Welcome to The Amalinda Safari Collection – a private, family run, responsible safari and accommodation company. For more than 2 decades we’ve been dedicated to creating world-class safaris in some of Zimbabwe’s premium wildlife and cultural destinations.

The Amalinda Safari Collection consists of four luxury and intimate safari camps and lodges set in the remote wilderness areas of Hwange National Park and the Matopos National Park.

“Amalinda Lodge is a remarkable property that’s built around granite boulders in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Matobo Hills.

It’s a luxurious refuge in the African bush that is, all at once, down to earth, captivating and exhilarating” - The Telegraph

DOPOTA VILLAGE

3 nights

Visiting and experiencing Dopota is not just about seeing what you are part of and what you have contributed to. It is also getting a firsthand encounter of Ubuntu, getting to know what it really is and how it is lived. You will learn. We will learn. We all share.

You will experience a daily life totally different to that of Norway.

Fetching firewood and water, food from the fields as there are no supermarkets. How food is cooked and prepared. You will feel how we live by living with us.

It is impossible to describe all what you will encounter, learn and meet whilst in the village, but it will be unforgettable.

Are you ready to sleep on the floor and bath in a strange way? There will be smells you have never experienced before, some strange and some nice. Throughout the day and night, there will be sounds you have never heard before. Have you ever heard hyenas laughing in the night? And remember to check your shoes for spiders! But relax, there are no scary spiders in Zimbabwe.

By seeing the project you have contributed to, you will really understand the true value your efforts have for the people. We will of course visit the school. Not only will you get an understanding of the educational system in Zimbabwe, you will also see how much the school means to the children and how important it is. How many can say they have witnessed a school meal being prepared from the slaughter of a goat and chickens to the kids getting their only meal of the day?

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School building, Dopota

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Children at school

Yngi with family

“Name� preparing food

HWANGE NATIONAL PARK

4 nights

Stay in the most beautiful lodges Named after a local Nhanzwa chief, Hwange National Park is the largest Park in Zimbabwe occupying roughly 14.650 square kilometers. It is located in the north-west corner of the country about one hour south of the Mighty Victoria Falls. Some 400 species of bird and 107 types of animal can be found in the park, including lions, giraffes, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs.

But the elephant is what really defines Hwange, being home to one of the world’s largest populations of around 40,000 tuskers. This level of biodiversity is matched only by the Serengeti in Tanzania and the Kruger National Park in South Africa, both of which have a far higher population of human visitors than Hwange.

The best time for wildlife viewing is July to October, when animals congregate around the 60 water holes or ‘pans’ (most of which are artificially filled) and the forest is stripped of its greenery.

IVORY LODGE

Family friendly

Ivory Lodge, located in the forestry area on the outskirts of Hwange National Park, offers family-friendly safari experiences and is famous for its exhilarating up-close sightings of the Presidential Elephant Herd. The Lodge comprises of a Main Thatched dining and lounge area overlooking a guest swimming pool and overlooking a watering hole which is frequented by elephants, predators and a number of plains game species.

The rooms themselves are elegantly built on stilted wooden platforms offering elevated views of the open floodplain and watering hole in front of camp. www.amalindacollection.com

KHULU LODGE

Family friendly

Khulu Bush Camp is the smaller, more intimate sister lodge to its neighbouring Ivory Lodge. Inspired by the breathtaking splendour of its natural surrounds, Khulu Bush Camp reflects Africa’s timeless wonder and natural beauty, providing you with the ultimate and utterly unforgettable safari experience.

The beauty of this camp is that it combines luxurious and private accommodation with old world hospitality. Khulu overlooks an ancient riverbed, in today’s terms called a ‘vlei’, known to attract a variety of the greatest wildlife and bird life in Hwange National Park, right on your doorstep. www.amalindacollection.com

VICTORIA FALLS

2 nights

Victoria Falls, the largest uninterrupted sheet of falling water in the world, sits on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. On the Zimbabwe side, paths wind in and out of dripping rainforest to reveal extensive views of the Main Falls, while across in Zambia the Knife-Edge Bridge takes you exceptionally close to the cascading water and a steep footpath leads to the Boiling Pot - a huge whirlpool at the base of the falls.

Both sides are well worth a visit and it’s easy to travel between the two on your Victoria Falls holiday. The falls generate mists that can be spotted from more than a dozen miles (20 kilometers) away.

Famed Scottish explorer David Livingstone dubbed this waterfall Victoria Falls; its older, Kololo name, Mosi-oa-Tunya, means “the smoke that thunders.”

VICTORIA FALLS SAFARI LODGE

2 nights

Victoria Falls Safari Lodge opened its doors to its first guests in December 1994, after a construction project that was the first in the country to employ an environmental architect to ensure a minimal impact on its surroundings. Not a single mature tree on the land was destroyed during the construction of the lodge, and 6 000 young trees were replanted on and around the estate. Victoria Falls Safari Lodge has always been committed to sustainability utilising natural resources, caring for the flora and fauna, creating jobs and uplifting local communities.

All rooms are spacious and light, with glass sliding doors that open up to private balconies with unrivalled views of the bushveld at sunset. The majority of rooms also overlook a central waterhole, offering the opportunity to observe herds of game quenching their thirst. Victoria Falls is full of exciting and adventurous activities to enjoy, from watching the Vultures feed at our vulture restaurant to bungee jumping off the Vic Falls bridge or enjoying a sunset river cruise above the falls.

Victoria Falls Safari Lodge has won numerous awards over the years, and has been voted the Best Safari Lodge/Resort/Hotel in Zimbabwe for 20 consecutive years by the Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents. www.victoria-falls-safari-lodge.com

TOURS 2020 For more information, please contact us at elisabeth@sabona.no or by phone +47 975 13 866

www.sabona.no