The work, led by designer Jan Allan of byDESIGN, includes a redesigned “Dining Tree” deck, expanded shaded verandas, a dedicated wellness treatment area and a refreshed retail space, with the camp’s original character deliberately preserved. It’s a sensitive update rather than a reinvention — fitting for a camp on one of Africa’s most important conservation landscapes.
Lewa is a UNESCO-listed conservancy and a stronghold for black and white rhino, Grevy’s zebra and wild dog, with the kind of low-vehicle, walking-and-night-drive access that national parks can’t match. A polished base camp only makes it more appealing as the centrepiece of a Laikipia leg — or as a rhino-and-conservation counterpoint to the Maasai Mara.
The retreat will comprise 13 villas with generous living spaces and private plunge pools, designed for guests who want seclusion within easy reach of the Falls and the wider Zambezi region. The September opening is well timed: by then the Zambezi’s high water has eased, the dry-season game viewing in nearby parks is hitting its stride, and Victoria Falls is in its comfortable winter window.
As a classic anchor for Zimbabwe and Zambia itineraries — and a natural pairing with Hwange or a Chobe day trip — a new luxury option at the Falls is worth having on the radar for travellers planning the second half of 2026 and beyond.
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The concern is spillover. Past outbreaks devastated western lowland gorillas in Central Africa, and modelling suggests that if even one of the roughly 1,000 mountain gorillas in Virunga and Uganda’s Bwindi were infected, the consequences could be catastrophic. Researchers stress the current risk to eastern gorillas is “quite limited” — the outbreak area doesn’t overlap gorilla habitat, and gorilla densities there are low — but vigilance is high.
For anyone planning to trek in Rwanda’s Volcanoes or Uganda’s Bwindi, this is the clearest reminder yet of why the rules exist: keep the mandated 7-metre distance, wear your mask, and respect the one-hour limit. They aren’t bureaucracy — they’re what keeps a fragile, irreplaceable population safe.
The guided sessions run for around two and a half hours, take two to six guests, and come with snacks and drinks; they’re offered as an add-on to the existing Onkolo Hide activity rather than a replacement for game drives. It’s pitched squarely at birders, photographers and anyone who wants to slow down and experience the bush as an immersive, sensory whole.
A water-level hide with an audio dimension is a genuinely different way to spend golden hour, and another reason Etosha’s private edges reward more than a quick pass through the main gates.
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The upgrade brings a new indoor dining area, an outdoor boma, a bar and wine room, and a wellness zone with a gym, lap pool, cold plunge and infrared sauna. The camp’s exclusive-use villa, Little Saseka, has been expanded with two extra guest suites — useful for families or small groups wanting the whole place to themselves. Notably, Thornybush kept existing structures where it could and repurposed materials, including the original decking, to limit the environmental impact of the build.
Thornybush sits in the Greater Kruger, sharing unfenced boundaries with the national park, which means off-road traversing and the relaxed, habituated game viewing — leopards especially — that draw photographers to this corner of South Africa. As a comfortable, mid-to-upper option without Sabi Sand pricing, a refreshed Saseka strengthens the Greater Kruger’s standing as the country’s value-luxury safari heartland.
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It’s the culmination of a ten-year rewilding effort led by the Peace Parks Foundation. Zinave, a 4,090 km² wilderness in Inhambane province and part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, lost almost all its large wildlife to years of civil war. Since 2016 it has been steadily restocked with elephant, leopard, zebra, hyena and more; five black and two white rhino calves have already been born there.
For travellers, Zinave is a reminder that Mozambique offers more than its famous coastline — a genuine Big Five wilderness is taking shape inland, with the kind of conservation story that rewards a visit. As the herd grows, Zinave’s rhinos may one day seed populations in other Mozambican parks.
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At Etosha, the gates at Ombika, Namutoni and King Nehale have been improved to ease the peak-season queues that build from June to October. Inside, there are refreshed ablutions and picnic areas, clearer signage, more parking, and new viewing platforms at rest stops. Hardap — often just a stopover en route to the Fish River Canyon — gets upgraded entry points and facilities that make it worth lingering in.
The biggest investment, though, is one most visitors will never see: new and upgraded conservation stations in Bwabwata, Etosha and the Kunene, with staff housing, improved fencing, water and power, and dedicated facilities for canine anti-poaching units. You won’t spot them from the road, but you’ll feel the result — safer parks and more reliable wildlife.
For anyone planning a Namibia self-drive, it’s a quiet confirmation that the country keeps investing in the formula that makes it special: space, independence and well-run wilderness.
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