Earlier this year we had the opportunity to stay at not one but 2 of the gorgeous houses at Wild Heritage. My husband and I had visited one of the other houses a few years previously, but it was a very quick visit to view the Kariba Dam wall when 4 of the gates were open, so we never got to really enjoy our time at Wild Heritage. I was going to make the most of these opportunities of staying at Wild Heritage, by combining work with pleasure.
Both Kingfisher and Lodge #16 are situated on the sunset side of the peninsular, offering stunning views of Lake Kariba and the sunsets over it. As well as the upstairs lounge area on the decks, they both also have downstairs lounge areas inside the house and beautiful dining areas set up on the veranda overlooking the lake. Both lodges have 4 bedrooms and 2 shared bathrooms: 2 bedrooms upstairs, 2 bedrooms downstairs and a bathroom conveniently located on each level.
The first house we stayed at was Kingfisher Lodge, which is the house closest to the communal pool and braai area. All the houses at Wild Heritage are thatched, and therefore a bit of a fire risk residents and guests are not permitted to have open fires anywhere but at the pool area. When reading the spec sheet before going to Kingfisher Lodge I thought it might be a little disappointing not having your own pool at the lodge and having to use the communal pool, but to be honest, I now think this is ideal. Especially for families, as it takes a weight off your mind if you have little ones and keep worrying about them sneaking into the pool when you are not watching. Because the communal pool is right next door, you can take the kids over whenever you want, bring them back when you are ready and know that if they are playing and you pop upstairs they aren’t going to fall into the pool. Another benefit from a bit of a neat freak’s point of view is the fact you don’t have everyone traipsing water (and mud) in from the pool all day long! And both times I stayed at Wild Heritage, when I did go to the communal pool; I was the only one there as most guests prefer to stay at their own pools.
Lodge #16, on the other hand, has what I think is probably the best private pool at Wild Heritage. A crystal clear infinity pool overlooking the lake, you can literally sit in the pool sipping on a gin and tonic while watching a herd of zebra graze on the lawn in front of you. Normally when the lake levels are up the pool is only about 30 meters from the water. Sadly when we stayed the lake was really low and therefore quite a distance. Although this might not have looked as nice as usual, it had the benefit of ensuring we saw a lot more game, as they walked past on their way down to the water to drink.
Both times we were at Wild Heritage the elephants came to visit. The first time I hadn’t been at Kingfisher long when Richard the caretaker called to warn me that there was a huge elephant making his way over to the lodge. Although we see a lot of elephants in Kariba, it is not often that you see how large they are in comparison to your vehicle! He really dwarfed my car and after snacking on a few branches on a tree nearby he then helped himself to the neighbouring house’s pot plans! Later, he walked around to the front of the lodge and calmly carried on his way.
I got some good writing done while sitting out on the balcony with a cup of coffee, binos and no interruptions. I had hardly finished a cup of coffee on my second trip at #16 Lodge, when I spotted a flock of Ground Hornbills sauntering past. They are one of my favourite birds. We saw so much game when the lake was low that I had to make a note of it all: water-buck, zebra, elephants, buffalo, jackal, impala, warthog, hyena, hippos (of course) and crocodiles. Most memorable, on that stay, was the herd of buffalo we heard and then saw, walking quietly past the bottom of the “garden” while we were eating our dinner out on the verandah.
Both of the caretakers of the lodges, Lazarus and Richard, are very knowledgeable and have been doing the job a long time. Their hours are flexible, but due to the fact this is a wildlife area we made sure to tell them to leave before it got dark. My favourite times were when we would sit out on the verandah to do a spot of bird watching with a nice glass of wine (and our mosquito repellent), while watching the sun set, to be followed by a delicious meal prepared by Richard or Lazarus. And to end it all off, there is nothing better than falling asleep and waking up to the sounds of the night birds calling. Just magical. I feel the urge to head back to Wild Heritage right now!
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