Reviews of Muchenje Safari Lodge
Wildlife sightings and reviews
171 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Muchenje Safari Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Jun-2018, 37 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Muchenje Safari Lodge.
Lion
89% success
Leopard
50% success
Cheetah
0% success
Wild dog
25% success
Elephant
100% success
Giraffe
100% success
Zebra
100% success
Buffalo
97% success
Hippo
94% success
Sable antelope
53% success
Spotted Hyena
47% success
Wildebeest
44% success
Roan antelope
35% success
Eland
23% success
Brown Hyena
15% success
Sitatunga
9% success
Aardvark
3% success
Pangolin
3% success
Mr & Mrs B
Westerham
"Muchenje Safari Lodge review"
3 nights Arrived 4 Mar 2015
"A brilliant location overlooking the Namibian border with flood plain below , just outside the designated National Park area ,As the park is unfenced the animals still roam around in abundance. The lodge is well run by an English couple Rob and Joy who could not do enough to made sure you enjoyed your stay.
The boat trip was the highlight seeing hundreds of Elephants playing in the river . The room was fine and food excellent." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 6n in Namibia
The boat trip was the highlight seeing hundreds of Elephants playing in the river . The room was fine and food excellent." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 6n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Mrs D
Southampton
"Muchenje Safari Lodge review"
3 nights Arrived 20 Nov 2014
"We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Muchenje. The lodge has a real fun atmosphere, mainly down to its great managers, Robert and Joy.
We had a brilliant day trip out from 9-30am - 7pm cruising around the River Chobe channels and driving the length of Chobe NP where we saw numorous elephants. The following day we took packed breakfast and were out from 5-30am - 2-30pm, so much to see, hundreds of elephant , lion, leopard (very lucky), sable and finally wild dogs (exceptionally lucky) beside the road on the way back to the lodge.
Our guide Symack was excellent, and quite happy to stay out as long as we wanted to." See all these reviews: 20n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana; 1n in Zimbabwe
We had a brilliant day trip out from 9-30am - 7pm cruising around the River Chobe channels and driving the length of Chobe NP where we saw numorous elephants. The following day we took packed breakfast and were out from 5-30am - 2-30pm, so much to see, hundreds of elephant , lion, leopard (very lucky), sable and finally wild dogs (exceptionally lucky) beside the road on the way back to the lodge.
Our guide Symack was excellent, and quite happy to stay out as long as we wanted to." See all these reviews: 20n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana; 1n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Ms C & Mr M
Hants
"Muchenje Safari Lodge review"
2 nights Arrived 18 Nov 2014
"We spent 2 days at Muchenje and although it was more exclusive than other places, I thought it was not good value!
The rooms were nice . and the owners friendly and helpful.. The guides were average and the wild life OK, but by no means exceptional. The vegetarian food was OK at night (stuffed tomato one day and stuffed aubergine on the next). The picnic lunch on the who;e day out was terrible. We received 2 small pieces of pizza 3 x 2 " and one hard boiled egg/ Meat eaters got 2 small chicken drumsticks. I got nothing! This was to last 11 hours. We did mention it to the lodge but heard nothing more.
The guide who did the early morning walking tours was the most knowledgeable. The night drive was done too fast with no spotted and we saw very little. It is not in the park and the area limited" See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia; 4n in Botswana
The rooms were nice . and the owners friendly and helpful.. The guides were average and the wild life OK, but by no means exceptional. The vegetarian food was OK at night (stuffed tomato one day and stuffed aubergine on the next). The picnic lunch on the who;e day out was terrible. We received 2 small pieces of pizza 3 x 2 " and one hard boiled egg/ Meat eaters got 2 small chicken drumsticks. I got nothing! This was to last 11 hours. We did mention it to the lodge but heard nothing more.
The guide who did the early morning walking tours was the most knowledgeable. The night drive was done too fast with no spotted and we saw very little. It is not in the park and the area limited" See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia; 4n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Activities:
Average
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Average
Feedback Response
Muchenje Safari Lodge apologised to these guests for the inadequate picnic. They have taken steps to improve the meal, and to ensure good options are available for vegetarians. The lodge has also taken note of the comments regarding their guides with the aim to ensure the feedback from future guests is much more positive.
"Africa Specialist"
Mr & Mrs H
Hampton
"Great start to our safari"
3 nights Arrived 27 Oct 2014
"The Lodge was beautiful, with a fabulous setting. Our guide, Lips, was excellent too - knowledgeable, friendly and good company. the management and staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Joy in particular treated us as though we were real guests ratrher than just customers - it all felt very personal -in a very good way."
See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Mr A
Washington DC
"Muchenje Safari Lodge review"
2 nights Arrived 19 Oct 2014
"The staff was extremely friendly and interested in sharing their experiences and also hearing about your experiences. They also made sure all of our needs were met and everyone was very knowledgeable about the area and the wildlife. We learned a ton.
There is a trade off by staying at Muchenje -- you are a bit removed from the Chobe central riverfront so nicely more quiet. That means you have to drive farther afield to get the riverfront. That tradeoff is an individual preference of course." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 3n in Mozambique; 2n in Zambia; 1n in South Africa
There is a trade off by staying at Muchenje -- you are a bit removed from the Chobe central riverfront so nicely more quiet. That means you have to drive farther afield to get the riverfront. That tradeoff is an individual preference of course." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 3n in Mozambique; 2n in Zambia; 1n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Mrs T
Yorkshire
"Muchenje Safari Lodge review"
4 nights Arrived 2 Oct 2014
"Overall we enjoyed our trip.
It was good for you to arrange our interconnecting flights.
We probably would have been happy doing 2\3 days in Chobi not 4 and 2 days in Kanana was fine
We would have appreciated a bit more up front discussion about tipping in our early conversations as we were taken by surprise at how established the arrangements were and there was no sense that it could be at our discretion. We had read that $10 a day was recommended for guides, but at Kanana we were told it was between $35-40a day- when I said that was outrageous the manager backed down and said it was up to us but there was a lot of pressure and we just hadn't budgeted for that level of tipping. Given the high cost of staying at the camps I would have expected that the guides were well paid already (and one said he was!) - as a well qualified teacher if I am paid for my teaching sessions I don't expect to get further tips from my pupils!
Both Muchenje and Kanana gave us good services and accomodation and the guides were excellent and well informed. Muchenje had the better atmosphere more informal and easy - Kanana felt a bit forced and formal. The current manager made me feel a bit uncomfortable (probably not to share it just was a feeling).The food was variable at Kanana
Mac Air gave one very turbulent flight because of forest fires but they were effecient and on time. SA was ok but you always wish you could afford better seats on a night flight!
Left Luggage at Oliver Tambo was everything you said and proved most useful.
Your comments about the wear and tear on my back were correct but oddly the up and downs in the jeep gave my back exercise so I was less stiff than if i had been sitting in a more comfortable seat for a long time!" See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana
It was good for you to arrange our interconnecting flights.
We probably would have been happy doing 2\3 days in Chobi not 4 and 2 days in Kanana was fine
We would have appreciated a bit more up front discussion about tipping in our early conversations as we were taken by surprise at how established the arrangements were and there was no sense that it could be at our discretion. We had read that $10 a day was recommended for guides, but at Kanana we were told it was between $35-40a day- when I said that was outrageous the manager backed down and said it was up to us but there was a lot of pressure and we just hadn't budgeted for that level of tipping. Given the high cost of staying at the camps I would have expected that the guides were well paid already (and one said he was!) - as a well qualified teacher if I am paid for my teaching sessions I don't expect to get further tips from my pupils!
Both Muchenje and Kanana gave us good services and accomodation and the guides were excellent and well informed. Muchenje had the better atmosphere more informal and easy - Kanana felt a bit forced and formal. The current manager made me feel a bit uncomfortable (probably not to share it just was a feeling).The food was variable at Kanana
Mac Air gave one very turbulent flight because of forest fires but they were effecient and on time. SA was ok but you always wish you could afford better seats on a night flight!
Left Luggage at Oliver Tambo was everything you said and proved most useful.
Your comments about the wear and tear on my back were correct but oddly the up and downs in the jeep gave my back exercise so I was less stiff than if i had been sitting in a more comfortable seat for a long time!" See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Mr J
Arlington
"Muchenje Safari Lodge review"
3 nights Arrived 2 Oct 2014
"We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Muchenje. The setting is really spectacular, sitting on top of a hill looking out over the fertile plain. The moment we arrived, we were met by the friendly staff who made us feel welcome and immediately got us some lunch (we arrived quite hungry!). The attentiveness to our needs was one of the great things about this camp. They laid out the activity options and let us decide how we wanted to spend our time.
The accommodations are relatively simple, but quite nice. The rooms are not super spacious, but given the limited amout of time that we spent in them, they were more than adequate. The shower worked great, with plenty of hot water available. And the view from the rooms is incredible, with a nice deck in front to sit and take in the scenery. The camp also has some limited excercise equipment, which can be nice for people are used to keeping an active lifestyle. Given the location and density of animals around, there are limited places to get out and walk. So this was a very nice feature for us.
The food at the camp is buffet style, and quite tasty. They do a very nice job of offering several different food entrees to accommodate everyone. And I really enjoyed the local flavor that they instill in many of their dishes. Spending three nights at Muchenje, we never found the food to be repetitive.
We were very happy with our guides and the game activities that were offered at Muchenje. The amount of wildlife in the area is incredible and our guide new exactly where to take us. Of course you are not alone in Chobe, and the number of other vehicles that you run into can be annoying at times. But that is a reality of Chobe and there is no avoiding that. The full day boat excursion that is offered is highly recommended, because you see things from a different perspective and there is less traffic. We also went on a short walking safari with our guide, which is recommended for learning about the area and seeing things from a different perspective." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
The accommodations are relatively simple, but quite nice. The rooms are not super spacious, but given the limited amout of time that we spent in them, they were more than adequate. The shower worked great, with plenty of hot water available. And the view from the rooms is incredible, with a nice deck in front to sit and take in the scenery. The camp also has some limited excercise equipment, which can be nice for people are used to keeping an active lifestyle. Given the location and density of animals around, there are limited places to get out and walk. So this was a very nice feature for us.
The food at the camp is buffet style, and quite tasty. They do a very nice job of offering several different food entrees to accommodate everyone. And I really enjoyed the local flavor that they instill in many of their dishes. Spending three nights at Muchenje, we never found the food to be repetitive.
We were very happy with our guides and the game activities that were offered at Muchenje. The amount of wildlife in the area is incredible and our guide new exactly where to take us. Of course you are not alone in Chobe, and the number of other vehicles that you run into can be annoying at times. But that is a reality of Chobe and there is no avoiding that. The full day boat excursion that is offered is highly recommended, because you see things from a different perspective and there is less traffic. We also went on a short walking safari with our guide, which is recommended for learning about the area and seeing things from a different perspective." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Ms W & Mr C
Dorset
"The Total package"
2 nights Arrived 15 Sep 2014
"A very well run lodge which has the full package. In reality if one only had 3 days to see wildlife in Africa this is the place one would need to visit. We saw hundreds of elephants, hippos, crocs, a range of fantastic birds, lions with 3 lion cubs and a leopard.
There was a whole range of drives from morning, evening and all day. Rooms were great even the hornbill pecking at the window as our alarm clock in the morning, very tastefully decorated loved the copper wash hand basins. In the room was a little book which you could keep a log of the animals you had seen, a very nice touch. The view from our room was totally breathtaking.
The reception areas and dining room was spacious. Staff very informative and helpful. The lodge was busy compared to the others we had stayed in but we still felt our individual needs were catered for. Everyone sat down for lunch and dinner together which we really enjoyed.
Excellent facilities and well maintained, highly recommended." See all these reviews: 8n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
There was a whole range of drives from morning, evening and all day. Rooms were great even the hornbill pecking at the window as our alarm clock in the morning, very tastefully decorated loved the copper wash hand basins. In the room was a little book which you could keep a log of the animals you had seen, a very nice touch. The view from our room was totally breathtaking.
The reception areas and dining room was spacious. Staff very informative and helpful. The lodge was busy compared to the others we had stayed in but we still felt our individual needs were catered for. Everyone sat down for lunch and dinner together which we really enjoyed.
Excellent facilities and well maintained, highly recommended." See all these reviews: 8n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mrs F & Mrs G
Kent
"Muchenje Safari Lodge review"
3 nights Arrived 13 Sep 2014
"An excellent first place to start our safari in every way. Fantastic game viewing on the trip along the Chobe river - one of the highlights of our stay. Watching Elephants swim across the river in a line was wonderful.
Our 4x4 vehicle did breakdown on the way back to the lodge, in the dark but on a main road within the Chobe National Park. But a replacement was quickly sent. Relaxed and comfortable - but more like a small hotel than a traditional lodge. Key selling point is the wonderful view from the lodge across the Chobe Flood Plain - something which I never got tired at looking at.
Would thoroughly recommend this lodge as a FIRST stop for a safari tour - given its structure and the limitations in place because of the national park closure at 6.30. The visit to the school was a fabulous idea and I thoroughly recommend it. We took some pens and pencils for the children which appears to be the done thing. It gave a chance to see the real Botswana rather than the "safari" industry view we were receiving." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
Our 4x4 vehicle did breakdown on the way back to the lodge, in the dark but on a main road within the Chobe National Park. But a replacement was quickly sent. Relaxed and comfortable - but more like a small hotel than a traditional lodge. Key selling point is the wonderful view from the lodge across the Chobe Flood Plain - something which I never got tired at looking at.
Would thoroughly recommend this lodge as a FIRST stop for a safari tour - given its structure and the limitations in place because of the national park closure at 6.30. The visit to the school was a fabulous idea and I thoroughly recommend it. We took some pens and pencils for the children which appears to be the done thing. It gave a chance to see the real Botswana rather than the "safari" industry view we were receiving." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Devin & Willow
USA
"Muchenje Safari Lodge review"
3 nights Arrived 8 Sep 2014
"The lodge is very well located on the bluff with excellent river valley views. The rooms are a little dated and could use some TLC, but they are nice, clean, and comfortable. Guide staff did a great job and we really enjoyed our excursions, great game viewing.
My only negative comment is that staff joined guests at the dinning tables and initiated conversation; thus limiting quiet time or friendly conversation with other guests." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa
My only negative comment is that staff joined guests at the dinning tables and initiated conversation; thus limiting quiet time or friendly conversation with other guests." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia; 3n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Holiday styles & special interests in Botswana
From birdwatching breaks to walking holidays, find great ideas for your trip in Botswana.
Other lodges in Chobe National Park
Alternative places to stay in this same area.
Chobe River Lodge
Overlooking the Chobe River, the intimate Chobe River Lodge is a haven of tranquillity away from the bustle of Kasane.
Savute Safari Lodge
Savute Safari Lodge sits on the banks of the Savuti Channel within Chobe National Park, and offers access to excellent game viewing, especially during the dry season.
Savute Under Canvas
A mobile camp with the comforts of a semi-permanent tented camp, Savute Under Canvas offers guided game drives within the Savuti region of Chobe National Park.
Chobe Under Canvas
This is a typical location for Chobe under Canvas, a small, semi-permanent camp in the Chobe Riverfront area that offers good value for money and high standards of care.
Chobe Safari Lodge
Chobe Safari Lodge is a good value, hotel-style lodge in the heart of Kasane offering game drives, boat cruises and fishing trips.
Chobe Elephant Camp
Located in one of our favorite areas of Chobe National Park, Chobe Elephant Camp is a simple but well-appointed camp with a strong bush feel.
Chobe Game Lodge
Chobe Game Lodge occupies an enviable riverfront location within Chobe National Park and boasts well-earned 'eco' credentials, as well as an excellent all-female guiding team.
Ngoma Safari Lodge
With sweeping views across the floodplains of the Chobe River, Ngoma offers superb food and flexible safari activities.
Chobe Chilwero
On the periphery of Chobe National Park, Chobe Chilwero offers luxurious surroundings and excellent food, which complement superb game viewing on game drives and boat trips.
Camp Kuzuma
Camp Kuzuma sits in the Kazuma Forest Reserve and is an excellent place to see elephant in particular. Away from the busier riverfront area of Chobe National Park this camp offers a luxurious base form which to explore this less visited region of northern Botswana.
Savute Elephant Lodge
Savute Elephant Lodge is a luxurious camp on the banks of the now flowing Savuti Channel. This is a classic big-game area, although its location within Chobe National Park does limit the activities which are possible here.
Elephant Valley Lodge
Elephant Valley Lodge is a lovely camp in a beautiful setting – sit in its hide and watch the wildlife come to drink at the waterhole. Activities focus on boating and drives in Chobe which - although very busy, and a long drive from the lodge – is very rich in wildlife.
