Zimbabwe's Singita Pamushana Lodge

For the past two decades, Singita properties in South Africa and Tanzania have set the standard for luxury wildlife lodges in Africa and around the world. Only one member of the distinguished portfolio has remained relatively obscure: Singita Pamushana Lodge in Zimbabwe.

Potentially among the leading safari countries, Zimbabwe has great national parks such as Hwange and Mana Pools, plus Victoria Falls, Lake Kariba and a long stretch of the majestic Zambezi River valley. But during the 28-year misrule of President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe has been bedeviled by vicious politics and impoverished by economic collapse. Inflation rose from an annual rate of 32 percent in 1998 to an official estimated high of 11,200,000 percent in August 2008. Only when the Zimbabwean dollar was suspended in April 2009 did a semblance of financial sanity return. Understandably, visitors continued to stay away.

Recently, however, I had begun to hear murmurs of hope. Because the regime remained unchanged I suspected that the talk represented the triumph of optimism over experience, but then a knowledgeable acquaintance returned from Zimbabwe raving about Singita Pamushana, describing it as “one of the best places I have ever stayed.” So maybe it was time to take a look, I thought, reassured by the conviction that anything associated with Singita was highly unlikely to be a complete waste of a journey.

Not really knowing what to expect, I boarded a nine-seat Pilatus PC-12 aircraft operated by the South African company Federal Air for the two-hour, 30-minute flight from Johannesburg to Buffalo Range. (The scheduled service runs twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays, with a private charter being the only other option.) Singita Pamushana is located in the remote southeastern corner of Zimbabwe and is surrounded by the 130,000-acre private Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve. This adjoins the Gonarezhou National Park, which in turn is separated by a narrow corridor from Kruger National Park in South Africa and Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.

In 1994, the not-for-profit Malilangwe Trust was established to purchase and manage this strategically located tract of wilderness and to make it a sanctuary for endangered species, especially black rhino. The trust was made possible by a large donation from American billionaire Paul Tudor Jones, founder of the Tudor Investment Corp., an asset management company headquartered in Greenwich, Conn. (In 2002, Jones also financed the Grumeti Reserves, which protect 350,000 acres at the western edge of the Serengeti in Tanzania, an area crucial to the annual wildebeest migration.) Singita manages the lodge on behalf of The Malilangwe Trust, and all proceeds are channeled into conservation and community development projects.

The airport at Buffalo Range had a desolate air — ours was the only aircraft — and the immigration and customs officials were sitting beneath a makeshift tent erected beside the terminal. Their offices were due to be renovated, one man explained mournfully, seemingly without much confidence that the work would begin anytime soon. Singita Pamushana is a 45-minute drive away. After a stop at a roadblock manned by a group of listless soldiers — to whose inquiries our driver responded with extravagant courtesy — we turned off onto a dirt road and passed through a gate in a 9,000-volt electrified game fence. This is ostensibly to keep the animals in — though elephant can break out if they try — but it also helps to keep undesirable people out. Malilangwe now has a population of around 100 rhino, our driver explained, and they are accorded military-style security. In 2014, a total of 1,215 rhino were killed in South Africa, most in neighboring Kruger National Park. As a kilo of rhino horn now sells for $60,000, Malilangwe’s rhino need all the protection they can get. (Click here to learn more about the current crisis in rhino conservation.)

The main lodge at Singita Pamushana is set on a hilltop and is built of stone in a style that evokes Great Zimbabwe, capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe from the 11th to the 15th centuries, and now a UNESCO World Heritage site a three-hour drive to the northwest. Passing through a conical entrance tower, we emerged onto a wide wooden deck with a cobalt-blue free-form pool and a serene backdrop of a glassy lake and green wooded hills.

The lodge’s seven air-conditioned suites are on a gentle slope and are surrounded by huge baobab trees and massive boulders, the latter being home to dozens of hyrax, mongoose and klipspringer (a species of small antelope). Inside our suite, we found a sizeable lounge decorated in a vibrant African style, with a daybed, writing desk and fridge. The separate bedroom came with a king-size bed draped with mosquito netting, and opened out onto a deck with a private plunge pool and loungers, from which it was possible to gaze at the lake 200 or 300 feet below. The bath provided a soaking tub that afforded a similar lake view, plus an effective walk-in shower. Overall, the suite was exceptionally comfortable and well-appointed. It provided a calm, private world in which to read, relax, watch birds or just to sit in rapt contemplation of the landscape.

Prior to the trip, I had wondered whether Zimbabwe’s economic woes would make it difficult for the lodge to serve the variety and quality of food that one would expect to find at Singita properties elsewhere. Happily, this turned out not to be the case, and the affable young chef presented a succession of delicious meals supported by an extensive selection of wines. It had also been a concern that safari vehicles might be old or difficult to maintain owing to a lack of spare parts. On our first game drive, however, we found ourselves seated in a brand-new, extremely comfortable Land Cruiser.

The attractive terrain at Malilangwe varies from open grassy plains to tangled bushveld, not dissimilar to that at Sabi Sand in South Africa, home of the original Singita Ebony Lodge. Elephant and giraffe are seen frequently, as are cheetah and hyena. And the guides can usually track down lion, even if they are not immediately in evidence. Although the reserve is believed to contain as many as 50 leopard, they are frustratingly elusive. One of the Malilangwe’s great draws, however, is the ease with which you can observe both black and white rhino. On our first evening, we stopped at a water hole with our guide, Mark Friend, and stood next to the vehicle for a sundowner. As the sky darkened, various animals began to move in to drink. Suddenly, we became aware of the arrival of a rhino family with a young calf. Wary at first, they eventually summoned the courage to walk to the water, their huge bulks passing within 100 feet of us.

Undoubtedly the most exciting way to see large wild animals is on a guided safari walk. For this to be pleasurable, however, it is necessary to have complete trust in your guide. Prior to his employment at Singita Pamushana, Friend had worked in Zimbabwe’s northern parks for many years, and his manner inspired confidence — as did his .505 rifle and .44 Magnum handgun. His specialty is walking up to animals, including lion, rhino and elephant, often to within 50 yards. One afternoon, he led us through a glade of trees to where a small herd of elephant were browsing. Having been given detailed whispered instruction on how to behave, we crept forward and eventually arrived within 200 feet of an outlying bull. The elephant clearly knew we were there, but seemed completely unconcerned and continued chewing contentedly. Quietly observing a wild elephant from a Land Cruiser is invariably memorable. But to watch the huge creature at close quarters, separated by nothing but the breeze, is truly unforgettable.

It was with considerable regret that we headed back to Johannesburg. I came away with an answer to my fundamental question: Can Singita Pamushana be compared to the group’s properties elsewhere? The unequivocal answer is “yes.” If you have enjoyed a stay at, for example, Singita Ebony or Singita Grumeti, you will be similarly content in Zimbabwe. Malilangwe is an inspiring environmental project, originally made possible by the generosity of an American citizen. Despite the mayhem elsewhere, none of its rhino has so far been poached. And profits from the lodge are plowed back into development projects in the surrounding area. For example, Singita Pamushana distributes food to schools, and currently ensures that an astonishing 19,000 Zimbabwean children have at least one sustaining meal a day. In a few years, I hope it will be possible once more to recommend the whole of Zimbabwe as a safari destination. But for now, this one superb lodge is certainly a worthwhile extension to an itinerary in Botswana or South Africa.