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Zambia Safari

The River Club

Livingstone, Zambia

Elephants crossing the Zambezi River
Return to Victoria Falls / Livingstone Hotels, Camps & Lodges

View images of The River Club: River Club Images
View Camp Layout Map of River Club: River Club Map

RIVER CLUB RATES: River Club Rates

THE RIVER CLUB - LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA
The River Club is situated on the Zambian side of the Zambezi River, 18 kilometres upstream from Victoria Falls. It faces westward into the sunset and onto the Zambezi National Park on the opposite side of the river. The River Club is set among the lush riverine vegetation and the camp has a distinct Edwardian flavour. Guests here can enjoy the sights and sounds of Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River in a peaceful and tranquil setting away from the crowds.

Accommodation            For images of The River Club, click River Club Images
Its main area is a well-appointed residence, with a comfortable lounge, large dining room, impressive library and wide veranda on which breakfasts and teas are taken. Lush gardens (where midday meals are often served) spread out beneath the trees and a croquet court is an ideal venue for a Pimm's-soaked croquet game. The pool seems part of the river itself, while a secluded deck with hammocks and loungers provides respite. A wellness centre houses a treatment room for manicures, pedicures, facials and massages as well as a sauna, Jacuzzi and mini gym with electronic exercise equipment.

The River Club also provides a special setting for a wedding away from it all and is an idyllic ending to any African safari.

The River Club - Standard Rooms
There are seven twin bedded rooms. There is one guide/pilot room with two separate rooms and en-suite bathrooms.
• Stanley; Baines; Von Vorbeck; Cornwallis Harris; George; Selous and Edward – which are split level.

The River Camp - Family Room
There is one family room with two single beds and one double bed. It is the furthest room from the main house.
• Litunga – on one level and furthest from the main house – 2 single beds and 1 double bed.

The River Club - Honeymoon Rooms
There are two double bedded honeymoon rooms with private plunge pools.
• Rhodes – on one level (wheelchair friendly), Livingstone – split level although fewer steps than others, 1 Princess Royal Suite – double storey; 2 bedrooms with bathroom en-suite (1x king bed and 2 x single beds which can be converted into a king); situated in a secluded walled private garden with plunge pool and outdoor cooking area. Ground floor comprises of a lounge area, bar, library and an additional bathroom.

• 1 guide accommodation; Kalulu Cottage - with two bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom.

It is possible to close the front of the bathroom with a sliding screen window and the front of the bedroom with a concertina screen door, but please note thateven though these rooms are screened off, there are doors and windows that can be opened to offer uninterrupted views of the river.  This camp can accommodate 26 guests.

Chalet details:
• Magnificent views of the sunset and river.
• Thatched and mostly split-levelled.
• En-suite bathrooms with bath and shower with great views across the river.
• In 7 of the bedrooms, a full bathroom is situated underneath the bedroom and a hand basin, toilet and shower upstairs.
• Ceiling fan, air conditioner (warm/cold), hair dryer and mosquito net.
• Completely open fronted (with the option to close mesh screen doors or windows to fully enclose the room) with a small outside balcony area.
• 1 room is wheelchair-friendly.
• Thick duvets and hot water bottles in winter.
• Soaps, shampoo, body lotion, washing powder (for smalls), insect repellent and torches are supplied in each tent.

Game Viewing
Rich bird life as well as hippo, crocodile, elephant and impala. The MosiRich bird life as well as hippo, crocodile, elephant and impala. The Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is nearby with general game species such as buffalo, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and impala. No big cats.

Activities and Wildlife
The Victoria falls is one of the seven "Wonders of the World" and is arguably the greatest waterfall anywhere. Daily excursions to the Falls are a highlight and boating trips to the Zambezi River's islands provide wonderful activities.

Activities include sundowner cruises, visits to the Victoria Falls, Simonga Village, local markets and Livingstone town. Livingstone is rich in history and certainly worth exploring. It dates back to 1905 when the famous Victoria Falls bridge, spanning the Zambezi River, was completed in April of that year. Many of the town amenities date back to the early 1900s, including the recently renovated 18-hole golf course (1908), the country's first synagogue (1928) and later on its Museum (1953) where many of David Livingstone's personal possessions are on display today.

Also on offer are a variety of adrenaline-loaded activities at extra cost: white water rafting, river surfing, bungi jumping, abseiling, parachuting, microlight and helicopter flights over the Falls, horse riding, clay pigeon shooting and canoeing.

Although The River Club is not a traditional safari camp, elephants can often be seen in the Zambezi National Park opposite and hippo are regularly seen and heard in the river itself. Game drives are also offered into the nearby Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park where there is an abundance of general game species like buffalo, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and impala.

There is rich bird life in the area, including several rarer species such as Schalow's Turaco, African Finfoot, Half-collared Kingfisher, African Skimmer (seasonal), Rock Pratincole (seasonal) and Collared Palm-Thrush. There are leisurely nature trails around the lodge, boat cruises and island walks.

The Zambezi River offers ample fishing opportunities. Tiger fishing is an unforgettable challenge for keen fishermen, particularly during the warmer months. There are several varieties of bream (Tilapia) that are also a good catch. For the more sporting, try catching them on fly!

At extra cost the following can be arranged:
• Specialist birding outing
• Livingstone Island Lunch
• White water rafting
• Helicopter and micro light flight
• River boarding
• Visits to the Zimbabwean side of the Falls
• Abseil/Gorge swing/High wire
• Lunar rainbow trip (March – June at full moon during high water)
• Golf at the Livingstone Royal Golf & Country Club (Pro-shop where clubs can be hired)
• Visits to historical Livingstone town, Livingstone Museum, specialist Jewish tours and the Railway museum
• Clay pigeon shooting
• Quad biking
• Horse riding
• Full-day canoeing
Bungi jumping
Elephant-back safaris
• Chobe Day excursion
• Adrenalin jet boating in the gorge
• Jet boating above the Falls

The Victoria Falls
At 1708 metres wide, Victoria Falls is the most expansive curtain of water in the world and drops more than 100 metres into the sheer Zambezi Gorge. Located in the south-west corner of Zambia, these Falls and the Zambezi River are the central points in an area of spectacular scenic beauty: from the Falls themselves to the broad, picturesque course of the Zambezi River upstream, the rainforest adjacent and the stark jagged gorge downstream, the power and timelessness of nature's forces are evident throughout.

The Tonga and Makalolo peoples lived here for centuries before the Falls were 'discovered' by David Livingstone in 1855. He gave it the highest honour he could think of: naming it after his Queen. Its local name, Mosi-Oa-Tunya - "the Smoke that Thunders" - more accurately defines the essence of the place: the rising, shining spray that can be seen 30km away. This vapour has the effect of adding moisture in the form of humidity to the air in the "splash zone", so that a unique, small rainforest ecosystem clings to the edge of the Falls, providing a toehold for no less than 70 shrub and 150 herbaceous species, as well as trees such as pod and Natal mahogany, ebony, Cape and strangler fig and Transvaal red milkwood. Further away from the constant spray, the surrounding area comprises mopane and teak woodlands with luxuriant riverine forest along the banks of the Zambezi River. The presence of several protected areas in the vicinity, from the Zambezi National Park in Zimbabwe to the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park in Zambia, means that herds of big game such as elephant and buffalo, as well as smaller species and even predators such as lion persist in the area.

As mesmerising as the Falls are, the paths through the rainforest at their edge allow one to catch a glimpse of some of the mammals that live here: bushbuck stare shyly from behind a bush, banded mongoose scurry through the undergrowth, and vervet monkey and baboon flit through the trees; wailing Trumpeter Hornbills sail past in their characteristically undulating flight and the crimson-blazoned wings of the Schalow's Turaco can be seen by patient birders. Interestingly, there is a distinct difference in the fish species above and below the Falls, which clearly form a comprehensive barrier to fish movements upstream: 39 species are recorded from below and 84 above the Falls. Nile crocodile and hippo are common above the Falls.

Vic Falls, as it is affectionately known, straddles the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, and both countries share its World Heritage Site status.

Conservation
Since 2000, Wilderness Safaris and The River Club have been closely involved with nearby Simonga Village. The River Club has carried out a range of projects in the village, which have been funded by the generous donations of River Club guests in conjunction with the Wilderness Safaris Wildlife Trust.

Projects to date have focused particularly on assisting women and children, and now include those that will help the inhabitants in general generate an income and therefore help the entire community. In order of priority, focus areas are sanitation, health, education and income generation. The long association between The River Club and Simonga Village has resulted in an excellent example of how the futures of rural communities and ecotourism ventures are intertwined.

For more details and updates on Simonga Village, see the Trust website: Simonga Village Projects

One of the most innovative ideas yet is the Elephant Chilli Pepper Project, where farmers of Simonga and other villages are being encouraged to plant a chilli patch around their food crops! The chillies are used to prevent elephants destroying food crops (dried chillies mixed with dung produce briquettes to burn at night, mixed with grease or oil this paste is used to grease a "chilli fence") as well as earning the farmer extra cash (chillies are sold at $1 per kg).

This idea, which helps farmers protect their food crops and generate income, is run by the Elephant Pepper Development Trust, which also advises farmers on natural resources conservation and sustainable utilisation of such resources in relation to the management of conflict with wildlife.

Please visit http://www.elephantpepper.org/ for more information.

The Zambia Elephant Pepper Project is part of the Simonga Village Project, funded in part by the Wilderness Safaris Wildlife Trust. Read more: Simonga Village Project


Top           Return to Victoria Falls / Livingstone Hotels, Camps & Lodges           Return to Map of Zambia Camps

For History and General information about Zambia, click More Zambia
For further information about the National Parks of Zambia, click Zam Parks

For further information about the National Parks of Zimbabwe, click Zim Parks
For History and General information about Zimbabwe, click More Zimbabwe


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