Travel Article - Hippo Lodge, Kafue National Park, Zambia

Just when I thought life on safari couldn't get any better, it did. As if sitting in a sandy-bottomed bubbling hot spring on the edge of the Kafue River, with fireflies dancing around my head, wasn't enough, I was then informed that Hippo Lodge offer massages at this spot too.

This information served to put the cherry on top of the safari cake for me and I mentally awarded Hippo Lodge in Zambia’s Kafue National Park, top honours in my safari lodge repertoire.

I don't want to brag, but I have had the over-indulgent pleasure of visiting more than 150 safari lodges in the course of my work as a travel writer specialising in African safari. Tough I know, but somebody’s got to do it and write the reviews to help you decide where to go on your African safari holiday.

Bubbles Tickle Your Whole Body

There's been no luxury denied to me, but I no longer swoon at a four-poster swathed in white netting, or get excited about a chocolate on my pillow. A plunge pool on the private wooden sundeck of my safari suite is passé to me, but take me on a game drive to see some of the rarest African birds and animals, then stick me in a natural hot spring with a glass of bubby, and I'm impressed.

Imagine this; bath-temperature spring water (free of any nasty sulphur smell), soft sand underfoot and bubbles coming out of the ground and tickling you up the length of your body. I am thankful that the masseur was on leave, as I am not sure I could have coped with this ultimate luxury – after all what would be left to me?

Another great thing about Hippo Lodge is that it isn't a fancy shmancy safari lodge that you need to raise a mortgage to visit. It is affordable, considering the specialness of the place.

Pack the barest minimum – a pair of khaki shorts, t-shirt and cozzi - and you'll feel at ease, because this far into the bush, there is reason to dress up. The focus at Hippo Lodge is about experiencing safari life in its truest sense; time to relax, unwind and appreciate the fact that you are about as far away from city life as you can possibly get.