Ntwala Island Lodge

Overview

Location: Victoria Falls–>Chobe
Accommodation Type: Lodge
Comfort Level: Luxury

Good For: Solo, Couple/Romantic, Family |

Just 70 kilometres upstream of the Victoria Falls, the Mambova rapids form at the confluence of the Zambezi and Chobe Rivers. Within the rapids lies a cluster of tropical islands with white sands, palm trees and a startlingly rich biodiversity. Ntwala Island Lodge is located on these islands, which are linked by an intricate system of floating walkways.

Ntwala is an exclusive and intimate luxury lodge set in a pristine and secluded Chobe haven. The carefully selected local staff offers guests impeccable personalised service and attention, privacy, superb cuisine, and unrivalled comfort. Ntwala’s low impact tourism policy ensures a holistic African safari experience.

Accommodation

The intimate Ntwala Island Lodge offers just four luxurious suites, all with private river frontage. The suites are sited to ensure complete seclusion and privacy. The spacious units have large sliding doors, which open to the bush and the rapids. Each suite offers an enormous en-suite bathroom, with indoor and outdoor showers and a large stone bathtub in an atrium. The well-appointed bedrooms open onto expansive timber decks and a sand-fringed personal plunge pool. A private sala and swing chairs extend over the river – a perfect location for lazily whiling away the time between activities. Each suite has a boat and guide, which offers guests individual choice, flexibility and privacy.

Two simpler rooms are available for accompanying guides or staff.

Wildlife

Chobe National Park offers abundant and diverse wildlife. It is home to the largest concentration of elephant in Africa. During the dry season large herds of both elephant and buffalo congregate along the fertile flood plains of the Chobe River. The park is home to the Big Five, along with wild dogs, cheetahs, hippos and crocodiles. Magnificent sightings of puku, sable, giraffe and roan antelope, as well as the rare aquatic Red Lechwe and the indigenous Chobe Bushbuck, are frequent.

The area is rich in birdlife, offering over 450 species. The backwaters, channels and grasslands of the floodplains offer a huge diversity of wetland birds, including herons, storks, ibis, wildfowl and crakes. For the serious birder, there are many rare species, including Olive woodpeckers, Schalow’s turacos, Emerald cuckoos, River warblers, Half-collared kingfisher, Rock pratincoles, Pel’s fishing owls, Pygmy geese, and African skimmers.

More Info

Visas

• Please check the visa requirements before your visit.

Children

• Children over the age of 12 are welcome at the lodge, but are required to be under the care of an adult at all times as the lodge is in an unfenced wildlife area.

Directions

• BY AIR:

• A direct charter onto Impalila Island is available.

• Private charters must obtain authority to land and take off in Namibian territory (either Mpacha or Impalila depending on destination) from the DCA in Windhoek – Tel +264(61) 23 4100 Fax: +264(61)23 6649

• Daily commercial flights to Victoria Falls or Livingstone with British Airways or SAA are available.

• BY ROAD:

• Guests can drive from Johannesburg through Botswana to Kasane on a tarred road, for collection by boat from Kasane Immigration (Chobe river).

• Visitors driving through Botswana must also provide proof of third party insurance from within the Southern African Customs Union or third party insurance can be purchased at the Botswana border control.

• All foreign vehicles are subject to a road safety levy upon entry Namibian road tax needs to be paid when entering Namibia.