Spurwing Island Lodge

Proclaimed a non-hunting zone in 1958 before Lake Kariba was dammed, the land around Spurwing Island became a game reserve in 1963 and a national park in 1975. The lake's rise reshaped the shoreline, and the grass that now grows along its edge feeds buffalo, waterbuck, zebra and impala, and with them the lions and leopard that follow. The island itself sits inside the resulting park, reachable only by water, with the Sanyati Gorge cutting into the Matusadona mountains directly opposite. Seven room styles are spread across the island, from canvas-sided Classic Tents sleeping four to the private two-bedroom Sekuru Lodge with its own splash pool. Hungwe House, set among trees, takes up to eight guests for family groups. Verandas across the property face the lake and mountains. Game viewing runs by vehicle, on foot with a guide, or by boat along the shoreline, where elephants come down to drink and dead trees host roosting birds. Half-day fishing trips go out for tiger fish and bream, with tackle and a coxswain supplied. The dining room stays open to the breeze. It is not a grand build, and does not try to be. Over four hundred bird species have been recorded in the park, and sightings of lion, leopard and hippo are routine rather than rare.