Shearwater Explorers Village

Set 400 metres from Victoria Falls in indigenous vegetation, Shearwater Explorers Village is a 96-room lodge on the edge of the town in Zimbabwe. The property has 54 deluxe rooms and 42 standard rooms, plus serviced dome tents and sites for independent camping. Deluxe rooms occupy chalets fitted with twin or king beds, air conditioning, mosquito nets, an en-suite bathroom with shower and bath, a safe, tea and coffee facilities, USB charging points, and an outdoor patio with a small garden in front. Standard rooms hold the same equipment in a smaller footprint without the garden. Each serviced tent is a dome fitted with twin stretcher beds, fresh linen, a bedside table with lamp and power point, and a kettle; guests share separate washrooms and a communal kitchen. Independent campers pitch their own equipment and use the same shared facilities.

The open-air restaurant seats two hundred beside the outdoor swimming pool. Breakfast is a buffet spread with seasonal fruit, yogurt, cereals, croissants, muffins, and cooked dishes made to order. The lunch and dinner menus include Zimbabwean sadza with peanut butter spinach, crocodile stir-fry, braaied impala, river bream, peri-peri chicken wings, salads, wraps, and vegetarian curries. The bar serves signature cocktails, wine, and soft drinks throughout the day. You can hear the falls from the grounds. Daily housekeeping, laundry service, and wireless internet are complimentary. The lodge has an activity desk that arranges helicopter flights over the falls, sunset river cruises on the Zambezi, white-water rafting, bungee jumping from Victoria Falls Bridge, and guided game drives in Zambezi National Park.