Savute Safari Lodge
Savute Safari Lodge is a very comfortable lodge overlooking the Savute Channel in the Savute Marsh region of Chobe National Park.
Savute Safari Lodge is slightly larger than many camps and lodges we recommend in Botswana, but it is very well run, has a great atmosphere with friendly service, and the location for general game viewing is superb. If you want to explore the Savute Channel and Marsh area, there are few places to stay beyond the mobile camp sites, and Savute Safari Lodge is the obvious choice for those who want to experience the area while staying in the comforts of a luxury lodge, particularly since its recent refurbishment. The elephant viewing in front of camp is incredible as from June to October the natural channel and two pumped waterholes attract herds of elephant all day long.
Rooms
Savute Safari Lodge accommodates up to 24 guests in 12 comfortable chalets with polished timber floors, canvas sides and high thatched roofs, all set along the bank of the Savute Channel, overlooking water holes where elephants come to drink in the dry season. The bedrooms are spacious enough to include a sitting area and to the rear of each chalet is a spacious bathroom with dressing area, double vanity, flush toilet, plumed indoor shower plus an outdoor shower. Each chalet has a furnished verandah to the fore. One of the chalets is a family unit, including two en suite inter-leading chalets leading sharing a spacious deck.
Central Areas
The main areas include a bar, a dining room, lounge area and plenty of outdoor deck space for dining and relaxing. There is an elevated deck with campfire which leads down to a sunken hide, allowing guests close-up and eye level encounters with the prolific wildlife in the area. There is also a swimming pool with deck and sun loungers. As well as overlooking a favourite elephant drinking point on the Savute Channel, there is also a year round pumped waterhole in front of the lodge which attracts game throughout the day.
Facilities
Wi-Fi – Yes
Power for charging – Yes
Swimming pool – Yes
Habitat & Wildlife
The Chobe National Park covers an area of 11,000 sq. kms and its habitats range from the floodplains and riverine woodland around the Chobe River in the north through extensive tracts of mopane woodland and sand ridges to the Savuti Marsh in the south-west, a cyclical lake area fed by the Savuti Channel. The channel is a seasonal waterway which extends south-eastwards from the Linyanti/Kwando river systems. In years of good rains, the channel holds water throughout the year but it is a delicate system easily affected by drought and tectonic plate movement. For many years the Savute Marsh was a vast and dry grassland area, but a high water cycle around 2010 turned it back into a lush oasis before it dried up in 2015.
Game viewing in the Savute area is impressive, with all the major predators present. Lion and leopard are most often seen, with wild dog regularly found and cheetah occasionally. The area is home to a wide variety of general game and has a high density of elephants who come from the surrounding wilderness areas to quench their thirst in the Savute Channel. From May through to October (the main dry season) you can expect to see elephants visiting the waterhole in front of Savute Safari Lodge from mid-morning through to late evening, providing some amazing up close viewing and photographic opportunities.
Birdlife is excellent with woodland, grassland and wetland species found.
Activities
The main activity at Savute Safari Lodge is game drives by day, as being within Chobe National Park, other activities are not permitted. However, whilst on drives you will have the opportunity to visit the ancient rock art site within the nearby Gubatsa Hills.
Seasons
Savute Safari Lodge is open from March through to January, though game viewing is best from June through to early November.
Savute Safari Lodge is a good option for families, with children welcomed from the age of six years and upwards. There is an excellent family chalet and with a main swimming pool and the active water hole in front of camp it is easy to enjoy relaxed time in camp when not out on game drives. Younger children are provided with welcome safari packs and camp guides will run interactive bush craft sessions outside of game drives as required.
The Desert & Delta Safaris CARES Philosophy is built around the following values: Care and community, Advanced health programme, Responsibility to our environment, Equality in the workplace and Soul and spirituality.
Desert & Delta, owners of Savute Safari Lodge, support local communities who create career opportunities within tourism. Leaders For The Future help Batswana students who study tourism and then guarantee those successful with career opportunities in the local travel industry. The Youth Development Program creates job opportunities for youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds whilst The Tsidillo Stimulation Centre offers support for children in Maun with disabilities.
The advanced health programme sees Desert and Delta’s company doctor carry out regular visits to their lodges gaining an understanding of individual medical needs and offering support just as a GP would do.
Responsibility to our environment includes donations to the Botswana Rhino Relocation and Reintroduction programme and the introduction of a fleet of electric vehicles and boats operating at Chobe Game Lodge (another of Desert & Delta’s lodges).
Equality in the workplace covers the Citizen Development Program, where Botswana citizens are trained up to become camp managers, and Empowerment of Women in the Workplace where half of their camp management is female as well as having an all female guiding team at Chobe Game Lodge.
Soul and spirituality brings together the staff wellness team, company pastor and spiritual leader to ensure the wellbeing of the staff in their lodges.
