Elephant’s Eye

Elephant’s Eye features 8 intimate tree-house style chalets, each facing out onto the encompassing waterhole. Each chalet features a private wrap-around veranda with a luxurious al fresco shower and an indulgent bathtub inside the open plan room. Each unit features tea and coffee stations, a fireplace, a fan, a mosquito net covered queen bed and an in-room safe for guests’ ultimate convenience. Guests can enjoy panorama-style vistas of the waterhole via floor-to-ceiling ‘windows’ perfect for game viewing from the comfort of their bed. Furnished in the classic safari style, constructed from locally procured thatch, stone, teak and canvas, each unit ushers the untarnished essence of the bush, with all the furnishings and amenities one could hope for.

Amenities Include:

• En-suite bathroom
• Shower facilities
• Bath
• Queen sized / twin beds
• Balcony / deck
• Veranda
• Fireplace
• Mosquito nets
• Fan
• Safe
• Complimentary WIFI
• Complimentary laundry service
• Tea & coffee

Three meals are served daily, featuring a hearty continental breakfast comprised of fresh fruits, pastries, serials and juices, an al fresco picnic dinner served between activities and a lavish three course evening banquet. Meals range from lite and healthy to lavish and indulgent, ensuring there are preferences to suit all guests. If you have any specific dietary requirements, be sure to inform the camp in advance so the appropriate accommodations can be made. With fully inclusive rates, you’re free to indulge in a comprehensive range of refreshing alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages at your own discretion, as your time at Elephant’s Eye is one of indulgence.

The lite and airy feel of Elephant’s Eye’s resident bar, with its thatched roof and fully stocked shelves will leave you reeling for a refreshing beverage amid the parching midday Hwange heat. Talented bar staff are happy to fix you up the drink of your choosing, from pints to cocktails and everything in-between. Come and grab a drink in the evening and enjoy sundowners with friends and guides alike as you reminisce an exciting days’ safari adventure.

Embark on a riveting full days’ safari adventure across the open plains of Hwange, Zimbabwe’s largest national park. Hwange is renowned for its expansive elephant population, with herds numbering up to 350 elephants. It is also one of the best places in Africa to see the rare and endangered Painted Dogs. Experienced guides, familiar with the lay of the land and the abundance of wildlife that roams it will lead you safely through the lush landscape in 4×4 safari vehicles. A delicious picnic lunch is included which is packed and prepared by the kitchen staff at the lodge.

Enjoy a half-day game drive throughout Elephant’s Eye’s expansive private concession with expertly trained guides and custom-built safari vehicles. The concession shares an unfenced border with Hwange National Park, allowing the animals to roam freely between the two areas.

Take part in a 3-hour game walk in the company of Hideaways seasoned guides on Elephant’s Eye’s private concession that shares an unfenced border with Hwange National Park. A walk through the bush allows guests to experience the intricacies of nature from a completely different perspective than in a game safari vehicle. Your private guide will be sure to point out many interesting things not always visible to the naked eye and will ensure the safety of all guests throughout each excursion.

The Eye is a raised star bed approximately 15-minutes’ drive away from the main camp location. The sleep-out deck, with its luxurious star bed, is positioned right by a waterhole, offering the opportunity to see a variety of animals coming and going, particularly in the early morning. The deck is elevated on 2 levels, with a bathroom underneath and a luxurious queen bed up top, protected by draping mosquito nets. Guests can enjoy the most amazing views of the Hwange sunset while savouring refreshing sundowners over the waterhole and the surrounding bush.

Guests are escorted at sunset to the deck for sundowners, before being left to enjoy the tranquillity of the surrounding bushveld as the day turns to night. After a night under the stars, guests will be collected in the morning and taken back to the lodge to enjoy their morning breakfast.

This immersive and culturally enlightening community upliftment experience offered at Elephant’s Eye, organised in collaboration with the Grow Africa Foundation, offers guests the opportunity to learn about local traditions and experience the challenges these communities contend with daily. As part of the experience, participants visit the local school, as well as some of the economic and upliftment enterprises that locals have established to combat these challenges and improve their living conditions. Take the opportunity to become part of conservation and economic upliftment by interacting with residents in a natural and non-intrusive manner. Travellers are presented with the chance to get involved with the Grow Africa Foundation projects. While difficulties are highlighted, the experience focuses on the positives and solutions.

Led by your personal tutor, enjoy a painting session at Elephants Eye, Hwange. Capture the African dusk while sipping on drinks to help get your creative juices flowing. This exclusive, artistic experience will allow guests to enrich themselves through the artistry of the bush and learn indigenous painting techniques that have been used in local culture for countless generations.

Guests can experience true relaxation and luxurious pampering deep in the heart of an African paradise at Jwapi, the lodge’s semi open-air spa. Rejuvenate the mind, body, and soul through a unique combination of African and Western massage techniques using only eco-friendly products. Jwapi means “Ground Hornbill” and these birds may even be heard or observed while guests are receiving treatment. The stress and tension of everyday life is gently soothed, and the body is left feeling fresh, renewed and ready to start again, ideal following a full days’ safari adventure, rejuvenating both body and soul.

Created by Hideaways, the Grow Africa Foundation, was established with the aim “of making a positive impact on the environment, community and economy” in the areas in which they operate. They are aware it is not just their efforts that make an impact, and they strive to engage guests to help with the conservation of wildlife and local communities. One such initiative that grow Africa has implemented is sponsorships for students’ school fees who attend Dingani Primary School, as well as helping to maintain the school. A sponsorship program for an early childhood development teacher is also being implemented, as so far there is “only 1 teacher for 108 students.”

Grow Africa have their own specific project called “Project Penya” which was founded to fight “the taboo of menstruation in rural Africa.” Due to old-fashioned stigmas and limited access to sanitation, girls in rural Africa often end up missing up to 25% of their school year. The solution to this not only allows the girls to go to school but also empowers the community. Washable pads were introduced, and the community have been trained to produce the pads themselves. Grow Africa also works in partnership with Pack for a Purpose which allows guests to find out if the community and local school need any supplies before they come, and to bring them in their suitcase.

Hideaways Africa are “passionate about preserving Africa’s precious wildlife species” and not just preserving them but also preventing the human-wildlife conflict which currently happens. Hideaways is a founding member of the “Conservation and Wildlife Fund” which is a non-profit trust founded by a group of “conservationists and stakeholders in the Hwange National Park region” and has its own anti-poaching unit which helps to offer protection to the animals from illegal poachers. Hideaways Africa understands that a positive impact needs to be made to local communities as well as the environment and wildlife. They work in partnership with their foundation Grow Africa to educate and engage guests on the importance of conservation and community when they stay in a Hideaway property.

Hideaway Africa’s very own eco-philosophy is “touching the earth lightly”, they strive to maintain a minimal carbon footprint and to “practice sustainability ” wherever and whenever they can. Elephant’s Eye utilises a mixture of generator and solar power to create energy for their facilities and appliances, with energy-efficient LED lightbulbs used throughout the lodge.

Elephant’s Eye is conscious of the ecologically sensitive area in which the camp operates. In order to impart as little footprint on the surrounding environment as possible, all applicable facilities have succumbed to the relevant changes. All geysers are solar powered, and solar lanterns (console jars) are not only decorative, but also serve to give extra lighting in the evenings. As an eco-lodge, staff make a concerted effort to keep lights switched off where possible. The pool is a natural ozone pool, which is safe for any swimmer – killing bacteria, fungi, viruses, and reduces chloramine odours. This also makes for a tasty drink for the large herds of elephants.