Savute Elephant Lodge looks out over the Savute Channel in the Chobe National Park, a stretch of northern Botswana known for its elephants. The channel has a history of drying and flowing again over the decades, but a permanent waterhole directly in front of the lodge means there is game to watch from the deck at almost any hour. There are only 12 tented rooms, each raised on a bamboo platform with a private deck facing the channel, a four-poster bed and a full bathroom; materials and colours are drawn from the surrounding bush. Meals and drinks are included, and the day is built around at least two game activities. Between drives there is a lookout hide over the waterhole and a spa tent. The hills near the lodge carry rock paintings left by San hunter-gatherers more than 2,000 years ago, and the guides bring that older history into the drives. The lodge has its own airstrip and helipad, which makes it a natural stop on a flying safari between the Okavango Delta and Chobe.
- Rooms
- 12 tented rooms
Insider tip Use the hide over the waterhole between drives; because the water in front of the lodge is permanent, there is usually something to watch even in the heat of the day.
Why I choose it A small, well-run camp in one of the strongest elephant areas in Africa, with an airstrip that makes it easy to combine with the Delta.