Zambezi River

TONGABEZI

ZAMBIA

A charming lodge on the Zambezi River

The roots of this lodge run deep beneath the banks of the great Zambezi River, 15km upstream from the roar of the Victoria Falls. Almost 28 years since it opened, Tongabezi has grown organically, unhindered by corporate conventions. Its owners, Ben and Vanessa Parker, have lived and breathed this stretch of river since they married on nearby Sindabezi island in 1994. Their home is Tangala, a warm, thatched family house adjacent to the lodge, and Vanessa runs neighbouring Tongabezi Trust School. Right from the start, the couple set out to employ locals and empower them in pivotal roles. The result is one of the happiest places to stay in all of Africa. There are no straight lines at Tongabezi, or at its African-fairy-tale sister camp on Sindabezi island. The original five waterfront cottages are curvaceous beauties, and the more substantial houses are built freeform, incorporating gnarly trees along the way. Most were entirely open to the elements, but glass-and-wood concertina doors have been added to all but the Tree House to placate those less enamoured with scuttling critters. The Zambezi, which flows from Angola to the Indian Ocean, is one of the continent’s most sensational arteries; it has transported British explorers and Arab traders in dugout canoes, and sustained great numbers of Nile crocodiles and pods of grunting hippos for centuries. It, too, is the ever-flowing lifeblood of Tongabezi; the fecund, muddy smell of it, the joyful sound of splashing elephants, the call of lions coming down to drink at nightfall, and the sight of ever-patient fish eagles scouting for catfish. The whole of Africa is here on your doorstep; all that’s left to do is soak it right up.