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.
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.
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.
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.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
By road from Kasane International Airport, about forty five minutes to the escarpment in the Chobe Forest Reserve. A charter from Kasane can cut that to twenty or thirty minutes when it is available.
The lodge sits away from the busy Kasane riverfront, which is much of its appeal, and the drive is the price of that. We arrange the transfer with the booking and time it against your inbound flight.
Yes. This is northern Botswana, which both TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, and the CDC treat as a malaria area where antimalarial tablets are usually recommended. Risk peaks during and after the summer rains and drops through the dry winter without disappearing.
Settle it with a travel clinic or your doctor rather than with us, and check again close to departure. The escarpment position catches a breeze, which helps in practice, but repellent and covered arms after dark still matter.
It leans older. The usual minimum age is ten, and children under ten are considered only when a family or group takes the lodge exclusively, which with eight suites is a real possibility for a large party. Ten and eleven year olds go out on private activities.
If you are travelling with younger children and do not want the whole lodge, say so at enquiry and we will point you at somewhere on the Chobe riverfront that takes all ages instead.
Two seasons, sharply drawn. The dry winter from May to October brings clear sunny days and cold starts, and an open vehicle or a boat at dawn in June and July calls for a proper jacket, a hat and gloves. Summer, from November to April, is hot and humid with afternoon storms that build and break quickly.
Neutral colours, a wide-brimmed hat and strong sun protection cover the days, with a warm layer for the early mornings and the river. Soft bags for any light aircraft leg, and binoculars, because a great deal of the viewing here is across water.
June to September for the classic Chobe dry season, when animals concentrate on the river below the escarpment and the view from the lodge does a lot of the work. May and October are nearly as strong, October very hot.
The green season from November to April is quieter and cheaper, with excellent birding and the floodplains at their most striking from above. Being in the forest reserve rather than the park means night drives and guided walks are permitted here in any season, which the national park does not allow.
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