Victoria Falls, Zambia

Insider’s Review of Sindabezi Island

Set on its own island on the beautifully braided banks of the Zambezi River, Sindabezi is an intimate and quietly luxurious little camp with a front-row seat on the great river as it approaches its star turn performance: a bravura 355-foot vertical leap we call Victoria Falls, a sight David Livingstone, the first Westerner to see it, famously called “so lovely it must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.”

Sindabezi is delightfully available for exclusive use—meaning the entire camp can be reserved for private groups of friends, family, wedding parties (the Honeymoon Chalet beckons) and you-name-it.

Accommodations at
Sindabezi Island

The camp’s five chalets—each in their own secluded island nook—are set on stilted wooden desks looking out at the Zambezi (so often called the Mighty Zambezi, for good reason; it’s a river rich in personality and verve). Animals, including wonderfully wallowing hippos and lordly elephants, come to water on the riverbanks as we sip morning tea or pre-dinner cocktails on the chalets’ decks. All the chalets are solar-powered, as Sindabezi has its own electrical grid (Forbes ranks it in Africa’s top ten eco-lodges). The double-occupancy chalets are linked by lantern-lit wooden walkways to the common area’s homey lounge and dining area (though you might want the Island’s ace chef to prepare a private dinner on your chalet’s deck).

In short, Sindabezi is a classical safari camp, luxurious and thoughtful, but deeply engaged with its superb island setting, a place of deep repose and far-awayness, punctuated by the many excitements unique to Africa

Amenities

Activities and Attractions at Sindabezi Island

Victoria Falls is the centerpiece of the Sindabezi Island experience, of course. In times of maximum flow its great cloud of mist rises just downstream from the island, reminding us of the Falls’ immensity. And when the flow is less tumultuous you might want to take a dip in Devil’s Pool, where you can quite safely and exhilaratingly lounge while the Zambezi begins its epic plunge, inches away. Guided by our Micato Safari Director, we explore the Falls on misty walks, both on the Zambian side and, crossing a bridge, on the equally dramatic Zimbabwean side (capped off, perhaps, with high tea at the colonial-era Victoria Falls Hotel).

Helicopter flights over the Falls put us in the exalted company of David Livingstone’s angels, and jet-boat excursions on the Zambezi, or more leisurely afternoon and dinner boat rides along its banks, are deeply memorable. But there’s more to Sindabezi than the world’s most tremendous cataract. Micato’s safari experts and your Safari Director will discuss a wide range of activities: day trips to Botswana’s game-rich Chobe National Park; visits to traditional Simonga village; cheery elephant interactions; dinner excursions on the Royal Livingstone Express train; fishing; classic game drives in two of Zambia’s marvelous national parks; and, for the extra-adventurous, white water rafting and microlight flights over the Falls.

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