Royal Chundu Zambezi Island Lodge

As an homage to our family’s personal history on the Zambezi River, we offer picnics along the banks of the river just as our family had picnics in the past: Persian carpets, hammocks, Pimms upon arrival, picnic tables and sumptuous tapas lunches or breakfasts which will find you restoring your soul while listening to the rapids coursing past you.

Start with a leisurely paddle down the Zambezi to our secret picnic spot on an island – and enjoy a truly indulgent and creative meal on the banks of the river. Cocktails, homemade cordials, a gin bar… It’s romantic, fun and offers up delicious flavours.

You will go over some very gentle rapids – and you will get wet! You can choose to paddle (as little or much as you want), or just sit back and let the guides do all the work.

A hat and sunscreen are essential!

We have 15 kms of private Zambezi to explore and enjoy.

Cruise on the river with snacks and drinks, watch the sun go down and try not fill up your camera’s memory with the first sunset – there will be more!

You can cast a line and see what bites (strictly catch and release).

Watch crocodiles slip off the banks as you approach and listen to the snorting hippos. In the drier months the skipper will anchor near “Ellie Corner” where you can spot herds of elephants as they drink, play and bathe on the river’s edge nearby. You could also be lucky enough to see baboon, impala, warthog and buffalo.

The birding is sublime.

Royal Chundu is renowned for its superb fly fishing. Our unstressed waters vary from virgin island eddies and shallow rapids to deep flowing channels which boast the notoriously powerful Tiger Fish, numerous species of Bream and the prized Upper Zambezi Yellow Fish.

One of the biggest celebrations in Africa, the Parrot Fish Run, occurs from June to August every year. It sees millions of fish swimming for miles down the Zambezi as they get caught in the main stream. Local fishermen use hand-woven reed and palm leaf baskets to catch the fish.

Royal Chundu offers a variety of different guided fishing options – for the expert and novice alike. We provide the tackle and rods.

We are strictly catch-and-release. Unless the chefs need something for dinner…

This warm, authentic activity is highly recommended. Royal Chundu is 100% Zambian owned and run. We donate seeds to anyone who wishes to grow food and we buy their surplus at market rates – which means most of our produce is sourced within 4 kms of the Lodge.

Your guide, who is villager, is well versed in all the village traditions and customs, and is able to show which plants and herbs are used in traditional medicine, how to make cooking oil, how to make soap and other necessities.

You travel by boat to the village, walk around with your local guide (while villagers go about their normal lives), stop off at a small market – and then head back to the Lodge.

Step off the boat onto our wild islet downstream from River Lodge and discover this untamed microcosm of nature for yourself. A guided walk past python creepers, 23 baobabs, and 2,000-year-old jackalberry trees.

Our experienced guides will share their knowledge with you about the traditional and medicinal uses of the flora you will come across on the island. Untainted by development or animals, beside the odd baboon, this area represents the perfect ecosystem at play.

Our guides have grown up on the banks of the Zambezi. They know the river’s depths and inhabitants like the path that winds from their homes to the water itself. The calls of the African fish eagle and the sounds of the bleating-warbler have formed the background music of their childhoods.

On a cruise down the Zambezi, our guides will impart their knowledge of nature with you, pointing out the range of birdlife waiting to be sought out. Spot the finchlarks and flufftails tempting birdwatchers from the riverbank trees or the jacanas and kingfishers normally found beside hippos and crocodiles in the shallower reaches.

Choose from a morning, late afternoon (sunset), nighttime, or full-day birding safari, tailored to your individual requirements. The shorter safaris last approximately two-and-a-half hours.

One of the treats on offer at Royal Chundu is a Tasting Menu – a culinary adventure along our riverbank and through our greater national terroir, an honouring of the families living here today and the generations before them, and a celebration of our team of local chefs and waiters and their favourite tastes, textures, scents and memories when it comes to dining.

Our Food & Beverage Manager and Head Chef, Sungani Phiri says it is his ambition to showcase the traditional food of his childhood by creating a “Zambian Feast Explosion” using contemporary techniques and styles.

He has built on his previous pioneering menus at Royal Chundu and pushed beyond to explore and engage with new ingredients and flavours and innovative methods and presentations.

What better way to see the magical winding Zambezi River and the crashing of the Victoria Falls than from above in a helicopter?

You can enjoy a riveting helicopter flight over the Falls (the trip lasts approximately 12 minutes) or fly over the Falls, gorge and game park (for about 25 minutes). Look out for the wildlife and other sights below. You’re going to want your camera with you on this trip!

At Victoria Falls, Yeats’ world of magic lies in wait more than ever – from a rainbow’s dance at full moon to the cascade of one of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders.

We invite you to discover just why this marvel, 30 kilometres downstream from our setting on the Zambezi River, is considered the Adventure Capital of Africa. There are so many ways to experience the largest curtain of falling water in the world – a title granted due to the Falls’ width (a hefty 1,708 metres) and height (towering above at 108 metres).

Slip through the Zambezi’s ravine on a white-water rafting cruise or fly overhead in a microlight or helicopter – a chopper ride you can continue to our private helipad at Royal Chundu. Test your nerves in nature’s infinity pool at Devil’s Pool and feel the Falls’ spray on your cheeks on Zambian soil or a border hop away in Zimbabwe.

Make it a full day adventure on a tour that combines several unique aspects of Mosi-oa-Tunya, so named by the Toka Leya tribe, meaning ‘The Smoke that Thunders’.

Situated towards the roar and rising cloud of mist suspended above a cliff over which the whole of the Zambezi River plunged. The Makololo paddlers skillfully landed him on ‘Goat Island’ (now Livingstone Island) right on the lip of the chasm.

A few steps through the small rainforest and, on the 16th November 1855, he gazed upon one of the most spectacular sights in the world – ‘Mosi- oa-Tunya’ (The Smoke that Thunders) which he named after his Queen as The Victoria Falls.

Today visitors are picked up in a twin- engine boat with powerful motors and a skilled skipper re-traces Livingstone’s approach to the island to witness the very best view of the Falls there is. All visits to the island are during the ‘low water’ season, which usually begins in mid July and goes through to the end of January.

High water visits are not possible as the island is continuously covered in the spray/downpour from the Falls. Pick up is from the wooden jetty adjacent to the Royal Livingstone River Deck by an aluminum boat launch with twin water jet propelled engines which then transfers guests on a 5 to 10 minute ride to the island.

Drop off is again at the Royal Livingstone the trip. The trip includes a short-guided tour of the island, viewing the Falls and a light snack depending on the time of the visit Morning visits.

This exciting day tour into the Chobe National Park in neighbouring Botswana offers exciting game viewing.

This trip is highly recommended and whilst you rely on seeing elephant and a wide variety of game, there is also the strong possibility of seeing lion. The day tour will depart from the Lodge at 8am and return back to the Lodge at 5pm, the tour consists of:

– Transfer from Lodge to border ferry

– Ferry / boat transport. This trip offers the opportunity to view four countries at once from the River

– Guided game and/or photographic cruise on the Chobe River in the National Park

– Lunch at Chobe Marina Lodge

– Game drive in the Chobe National Park

– Transfer back to the Lodge

Jump in and ride the raging white water rapids of the mighty Zambezi River, the fourth largest river in Africa, in a raft and feel the rush of adrenaline in wild Africa.

Be prepared to get soaked! With names like “Stairway to Heaven”, “Devil’s Toilet Boil”, “Washing Machine” and “Oblivion”, you can imagine what the rapids have in store. Your guide will assist you through the rapids and tell you all you need to know.

This is definitely one of the most unique experiences available at Victoria Falls and can be witnessed during the months from March to July.

While rainbows usually appear through direct sunlight, the Lunar Rainbow is rare and occurs from light reflected from the moon’s surface. Experience it from the vantage point of Victoria Falls as the spray from the water going over causes a beautiful “Moonbow” over the chasm.

111 meters of pure adrenaline rush! The bungee jump operates off the Victoria Falls Bridge and has a 100% safety record.

Over 50 000 people have committed themselves to the thrill of jumping off the bridge. Challenge the limits of the mind and test the edge of fear by leaping off the impressive bridge, with the Falls behind and the mighty Zambezi below.

The micro-light has an open cockpit for the ultimate adrenaline ride! Micro-lights have an unique, wing-mounted camera which enables clients to capture this exciting experience on film.

There are restrictions that apply on the micro-light – a minimum age of six years and maximum mass of 100kg.

Jet boating is a thrilling new adventure on the Zambezi River in the Batoka Gorge below the Victoria Falls. Feel the wind in your hair and the spray in your face as the powerful jet boats speed through rapids, rush past gorge walls and spin on the flat water.

Romantic five-star dining on rails at Victoria Falls is now possible with Bushtracks Africa’s Livingstone Express. The 15km journey begins in Livingstone through the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park and continues along one of the most historic railway lines in Africa.

Passengers can disembark to enjoy the sunset. Guests have pre- dinner drinks in the lounge or observation cars before enjoying a six-course meal, prepared and served by Sun International’s Royal Livingstone, in the dining carriages. This superb dining experience should not be missed.

Join us for a voyage on Victoria Falls Bridge, a journey that goes back a hundred years to the time when Cecil John Rhodes laid out his plans for a Cape to Cairo Railway.

On this tour, travellers will discover how the bridge was constructed and how a full locomotive was transported across the gorge before the actual completion of the bridge. Our highly knowledgable and experienced guides will ensure a safe and informative two hours on and around the bridge.

Stop to peer over the edge at the incredible valley below, so-called no man’s land, where Zambia and Zimbabwe meet. It is from here that the brave launch themselves into the depths below during a bunjee-jumping experience.

One of the finest ways to experience the African bush is on horseback. We have a range of trip options available ranging from half day novice rides to full and multi day adventures for experienced riders that range far into splendid Teak forests, Mopani woodland and sub-riverine bush to explore the dramatic scenery above the Batoka Gorge.