Matetsi Victoria Falls

Matetsi Victoria Falls is a family-owned and family-run safari lodge in the Matetsi Private Game Reserve, a reserve of 136,000 acres, about 55,000 hectares, with close to 10 miles of frontage on the Zambezi River upstream of Victoria Falls town. Stays come in three forms: one-bedroom suites, two-bedroom family suites and Matetsi River House, a private villa with four bedrooms. The suites are air-conditioned, private plunge pools run through the property, and the interiors draw on local artistry and design. Days are spent on guided game drives, night drives among them, walking safaris, birdwatching, fishing and boat trips on the Zambezi at sunrise and sunset, with elephant and buffalo among the wildlife, and excursions run to the Falls themselves. In the evenings safari stories are told around a traditional boma barbecue, and there are dining spaces indoors and out. For rest there is a massage sala, a fitness studio and a 20-metre lap pool looking over the river, and Virtuoso also lists a spa, a library and a children's programme, with the Matetsi Cub activities for younger guests. Victoria Falls International Airport is the usual arrival point, and Livingstone in Zambia and Kasane in Botswana can also be reached by road across the border.