Game Lodges

Finance Week, May 7-13, 1987

By Linda Stafford

At the outset it has to be noted that Chobe Game Lodge is too far-flung and too short on the kind of rough-and-ready charms of some of its Eastern Transvaal and Okavango counterparts to draw SA’s bushveld habitués in droves. This isn’t intended to denigrate the northern Botswana resort, but simply to point out that its easier, cheaper feel an affinity with the bush, more gratifying to stick closer to home.

Bearing in mind the travel expense, Chobe is worthwhile if a visit also embraces Victoria Falls. Otherwise, given the unadventurous drives and the rangers’ communication constraints, you’ll probably see more game at a far lower cost in the Kruger Park. But let’s hone in on what Chobe does offer.

First, it is set on the spectacular river from which it takes its name. Game-viewing sundowner cruises on a barge named Mosi-Oa-Tunya (‘The Smoke that Thunder’), not to say the simple pleasure of looking out onto a liquid-gold stretch of water, are among the lodge’s strongest draw cards. That Jill holidaymaker who doesn’t want ot be punished just because I’ve ventured further afield than Sun City.

I like Chobe’s pith-helmet-and-pearls aura; its comfortably fitted bedrooms leading out onto their own verandahs; its spruce bathrooms; its expansive indoor and outdoor lounge area and sophisticated cocktail bar; even its unabashedly commercial curio shop. That the electricity is cut off at odd times of the day and after midnight is all I’m about to tolerate in deference to the bush. Those who think of themselves as Mala Mala people, and not tents-in-the-Okavango type, will feel at home at Chobe.

Still, one can’t help missing a boma, the traditional, firelit outdoor meeting point of most lodges. One also can’t help wishing that the ranger could bend the rules by occasionally heading the uncharacteristically comfortable four-wheel-drive vehicle into the undergrowth. Unlike competitors’ drives, during which the phrase “bundu bash” takes on a special resonance, Chobe’s rangers conduct themselves with boredom. (They did know, however, that they were hosting a press party.)

A couple of companions and I spent a good deal of time lazing in the sun at Chobe’s attractive pool area. As we roasted we looked out onto the river, occasionally catching sight of hippo, warthogs, marvelous birds and the odd crocodile. One evening, after a fascinating slide-show and talk about the area’s game in Chobe’s fully- equipped, airy, 100-seat conference room, we were treated to Irish coffees atop Mosi-Oa-Tunya. Could there be a better way to down a nightcap?

It’s a pity that Chobe co-owners Sun International and Jonathan Gibson feel bound to buoy the resort’s five-star image by over-complicated meals. Though breakfast are just as they should be, buffet lunches and table d’hôte dinners tend to be exercises in overkill. The overwhelming choice at midday simply blurs distinction. One or two excellent salads, one thing cold in fish or meat, and a standout hot dish – not the unappetizingly anatomical chicken curry which is a mainstay – would do the trick with much more flair. Dinners – sop-vis-vleis affairs – could also be simplified.

There’s something irresistibly appealing to a certain set about luxury in the bushveld. They – like Cargo Carriers’ Des Bolton, who married at Chobe a couple of years ago – can be likened to holidaymakers in Sea Point who spend every day at the President Hotel swimming pool. They would be wild about Chobe, not so much about the wild itself.

For the final touch of luxury why not charter one of Speed Air’s planes for the three-hour journey by air? Those who can afford Chobe’s rates will be able to afford this, too.