Reviews of Muchenje Safari Lodge

"This was my favorite safari camp/lodge of my 3.5 week trip to Africa. There were such an abundance of activities to choose from each day and all were excellent.

Lodge staff and guides were great. There was really nothing I didn't like about it. Each day, we were awakened at 5:30 for either an early morning game drive or early morning bush walk. Then we'd return for breakfast at 8:30 and then went on a full day safari until about 6:45 in the evening. Dinner at 8:30.

The full day safari was so wonderful that we did it for 2 days in a row. It starts with a boat ride and ends with a game drive back to the lodge.

Dining was communal and the food was very good. I require a gluten-free diet and this was no problem at all. I also appreciated the lodge's commitment to reducing waste and avoiding plastic water bottles.

If I went back to this area of Chobe, I would absolutely stay here again." See all these reviews: 3n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe; 1n in South Africa

"Very nice lodge. Great location at top of river valley.

Very friendly and accommodating staff including managers and owner. Excellent food.

Activities great. Walking safari, boat ride and game drives excellent. Guides very special especially Ali." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia

"Our first safari experience, so we did not have any preconceived expectations. Wonderful location with expansive views.

Arrived in time for a late lunch which was an unexpected surprise for just the 2 of us. We were kept busy nearly all the time, with little downtime which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Tea at 3pm, followed by afternoon game drive to western side of NP from 3:30 to 6:30pm. As we were the only arrivals today, we had the jeep to ourselves. It does take driving 15-20 mins to get to the park and back by road, but wildlife sightings were frequent even on this stretch. After dinner, we elected the evening game drive in an area close to the lodge (again just us), but sightings were few, just some giraffes and impalas. Our first full day was also just the 2 of us. We started with an early morning game drive 6am-8am, followed by breakfast back at camp. Then we elected to do the boat cruise/game drive back thru the park. This is one of the severest droughts Botswana has experienced, so the floodplain close to the camp was dry. We had to drive 50 mins to Kasane in a van to meet our guide at the dock. The 2 ½ hour boat trip was probably the highlight of our entire trip. The sheer density of animals close to the river was astonishing. With only the 2 of us on the boat, it was easy to move around for the best photo vantage spot. We stopped for lunch on the bank of the river, surrounded by several herds of elephants almost within touching distance. Back at the dock, we had a 4-hour game drive driving back thru the park. We stopped close to the river for sundowners, watching a herd of 300 plus buffalo making their way down to the water. We elected to skip the evening game drive this evening.

For our second full day, we elected to repeat the previous day’s activities. With the new arrivals, we were 8 on our boat, and six on a second boat. We did have memorable new wildlife sightings, including following a leopard.

On our last morning we chose the early morning walking safari which provided a new perspective. Then after breakfast there was time to visit the local village nearby. Although it was Saturday and no school, there were children and teachers on hand as a university student group was visiting. We got to attend a local basket making presentation. We were provided with a full lunch just for the two of us at the camp before driving back to Kasane airport for our next leg.

Overall the accommodations and food were excellent. There were power outlets in the room, but I failed to bring the correct Type M (South Africa) adapter. The manager (Kathy) was amazingly helpful providing the needed adapter, additional wi-fi connection options and other advice." See all these reviews: 11n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"Warmly welcomed on arrival which set the tone of four memorable days.excellent individual rondawels overlooking the vast Chobe plain and river, viewed from our patio and the restaurant area. Excellent guide, with Lips, who managed to show all the game, even a leopard chasing a giant lizard. Our young grandchildren were so warmly looked after at meals and on the boat and game drives. This was our second stay at the Muchenje Lodge and would love to come back. Can highly recommend and no negative comments at all." See all these reviews: 4n in Botswana; 1n in Zimbabwe

"Very accommodating to guests regarding options for drives - view from room awesome... room a bit misty..." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia; 16n in Tanzania; 10n in Botswana; 1n in Kenya

"Incredible place to stay! We would definitely love to go back.

From the moment we arrived we felt very welcome and looked after.

We were treated to the honeymoon suite which was unbelievable.

We loved every second we spent here and wish we could have stayed for longer!" See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia; 2n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe

"Overall warm feelings for all staff. esp in the lodge itself. Recommend the long day offered starting with a long drive (one hour) on tar road to Chobe to have the boat trip (not comfortable in an open car but worthwhile once you get there) and after that proceed your way back through Chobe NP.

The evening drives in the surrounding of the lodge were a bit disappointing, turning to the main road and via a turn back to the camp.

A tip, the guide /ranger was very young (forgot his name unfortunately) and impulsive. Fast driving over the dirt roads in Chobe, not using the gear in a proper way. Busy with other things like his mobile instead of looking for animals.

Wildlife seen during our stay and mentioned below were at Chobe so not on the premises of Muchenje" See all these reviews: 14n in Botswana; 4n in Namibia; 2n in Zimbabwe

"This was a traditional lodge in a lovely location on an escarpment looking down to Namibia just outside the Chobe park. It was very relaxing and the staff here were lovely and friendly. I think the the rooms could do with some updating but his did not distract from our stay. We did a great day drive in the park which encompassed a river cruise and lunch. This was quite unforgettable. So many elephants buffalo and hippo and on the drive back a lion, a lion and kill a pride of lioness and five cubs as well as zebra,giraffe,baboon and kudu,lechwe etc and so many photos." See all these reviews: 5n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe

"This lodge wasn't as good as the other two.

I thought I had been told it had it's own jetty but this was not the case so we had to travel for an hour in order to have a boat trip on the Chobe River. However, this boat trip was excellent with a tasty lunch and we also had a great game drive on the way back.

But the rooms of the lodge were not up to the standard we expected as we did have a rat in the room which laid its droppings, particularly off putting was one next to my head when I awoke in the morning. We have been on other safaris and this was the first time we had animals in the rooms. When we told the staff they acted surprise but I heard other people complaining about the same issue and actually had it sitting on the cupboard when she returned to the room." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe; 2n in Namibia

"This was one of the great joys of our month long safari.

When you arrive and they put the brakes on and you stop outside the lodge your heart keeps moving forwards over the absolutely stunning view across the Chobe River Valley. Stunning.
The rooms were wonderful with fabulous views over the valley. Our long day, with a boat rip and a 60km game drive was one of the best safari days we have had (15 lions, hundreds of elephants, buffalo, lechwe etc).

Our guide, Ali, was one of the very best we have had and set the standard for the rest of the trip.

Chobe is massive and so intimate encounters with animals are not what it is about but if you want to see dozens of hippos, hundreds and hundreds of elephants and thousands of buffalo in a vista that can take them, this is it.

We generally prefer to go to parks where you can go off road for more close up encounters but that seemed irrelevant here. We would gladly go there again." See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia; 9n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe; 1n in South Africa