Victoria Falls Insider Tip 1 – The Elephant Camp

By Rosemary Masukume

If you are wondering where to stay when visiting The Victoria Falls, we went on a field trip to Victoria Falls in June – and brought back some great insider tips from our camp and lodge visits! In this blog post series we take you to three Victoria Falls accommodations which are highly recommended!

— TIP # 1: THE ELEPHANT CAMP—

After having been to Mana Pools the previous week, we were back on the road again! This time going up north of Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls. We were looking forward to see three lodges this time: The Elephant Camp, the recently built Old Drift Lodge and the Africa Albida Properties!

It was a lovely, but chilly June morning when we drove out of Victoria Falls town to see The Elephant Camp. On the way, we met our colleagues Luke and Suzanne Brown from Vayeni, and then we headed to the camp. We were all excited to get a feel of the new developments at the camp.

After the 10 minutes’ drive out of town, we arrived and were welcomed by Tendo (one of the managers) and thereafter Ashley and Janine. Tendo took us around with the first place we saw being the main area. What lovely furnishings! The view is absolutely stunning, and I can only imagine what this place looks like in the greener months. In the distance we could see the spray of The Victoria Falls, and one thing I appreciate about this place is that the camp is situated far enough away from the noise of the helicopters buzzing around the Falls. The main area is definitely a great place to sit and relax after a morning of activities, and just let the serenity of the place sink in. As it will probably be your home for a few nights (hopefully not just one night!), it is important to make the most of it!

Tendo took us through the facts and details, and to our pleasant surprise we learned that there is now an additional west wing of The Elephant Camp. This separate part of the camp goes by the name “Elephant Camp West” and specifically caters for families. Taking families up to four in one room, this camp has four tents, meaning the full west camp has 16 guests only. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see this part of The Elephant Camp because they were fully booked, but at least we got an idea from the descriptions Tendo gave us. Below are some of the camp’s own images from the west wing, to give you an impression as well:

Back in the main part of The Elephant Camp – the rooms are reasonably sized with each room having a plunge pool, a mini bar and an electric safe. Included in the stay is a same day laundry service and of course the lovely range of activities such as the three-night value add: Staying 3 nights comes with a free canopy tour, zipline and sunset cruise.

A highlight when staying at The Elephant Camp is most certainly the interaction with the Wild Horizons’ elephants. Guests can spend time with the orphaned elephants in their natural environment; the bush. Professional elephant keepers share their knowledge about these elephants, which they have spent the last years with. Guests learn about their behaviour and their history, the work of the elephant sanctuary and the situation of elephants in the country in general. A very interesting and unique opportunity not to miss out on!

The visit at The Elephant Camp came to an end and we were treated to some lovely refreshments before we were on our way to Old Drift Lodge.

Read part 2 of this blog post series to learn about the next Victoria Falls recommendation; the Old Drift Lodge!

Images © The Safari Source, except the four images from The Elephant Camp West; © The Elephant Camp.