Matetsi Victoria Falls | Luxury safari lodge

We're currently slap bang in the middle of the Zambezi's low water season, which means only one thing to adrenaline junkies: perfect conditions for white water rafting!⁠ ⁠ 📸: @thetravelcoach_⁠

Angel's-eye view ✨⁠ ⁠ 🎥: @leonid_nepyshny

“You might say there are too many elephants. I would say there is too little land.” – Sara Gardiner, Co-founder of Matetsi Victoria Falls⁠ ⁠ The wildlife and landscape of the 136,000-acre Matetsi Private Game Reserve is protected 24/7 by an in-house team of anti-poaching scouts, supported by a highly-trained canine unit. This part of our conservation strategy was recently covered by the Sydney Morning Herald in an article which you can read below:⁠ ⁠ ‘Not for the faint-hearted’: The Melburnian staring down wildlife poachers in Africa – https://bit.ly/3DSQfy6⁠ ⁠ With thanks to Adam Shand

For those of you fortunate enough to have seen a newborn elephant calf in the wild, you will know just how impossibly delightful they are; all wobbly legs and ungainly trunks, trotting through the savanna, full of curiosity and bravado! Thanks to guest @resnickelyse for sharing her sighting of this little sweetheart strolling at sunrise with its doting mother 🥰

Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2022 🏆 Top 20 Resorts – Rest of Africa 🏆 Exceptional African art and design, a sweeping landscape teeming with wildlife and the awesome majesty of the mighty Zambezi rushing headlong towards Victoria Falls… these are just some of the things that define our idyllic luxury safari lodge. But above all, #MatetsiMagic is expressed in the warmth and hospitality of our team; the kind, hard-working Zimbabweans who bring this astounding wilderness to life for our guests. It is their tireless dedication to ensuring that each guest experiences all the wonders of Matetsi that captures the hearts of our visitors and inspires a longing to return. Their love for Africa and their work is recognised in accolades like being named no. 13 Resort in the rest of Africa by readers of Condé Nast Traveler this year – high praise indeed for an independent, family-owned and -operated lodge working to safeguard one of Africa’s last remaining wild spaces for generations to come. See the list of winners in full here: https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/africa-top-resorts/amp

Condé Nast Traveler have just released their rundown of the best hotels and resorts in the world for 2022 and we are ecstatic to have been listed among the 🏆 Top 20 Resorts 🏆 in the rest of Africa by the magazine’s readers. Nearly a quarter of a million travellers completed the online survey; a clear indicator that the global appetite for adventure and discovery has never been higher. Our heartfelt thanks to @cntraveler and its readers for placing Matetsi Victoria Falls at #13 in a compelling list of African properties that capture the soul-stirring wonder of our extraordinary continent. We are honoured to appear alongside them and to be sharing #MatetsiMagic with the remarkable people exploring our very special corner of the world. See the full list here: https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/africa-top-resorts/amp

Dream team Thabo and Pilate set up a special sundowner in the bush for their guests – a classic safari moment on the evening game drive!⁠ ⁠ 📸: @resnickelyse

Matetsi Private Nature Reserve is full of little reminders of the quirks and wonder of nature. For example, lions are the exact colour of the long, dry grass in which they hunt (and their fur may be lighter or darker depending on their habitat), which makes them extremely difficult to spot when scanning the savanna!⁠ ⁠ Watch our Stories today to see this big cat camouflage in action.

“When I came to Matetsi, all I saw was one trembling impala. There was nothing. Total devastation.”⁠ ⁠ John Gardiner, owner of Matetsi Victoria Falls, charts the story of the landscape’s rewilding, and the critical role that anti-poaching operations are playing in keeping Matetsi Private Game Reserve safe from poachers, in a recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald. ⁠ ⁠ Read the article in full at the link in our bio.

Okay, ladies, now let’s get in formation ⁠🦒 ⁠ 🎥: @citizenjonestravel

Another astonishing wildlife sighting this week: a family of five African wild dogs (including a handful of pups!) were seen finishing off an impala kill during a morning game drive. With less than 7,000 remaining in the wild, we consider it an extraordinary privilege, and evidence of the tireless efforts of our conservation team, that we can enjoy sightings of this endangered species at Matetsi Private Game Reserve.

The exquisitely-designed riverfront suites and recreational areas at Matetsi Victoria Falls evoke the tranquility of their distinctly African setting. Polished earth finishes, lustrous hand-beaten local copper detailing and the rich colours of the landscape sit alongside work by acclaimed Zimbabwean artists to echo the theme of "Life on the River".⁠ ⁠ Discover Matetsi Victoria Falls now: https://matetsivictoriafalls.com/stay/⁠ ⁠ Original content: @ash__chin