I had never been to Fothergill before, when it was previously operating, so I had no preconceptions. I gather it was a lot more rustic before, but it is now a high end lodge, exclusive and suitable for the international market, pity it wasn’t yet complete when Paris Hilton made her recent trip to Zimbabwe.
We were met by the ever smiling Dean, with nice cool face clothes and an ice cold welcome drink, before being shown to around the lodge. The main entertainment area is actually made up of not 1 or 2 areas, but 4 sections you can relax in, including the beautiful pool which overlooks the lake. Fothergill is charged out at an all-inclusive rate, which covers all of your activities, whether that’s game drives, walks, archery or fishing, they even provide all your fishing rods and bait! I think the men in our party were salivating over the equipment that they have, all top of the range, very neatly organised and well looked after. They even have branded golf buggies which can be used to bring guests up from the Island Suites if need be. Guests not coming to Fothergill Island, but using the airstrip are accommodated in a lovely little room adjacent to the airstrip, with a nice toilet and complimentary cold water while they wait for their respective lodges to collect them.
There are technically 3 different chalet sections. The first is the more intimate Island Suite Section – which is made up of 3 suites which have their own entertainment area and are located on the far left of the island away from the other suites. Then there are the 3 Bush Suites – which although overlooking the lake, are located in amongst the mopani trees and bush. Finally there are 4 Lake View Suites to the right of the island which have a more frontal view of the lake. I was sharing a lake view family suite with Heidi, we absolutely loved our room. Each room has a tea and coffee station with rusks and Dean’s roasted mixed nuts, a mini bar and their very own splash pool out on the front deck.
After a complete walk around the grounds we had all worked up an appetite and Dean didn’t disappoint with his cold buffet which was served on a deck off the main entertainment area. Something special about the lodge was that each of our meals was served in a different location, so we felt we really got a good feel of the lodge. After lunch we were free to either lounge by the pool or go back and relax by our own splash pools until the afternoon activity.
We were soon introduced to professional guide Dave, who has an interesting history with Fothergill Island in that he did his apprentice/training on it back in his youth – talk about coming full circle! Dave is extremely knowledgeable and we had a wonderful game drive, which ended with sundowners and champagne overlooking the lake – gosh what a stunning spot!
The organiser of the trip, Robyn, is known for her fun nature and she had asked that we all have a bit of a fancy dress ready for our first dinner, with the theme being ‘Dress Up/Dress Down.’ It was great to see everyone make an effort,a fun evening was had by all.
The following morning everyone was up early, for their activity which on this day was either a game walk or drive. Robyn is a keen runner and she chose to do a 7km run along the foot path which runs around the grounds and makes for a nice jogging circuit for avid exercise enthusiasts, or for those with kids as a “nature walk.” A group of us were with learner guide Lionel on a game drive and we had a nice long drive and learnt a lot. The icing on the cake was the surprise breakfast in the bush Lionel had managed to keep under wraps from us – what a gorgeous setting and again, the most divine meal prepared by Dean IN the bush!
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