An open 4×4 drive through Zambezi National Park ends at the water’s edge, and a short boat crossing does the rest. Tsowa Safari Island lies in the upper Zambezi, upstream of Victoria Falls, and the camp has the whole wooded island to itself. Hippos grunt in the channels, and elephants come to graze the forest. Canoes, cruise boats and fishing rods share the work with the game vehicles.
Hippos grunt in the channels, and elephants come to graze the forest.
The camp sits almost equidistant from Victoria Falls, Livingstone in Zambia, Kasane in Botswana and the Namibian border. A soft sand path leads inland to a cluster of baobabs more than a century old. The camp opened in 2019 and reopened in 2022 after an expansion, its site chosen for the jackalberry canopy and the large termite mound that rests beside the lounge.
Tents are strung along the water about 20 metres apart, and the choice between them comes down to forest or open river. River View tents keep to the bank in deep forest shade, their covered verandahs facing the park across the channel. River Deck tents occupy a quieter spur, their decks built out over the river’s edge for sunset. Both have an indoor shower and a second one outdoors.
After dark, lions roar from the park across the water.
Evenings begin at the sunken firepit, on a deck suspended over the river, as animals come down to drink on the far bank at sunset. Dinner follows in the open air or under canvas, from locally inspired menus with wine poured alongside. After dark, lions roar from the park across the water. Hyenas whoop between the calls, and Pel’s fishing owl is found on the island itself.
Canoes set off from the island in the middle of the morning, two guests to an inflatable canoe with a guide alongside, and stop on the riverbank for lunch before a game vehicle brings everyone back. Back on the island, the push of current against the banks is audible from the camp. Late afternoon brings the sundowner cruise, with drinks and snacks on board while hippos surface and sink around the boat, and anyone who would sooner hold a rod can fish from the river. More than 400 bird species are recorded in Zambezi National Park, among them the African finfoot, Schalow’s turaco and the African skimmer.
Each day a guide leads a walk across the island, following the paths inland to the baobabs and past the jackalberry and mangosteen trees along the water. Then the boat crosses to the mainland for game drives of around four hours, broken by coffee in the morning or a sundowner in the afternoon. Lions and leopards range through the park, along with giraffes and big herds of elephants and buffalo. Guided walks on the mainland cover the same country on foot, and every drive and walk takes place inside the national park.
Back on the island, the push of current against the banks is audible from the camp.
Victoria Falls is close enough for a day out, and the return transfer is included on stays of three nights or more. Across the border, Chobe National Park in Botswana makes a full day out, reached by road with a border crossing on the way. But the island itself asks for a few nights, long enough for a canoe morning and a drive, a walk among the baobabs, and at least one evening with nothing scheduled beyond the firepit. Children are welcome from 12, though canoeing and walks on the mainland are for 16 and over.
Stretch canvas roofs the lounge, bar and dining areas, and the pioneer styling carries through to white linen and wooden decks. Two pools are set above the Zambezi, and early and late in the day the light comes through the canopy gold and green. Solar power runs most of the camp, and the tents are cooled by freestanding fans. Wi-Fi is limited. With no more than 16 guests on the island at once, the days run slowly, and honeymooners come for exactly that kind of quiet.
accommodation
The camp sleeps up to 16 guests in free-standing tents on wooden decks. River View tents keep to the shaded bank with a covered verandah, while River Deck tents occupy a spur, each with a private deck over the water. Every tent has king or twin beds under mosquito nets, indoor and outdoor showers, a separate toilet and a safe.
activities
On the river: guided canoeing, sundowner cruises and fishing, plus daily guided walks on the island. In Zambezi National Park across the channel, game drives and guided walks cover the mainland. A return transfer to Victoria Falls is included on stays of three nights or more, and Chobe in Botswana is a day trip.
conservation
The camp's owners run a foundation, and guests pay a levy into it with each stay. The foundation and the camp make a monthly contribution to the Zambezi Park Support Foundation, which runs regular anti-poaching patrols in the park alongside Zimbabwe's parks authority, paying for equipment and food rations for the foot rangers. Beyond the park boundary, the foundation backs water and farming projects in neighbouring communities.
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.
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Fly into Victoria Falls International, then go on by road, game vehicle and boat. The road runs about forty minutes to the camp's own entrance to Zambezi National Park, a guide drives you through the park to the river in an open vehicle, and a short boat crossing takes you over to the island. Kasane airport in Botswana, about fifty minutes away by road, works just as well.
Coming from a fly-in camp in Botswana or Hwange, we can arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12, into Victoria Falls or Kasane. The park gates close at six in the evening from March to October and at seven from November to February, so plan to land at Victoria Falls by three. Give us your flights and we will set the transfers around them.
Yes, and all year round. TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, places the Zambezi valley in a malaria risk area throughout the year and recommends antimalarial tablets for it. The CDC, its American counterpart, counts the whole of Zimbabwe as a transmission area and also recommends medicine to prevent malaria. The island lies in the river itself, so it falls inside that zone whatever the month.
We are travel planners, not doctors, so we do not make recommendations about tablets. Whether they are right for you, which ones, and what suits anyone else in your party are questions for your own doctor or a travel clinic, a few weeks before you travel. The practical side is simple: cover arms and legs from late afternoon and keep repellent to hand on the deck.
Guided walks around the island and fishing from it are part of every day, with basic tackle supplied, though not fly-fishing gear. On top of those you choose two outings a day from game drives in Zambezi National Park, guided walks in the park, guided canoeing on the upper Zambezi and sunset cruises on the river. On a walk you never walk alone: a guide leads every one.
The park holds large herds of elephant and buffalo, a resident lion pride, hyena, giraffe and leopard, and elephant and hippo cross onto the island. September and October are the strongest months for fishing, and we can arrange a specialist fishing trip for anyone who wants more.
From the age of twelve. The camp takes no children under twelve and has no childminding, which suits a family with teenagers better than one with young children.
Twelve and over can join the game drives, the island walks, the sundowner cruises, the fishing and the Victoria Falls day, always with a parent or guardian. Canoeing and the walks in Zambezi National Park start at sixteen. Tell us the ages when you enquire and we will plan each day around who can do what.
June to September. The bush has thinned, inland water has dried up and the game comes down to the Zambezi to drink, while the falls downstream still carry plenty of water without the spray hiding them. June and July dawns are properly cold, so bring a jacket for early drives. October is superb for animals at the last of the water, but often above 35 degrees.
From November to March the rains turn the park green, migrant birds arrive from the north and storms roll over the river, a real case for a quieter stay if birds and landscape matter more than big game. April and May bring the falls to full flood, with spray that hides much of the view from the ground.
Yes. A stay of three nights or more includes a day trip to the falls: you leave the island after breakfast, cross by boat, drive through the park and reach the entrance to the falls about twenty-five minutes later by road, and you are collected there at three in the afternoon. In the hottest months the day can start earlier.
We can add a private guide for the rainforest path, a helicopter flight over the falls or lunch above the gorge, all on the same day. Chobe National Park in Botswana also makes a full day out, since the camp lies roughly halfway between Victoria Falls and Kasane. Tell us which of these appeal and we will build them into your stay.
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