Ngoma Safari Lodge stands in the Chobe Forest Reserve, looking out over the Chobe River and the Caprivi floodplains of northern Botswana. Elephant herds work along the floodplain below for most of the day. The concession lies outside the national park boundary, so guests walk here in the morning and drive after dark, neither of which is permitted inside Chobe itself.
Elephant herds work along the floodplain below for most of the day.
The eight suites are spaced along the ridge, each with a plunge pool facing the seasonal Caprivi flats. Buffalo graze below and hippos surface in the channels, much of it visible from bed through floor-to-ceiling glass. The Ngoma Gate into Chobe National Park is ten minutes away by vehicle, and Kasane, with the traffic of the eastern riverfront, lies roughly 55 kilometres east.
The lodge opened in May 2011 as a joint venture with the Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust, the body that represents five villages in the Chobe Enclave and holds the land it stands on. In time the trust is set to inherit the movable assets outright. Most of the people working here come from those five villages, where farming and elephants have long rubbed up against each other.
Meals arrive on the timber decks above the floodplain
Thatch, local brick and volcanic rock were used across the multiple levels built into the hillside, with Zambezi teak and bush willow left standing between the suites. An ancient baobab stands at the centre of the main lodge area. Meals arrive on the timber decks above the floodplain, at the boma fire pit near reception, or as a picnic on the riverbank during a full day out.
Ngoma Gate opens onto the western end of the Chobe riverfront, a quieter stretch than the ground worked out of Kasane, and morning drives reach it before other vehicles arrive. From May to October the game comes down to the water: elephants in large numbers, buffalo, giraffe, kudu and impala, with sable and roan along the floodplain margins. Lion and leopard are seen regularly. The signature outing is the full day safari, a morning drive through the park, a picnic lunch on the riverbank, then an afternoon on the water.
The boats push out onto the Chobe River, where hippos surface beside the hull. Elephants cross between the sandbanks with only their trunks above the water. After dark the drives move into the forest reserve under red-filtered spotlights, picking out porcupines, honey badgers, bushbabies and hyenas. Mornings begin on foot with an armed professional guide, at a pace set by tracks and grass length rather than a timetable. More than 450 bird species have been recorded in the area, and tiger fish and bream draw anglers to the river.
Elephants cross between the sandbanks with only their trunks above the water.
A natural waterhole in front of the lodge brings buffalo and giraffe up from the flats, and migrating zebra pass through on their seasonal route. Sound carries on the escarpment after dark, lions working the plain below, hippos in the river, and the thickets filling with birdsong at first light. A member of staff looks after each suite for the length of a stay. Children aged ten and over are welcome, two suites take a third bed, and walking safaris start at sixteen.
Kasane International Airport lies about 45 minutes east by road, and Victoria Falls is close enough for a day trip. Cultural visits are arranged through the trust, to Kachikau and the other enclave villages and their schools, and seasonal mokoro trips run as a community initiative. Sundowners are taken on the deck as the light fades over the Caprivi side and the elephants below become silhouettes on the flats. The floodplain is seasonal, so the view from the ridge shifts through the year, from dust and dry grass to standing water and green.
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accommodation
Eight suites are spread along the escarpment, each screened by teak. The bedroom sits behind floor-to-ceiling glass facing the river, with a plunge pool on the private terrace and, up a short flight of steps, a bathroom with double vanities, a deep standalone tub and a separate water closet. Two suites take a third bed.
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activities
Game drives run into the western Chobe riverfront through Ngoma Gate; night drives and guided walks are permitted in the forest reserve concession, not in the national park. Boat cruises, full-day drive-and-cruise outings with a riverbank picnic, tiger fish and bream angling, and village visits round out the activities on offer.
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conservation
The Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust, representing Mabele, Kavimba, Kachikau, Satau and Parakarungu, receives the land lease fees, bed levies and conservation levies generated by Ngoma Safari Lodge.
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