Reviews of Ichingo Chobe River Lodge
(96%) From 9 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Ichingo Chobe River Lodge review
Really pleased we chose this one. It is not as luxurious as some, but has reall character, and the service is excellent. For example, as there is not continuous power in the rooms, and so no kettle, hot water and drinks are brought to the room at 0700.
We were the only guests that night! We had dinner with Ralph and really enjoyed his company (his wife was away).
Raphael was our guide on a boat drive and a village walk, and he was superb.
Now I understand how the transfer works from Zimbabwe! (By the way, we did not receive any prior information about pickup time, but I emailed Ralph, who replied promptly) Getting our passport stamped four times to get there was part of the fun, especially at the immigration point on the island!
Beautiful
Excellent in every respect.
We could not fault anything with this lodge other than we were unable to stay longer. The fishing was the high light of our stay with special thanks to Robert for achieving our first Tiger fish catch.
Great welcome at Ichingo Chobe Lodge
This was were my favourite lodge.
The owners were very welcomng and having our own guide was great. Our Guide was Robert and was very patient when we went out fishing.
The lodge was on an island and the activities were on boats, but because you had your own guide you could choose what you did and when.
I would recommend this lodge as a good place to visit.
breathtaking
A lovely place to stay Ralph the owner certainly knows his stuff, we fished for the first time in our lives and loved every minute of it
Read more about the whole safariA lovely hideaway on Impalila Island
We really enjoyed our stay here and thought it was a delightful spot and very comfortable. We were offered a night/day on one of their houseboats on the Chobe which we weren't expecting but was a great way of experiencing the area.
The Chobe waterfront had quite a lot of tourist traffic both on the water and on land and for this reason when we were not on the housboat we preferred having our boat excursions in the quieter areas along the channel and the Zambesi side of the island - there's no game but it's good for birdwatching.
The owners have recently retired and Walter a new manager has taken over. Generally we found the staff very helpful but one small suggestion - when guests arrive early afternoon after a long journey a light snack would really be appreciated.
Our guide was quite quiet at first but with a bit of encouragement we found that he had a wealth of knowledge and it was very interesting to hear him talk about life on the island. We thought it a real plus point that guides were recruited locally.
Expert Africa comments
Ralph & Dawn, Ichingo's owners, replied that they were delighted that these travellers had such a great time at the lodge - even though they themselves had to be away (at the annual tourims show in Africa - 'Indaba' in Durban!).
They wanted us to point out that they have not retired! However, they have taken on a manager to assist them with the lodge and its boats - to help them to maintain the high quality of facilities and activities expected by their travellers.
Chobe Cruising
As there was not room for us to stay in the lodge itself for two nights we were booked onto the houseboat for the first night. What an absolute delight. To cruise down the Chobe river, drink in hand in complete luxury and relaxation was pure magic. We had an airy double cabin with en suite showeroom with big windows at water level. Up on deck was a sitting area, bar, dining area and plunge pool.
Eiight of us were looked after by Ernest and his lovely crew and nothing was too much trouble for them. As night fell and all the other boats disappeared home we were left under the stars with elephants playing nearby and hippos grunting. We could have stayed there for a week.
However back on land we were warmly welcomed by Ralph and his staff and had a lovely stay at the lodge. We tried very hard to catch some Tiger fish but the big ones got away. We will just have to go back. Ralph was a great raconteur and kept us all amused round a large table for dinner. Lovely rustic lodge on a quiet (except for the water over the rapids) backwater where we watched otters playing.
Ichingo as brilliant as usual !
Short, sweet stay - we love Ichingo - Ralph charning, knowledgable host as always - tiger fishing up to scratch - elephants in position on the Chobe as should be - love the new houseboats - we'll have one of those next time !
Read more about the whole safariIchingo Chobe Lodge review
Again we felt it would have been better for instructions to advise us to meet at the fromt of the Immigration Office rather than at the wharf. It was raining cats and dogs. The boat was late because of lightening and storm and we had no indication of what or who to look out for and had it not been for a helpful guide from the Chobe Safari Lodge we would have thought they had forgotten about us. No means of contact as mobiles not getting through. There was no cover on the boat and we were soaked along with our luggage.
Why not meet the boat at Chobe Safari Lodge after you have gone through procedures at immigration ? HOWEVER..
Once we arrived....
The welcome was good and we enjoyed our stay.
Expert Africa comments
Generally our instructions for meeting the team from Ichingo Chobe Lodge work well for our clients and for the Lodge. We are sorry that, because of the rain, this was not the case in this instant.
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
