Eminently Eve
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- Introduction
- Contact details & charges
- Directions & Arrival
- Only thing that didn’t really go smoothly is
- The room/chalet
- The meals
- The animals
- Conclusion
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Introduction
I am not even going to waste any of your time ladies and gentlemen, this place called Pamuzinda Safari Lodge is the real definition of ‘par excellence’. I was completely blown away by just how beautiful it is. The strikingly cozy accommodation they offer and the admirable, warm relationship they have with their rescued animals will keep you hooked. They delivered way beyond my expectations… Loved it!
Okay, let’s start from the beginning!
Contact details, charges & how we ended up here
My hubby and I’s anniversary date was fast approaching and we weren’t sure of how or where we were going to spend it. I wanted to surprise him with a holiday somewhere but a lot of things started coming up. So I just thought of postponing my plans to a future date.
A day before the anniversary date though, my husband announced that he was going to book us somewhere to celebrate. Say the word “travel” to me and watch me turn into a 10 year old from excitement. Our first attempt, which obviously failed was to another Game Park which I’m dying to visit one of these days. The moment the people from this Game Park said these 2 words dreaded by any traveller, “fully booked”, I could feel my heart cracking a bit. The excitement of going somewhere had already built up. No way were we going to spend that day or night at home….
With the next call to Pamuzinda Safari Lodge on (+263)772573022, that first failed attempt quickly turned into a blessing in disguise. I kid you not, just from talking to the lady who picked our call, I already felt like I was on holiday. The lady was super nice, super helpful. We managed to make our booking right away. To add to the excitement, after being told about their charges, we then realized that we were going to be able to save $40USD. Their prices had significantly dropped. (You remember one of my budget travel tips where I advise you to travel off season & off weekends? You always get some good discounts just from that. Check out all 16 tips here and here). Anyway, the total then came to $198 for the 2 of us. Please read this next part slowly – $198 per couple inclusive of BED, BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER AND one ACTIVITY. I mean… it doesn’t get better than that :). They have quite number of options including day visiting packages so do give them a call after reading this.
Directions & Arrival
The second great thing about this place is the fact that it is located just 87.1km from Harare CBD. So within an hour we had already arrived. From Harare, you take Bulawayo road, past Norton and once you pass through a small town called Selous, you just watch out for their sign posts which are quite prominent. These signs will lead you right to their door step.
On our arrival, everybody was extremely kind, polite and helpful. One thing that made me so sure that we had made the best decision ever was when my eyes landed on the cutest small impala bachelor herd right next to the reception area. They were so charming, casually moving around the lawn grazing on it. What a beautiful sight to be greeted by.
Only thing that didn’t really go smoothly is:
After enjoying looking at the impalas for a while we were then taken around to see the restaurant and pool area. Everything I was seeing was absolutely fantastic. At this point though I was now really tired. I had been driving for a bit and so I needed to get into our chalet, freshen up and relax. Surprisingly, we were told to wait until after lunch. Lunch was in 2hours time. I don’t know if they always do this or if we got there too early and maybe their check-in time is 1pm. It could also have been a misunderstanding and a communication breakdown on our part though because it’s quite unusual. When we politely insisted around 1230hrs, we were finally taken to our chalet.
The room/chalet
One thing about Pamuzinda Safari Lodge for sure is they are set up in a way that keeps you in high spirits no matter the hick ups you might have faced. The rooms are spectacularly clean with such a sweet, cozy smell. They have the perfect balance between an African and a Western touch. Thatched roof is always my go-to kind of accommodation in the bush. It keeps the room cool when it’s hot and warm when it’s cold. The modern couch and ceramic tiles (which are perfect for comfort by the way) would normally dilute the bush vibe BUT the balcony with sliding glass doors immediately brings the bush vibe right back. So the way they balanced comfort and bush feel is quite genius. The balcony is also perfect for a morning cup of tea or coffee before starting your day. Each chalet also has a neatly kept private garden which is perfect for some early morning sunbathing. The “personal touch” was completed by us finding a personalized letter from the General Manager welcoming us to Pamuzinda and outlining what’s on offer as well as housekeeping information.
The bed is a double one and very comfortable. The outstanding customer service also showed when we came back late from our game drive and found the curtains closed, lights on and the extra pillows on the bed removed. The bed had also been turned down for us. Everything was just made ready for us to simply take a shower, go for dinner and jump into bed. They really provided us with royal treatment. Had you called me Eve during my stay at this lodge I would have definitely asked you, “Eve who?? Did you mean – Queen Eve” …hahaha. The little things definitely do go a long way.
The bathroom was one of those kinds of bathrooms you feel you can even eat from. It was as clean as the rest of the chalet was. It has a shower space, toilet, sink, neatly woven bin basket & a clothing basket both made out of reeds. They also provide you with drying towels, shampoo, insect repellent, soap and good quality toilet paper. The water was perfectly hot throughout our stay. Something I’m always on the look out for and weary from finding quite a few places that fall short in this vital area.
The meals
Food is not really at the top of my list in general but I know some of you “wouldn’t be able to think well, love well, sleep well, if you have not dined well” lol words by Virginia Woolf. So I’ll just cut to the chase and tell you for a fact that their meals are divine. Their menu includes even sea food so I’m sure ‘foodies’ will have a great time in their superb restaurant. They also have a bar section which looked packed with a variety of drinks but again we don’t drink so we didn’t try out anything in that section. Their meals are served right on time. Lunch time starts from 1pm to 2pm. Dinner is served between 7pm and 9pm and breakfast at 7am to 9am.
The animals
Before we go any further, you need to join me in taking a moment of silence just to appreciate the amazing work the Pamuzinda team is doing with their rescued animals. Imagine just casually strolling around the reception area then Boom! Comes a whole giraffe. I was literally shocked. For a moment I thought it had got lost or something, only to realize that I’m the only one who was under the impression that something was odd about that whole scene. Two other young guys even came and started communicating with it and it literally started responding. Just Wow!
Pamuzinda Safari Lodge is definitely wildlife conservation oriented. Respect!
From there, we went to the restaurant and again out of nowhere the cutest baby elephant appears, just browsing on a tree on an island in the river. I just stood there dumbfounded and very impressed. The elephant was also one of the rescued animals and just like all their rescued animals, when they are old enough they release them back into the wild. The lady explained to us that there were 4 other elephants which they had just moved to Matobo or Kariba (if I’m not mistaken) as they were now ready to try the wild life again.
Don’t even think for a second the animal surprises stopped, because it didn’t. It continued into the morning of the following day. I was sitting having my yummy breakfast when I saw people looking behind me in awe. I quickly turned around and what do I see… a warthog headed towards me. Hahaha! I tell you, this place is magic. I was a little bit nervous though wondering why it had chosen to come to me of all the people that were in the restaurant. Luckily, my husband is good with animals so he calmed me down and it all went great. The warthog went under our table, stayed around with us for a bit then headed towards the exit. We later found him outside on the lawn after our breakfast. He is such an adorable pig (his name is Rocky 🙂
Other animals that we saw during the game drive include, wildebeest, jackals, common duiker, eland, giraffe, impala and lions. That was my first time seeing jackals by the way, so I was really chuffed. We chatted about a lot of wildlife stuff with our tour guide especially about birds. It was like bumping into a friend whom we hadn’t seen in a long time and trying to catch up in a short amount of time lol. Some of the birds we saw included the glossy starling, grey lourie, fork-tailed drongo and the white-browed sparrow-weavers. He had so many fascinating facts to tell us about them. By the time we got back it was late and we were all smiles. What an absolutely awesome way to spend anniversary day…
Conclusion
In conclusion, I can only tell you that, even though I tried to capture the beauty of this place as best as I could, my pics still do not do it justice. The feeling that the place gives you can never be well expressed in words. You need to find your way there one of these days. You will love it 🙂
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Remember to always have a little intimacy in your life and as always I’m talking, intimacy with nature
