Mutemwa Lodge

As you awake you become aware of an environment that seems to welcome your presence. The teak floorboards creak as you step down from your comfortable bed, the canvas of your luxury tent lightly resists an early breeze, and the river murmurs from just beyond your balcony.

Even though the sun has just touched the tops of the trees you are already a latecomer to the river. Birds such as Schalow's lourie, the African jacana, the giant, pied and malachite kingfishers and the African skimmers have been about their business for hours. The river beckons. There is no time to waste.

If you are looking for a getaway to somewhere remote and totally uncommercialised, Mutemwa Lodge in Barotseland, Zambia is the place to go. Mutemwa, the Lozi name for 'Place of the Big Trees' is built on the banks of the mighty Zambezi River.

The lodge is situated 50 kilometres into Zambia from Katima Mulilo, which is on the north-eastern border of the Caprivi Strip and approximately 200 km upriver from Victoria Falls.

The river will astound and relax you. Hippos mimic rocks on its flat expanses, and an ever-increasing array of birds swoop, dive and skim above its sinuous surface. The lodge caters for 12 guests in luxury tents built up on wooden decks. Each tent has a patio with a breathtaking private view of the magnificent Zambezi river. The tents all have en-suite bathrooms.

The lodge itself is built of thatch, with a lovely pub and boma for lots of fun and good eating around the campfire each evening.

The dining room provides good shelter for occasions when breakfast and lunch can't be served around the pool, or one can dine on the deck overlooking the river.

Guests can also relax in a comfortable lounge set in absolute tranquillity beneath the magnificent trees.