Savute Elephant Lodge, A Belmond Safari, Botswana

Savute Elephant Lodge sits in the Savute region of Chobe National Park, on the edge of the Savute Channel — a waterway that ran dry for thirty years and is now flowing again past the camp. The twelve tented rooms stand on raised wooden platforms under thatch roofs, each with a private deck furnished with a large daybed and armchairs. En-suite bathrooms include an outdoor shower, and a complimentary minibar stocked in the room.

Game drives go out in the early morning and late afternoon. The lodge also runs a watering-hole hide where elephant, hyena, and leopard come to drink. Guided walks take you to a collection of San Bushman rock paintings on stony outcrops in the surrounding bush — images of elephant, giraffe, sable, and eland thought to be more than fifteen hundred years old. Bird watching draws two audiences here: the dry-land species that were always present, and the aquatic birds that returned when the channel began flowing again.

Evening meals rotate between the raised restaurant overlooking the channel and the boma, a circular log enclosure where a staff choir sings traditional songs and a buffet of African dishes is served around a fire. The lodge runs on a solar grid system with low-energy heat pumps; bamboo decking is used throughout. A spa tent at the edge of the camp offers treatments drawn from traditional African practices.

The nearest major town is Kasane, the gateway into Chobe National Park from the north.