A stay at Matobo Hills Lodge – it rocks!

By Rosemary Masukume

One afternoon in the middle of November we drove out of Bulawayo town towards Matobo Hills Lodge in Matopos National Park. It was a very warm day and it was almost as if we could hear the grassland and vegetation desperate cry for rain. It has been hot days and delayed rains but the smile and warm welcome of Focus when we arrived at the entrance of Matobo Hills Lodge made us look forward to an evening filled with discovery and comfort.

At the reception area of the Lodge is the check in point and in the corner is a craft shop where baskets made by the local community are sold (the Lodge does not make a profit off this!) together with shirts for the visitor who would like to take a souvenir back home.

As we walked to the bar area past the restaurant, it was refreshing to come across the pool area where one can refresh or lie on a day bed in the African sun and get a tan, before we were met by Onius who welcomed us with cold glasses of water.

We sat with him and he spoke to us about the culture and history of the place we were in, and his experience of working at the Lodge as assistant manager. It was good to share laughs here and there and get to know more about Matobo Hills Lodge. The bar area has drinks for sale and very comfortable chairs to sit on whilst catching up with the outside world on social media as this is where the Wifi is accessible from.

We left afterwards to have a look at our room, one of the 4 double rooms available. In addition to these double rooms are the 3 family rooms and 11 twin rooms which complete the Lodge.

I enjoyed our room, my feet were longing to get out of the shoes and if felt so good to step on the soft carpet. Our room like all the others was ensuite with tub and shower. We had a tea and coffee station which was convenient and lastly a ceiling fan which was much needed on that day.

Other pleasures in the room include charging ports, a dressing table for the ladies and a wardrobe which helps much for a long stay.

Then we had a chance to meet Blessing who is in management as well and Tatenda who has SO MUCH energy. It was as if he was made of ice, because the way he went about his duties showed that the heat did not bother him. We also met Bheki who is one of the resident guides and we saw his passion and drive, as well as hope to be a fully licensed professional guide one day. Unfortunately we didn’t meet the other guide by the name Zulu, as he was away.

Before we knew it, it was evening, time went by so fast whilst we were having a good chat with Blessing and soon it was dinner time.

We were given a table for two (guests sit at the meal tables with those they have been traveling with) and were treated to a great starter which was a sweet corn soup with freshly baked bread -yummy! My husband Tinashe does not like soup much but he really enjoyed this one. The main course was a choice between tilapia or pork, with rice, vegetables and a salad of your choice. I went for the tilapia and Tinashe went for the pork, the meal was good, we thoroughly enjoyed that. Dessert was a very sweet and delicious brownie with fudge, fresh cream and blueberries.

After dinner it was time to rest and so we left for our room. On our way to room 6 we came across cliff springers which was a wonder for both of us as we had never seen any before. We went to bed that night feeling satisfied and content about the day.

A typical day for a guest staying at Matobo Hills Lodge would be breakfast, optional activity which can either be game drive, a visit to the Silozwane caves to see the paintings combined with Rhodes grave or a hike on the Matobo Hills property. You are then back in time for lunch, a short siesta and then it is time to go out once again for an activity, before heading back to the Lodge again for freshening up before dinner. The choice is up to the guest really as some can just wish to book a stay with no activities included and make use of family time or to unwind.

Matobo Hills Lodge is the ideal place for weddings as well as for conferences or team building exercises, for companies that want to give their employees a break and learn whilst enjoying the outdoors.

We could only stay one night, so we left the next morning, which was sad as we had a good time. We would definitely advice staying more than one night at Matobo Hills Lodge! Thank you to Josh Elliot and his team for an amazing time at the Lodge and we look forward to visiting again.

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Images © The Safari Source