Heart of Africa: CroisiEurope’s African Land & Cruise Safari is an Epic Adventure Across Four Countries

THERE’S A HIPPOPOTAMUS in the river behind my bungalow at Kaza Safari Lodge. I watch from the deck as he surfaces, blinks and wiggles his ears. He’s adorable… until he throws back his huge head, lets out an anguished roar and bares a mouthful of spiky teeth – some almost a foot long. It’s clear why hippos are among Africa’s most dangerous creatures.

With fencing along the steep river bank, I’m in no real danger but that hippo roar is a reminder that in Africa close encounters with animals occur not only in safari parks but also in unexpected, and uncontrolled, circumstances.

Over breakfast, my fellow guests are beyond excited by our first hippo sighting. We had arrived on Namibia’s Impalila Island the previous afternoon for a three-night stay – part of a land and cruise safari with CroisiEurope, a French company best known for mid-range European river cruises. The nine-day itinerary offers a wealth of bucket list experiences including a tour of Johannesburg, visits to Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, a three-night sail on Lake Kariba, game drives, water safaris and a visit to Victoria Falls.

The logistics seem challenging. Fortunately, Impalila Island is near Africa’s “four corners,” where the borders of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia meet. Border crossings are frequent and quick, but it’s advisable to have five blank pages in your passport.

Kaza Lodge accommodation (photo courtesy of CroisiEurope)

Kaza is one of two safari lodges that CroisiEurope owns on Impalila Island. Each recently renovated property has eight immaculately kept air-conditioned bungalows with private decks, plunge pools and luxe bathrooms. There is a clubby main lodge for cocktails, group meals and gatherings, and a sparkling blue infinity pool. With thatched roofs exposed beams, and neutral decor, Kaza exudes a traditional ambiance. Sister lodge Cascades is more contemporary but equally comfortable.

The rural island contrasts sharply with Johannesburg, where this adventure begins. It’s my first visit to South Africa’s largest city and I cannot claim to have acquired a deep understanding of its complicated history from a one-day tour but what can’t be missed are the extreme divisions between affluence and poverty, as well as the city’s energetic vibe.

A visit to the Apartheid Museum is both moving and educational. It chronicles the people and events that brought about the end of South Africa’s brutal apartheid regime in 1994. We also tour Soweto, the sprawling settlement considered ground zero in the fight for racial equality. Once a no-go zone, today its Vilakazi Street attracts locals and tourists to hip cafes, shops, and anti-apartheid landmarks such as the Nelson Mandela House Museum. Some residents still live in shanty towns, but there are also middle-class homes, hotels, and malls.

After a night at the boutique 54 on Bath hotel in upscale Rosebank, we are eager to walk on the wild side. A flight to Kasane, Botswana, followed by a boat ride north on the Chobe and Zambezi rivers, brings us to Kaza lodge, where we’re greeted by staff bearing cold drinks. I spend the afternoon settling in and chilling out in the plunge pool. We meet the Kaza crew over pre-dinner cocktails.

Infinity pool, Kaza Lodge (photo courtesy of CroisiEurope)

Cuisine at the lodge (and on the ship) is European-style – fish, meat or chicken paired with fresh vegetables and followed by tempting desserts. Lunch and dinner menus are fixed but breakfast is buffet style with eggs and omelettes prepared to order. The flaky croissants would be right at home in any Paris boulangerie.

The next morning, Kaza’s Lennon Simalumba takes us back down the river to Botswana for our first jeep safari. Enroute to Chobe National Park we see captivating colourful birds, crocodiles and pods – or families – of those toothy hippos.

Chobe is famous for its elephants. Our safari guide tells us that some 50,000 savanna elephants migrate in and out of the park, drawn by the river. These gentle giants are the world’s largest land mammals with males standing almost four metres high and weighing up to 6,100 kilos and females being just slightly smaller.

From the jeep, we see dozens of elephants happily chomping on tree branches, scooping up grass with their trunks and bathing in the river. We also glimpse cape buffalo, lions, zebras, giraffes, impalas, kudu, baboons, warthogs, and myriad birds. During river and lake safaris in the coming days, we see endless elephants, hippos and fluttering flocks of birds.

One day, our guide Simalumba takes us on a village tour of Impalila Island. A local, Simalumba has an excellent grasp of his community and its considerable needs.

The island has about two dozen tiny villages, each home to one extended family and most islanders make a living from farming, raising cattle, fishing, or tourism. There is a school with classes up to Grade 10, four churches and a clinic staffed by nurses, but no doctor. A few villages are connected to the electrical grid but most are not so villagers who can afford solar panels generate a few hours of electricity each day. Simalumba tells us that while fresh water is abundant, there is no sanitation or supply system so village women collect water from the river. It’s a dangerous undertaking given that crocodiles and deadly snakes are always lurking. A local woman is in hospital recuperating from a crocodile attack and Simalumba says his mother survived a similar attack years before. Simalumba’s fascinating tour leaves with an insider’s understanding of his home and its realities.

Our last full day at Kaza features a barbecue and sunset cruise with hors d’oeuvres and sparkling South African wine. Come morning, it’s back down the river to Kasane for a private flight to Zimbabwe, where three days of scenic cruising aboard Zimbabwean Dream await.

Aerial view of might Victoria Falls, the "smoke that thunders" (photo courtesy of CroisiEurope)

The vessel is one of two Croisi operates on Lake Kariba. It’s classified as a houseboat but its dining room, lounge and exterior decks are much more spacious and elegant than expected with soothing neutral décor, punctuated by African art and motifs. The eight staterooms are snug but outfitted with king-size beds facing floor-to-ceiling windows, ensuite bathrooms and ample storage.

Lake Kariba is the world’s largest man-made reservoir, created in 1959 when the Zambezi River was dammed as part of a hydroelectric project. Before the flood, a plan dubbed Operation Noah relocated more than 6,000 wild beasts.

The lake has a dreamy quality imparted by hundreds of petrified mopane trees, which jut out of the water as the mirror-like surface reflects the sky. Sunsets are magnificent and there is great fishing (bream, fighting tigerfish, kapenta) and birdwatching (kingfishers, cormorant, African fish eagles, heron and more). Crocodiles and hippos congregate along the shore. Our guide jokes that crocs can be classified by size: bite me, eat me, swallow me!

In addition to daily lake safaris and an evening fishing trip, we do a game drive in Matsudona National Park where we see more statuesque elephants plus jackals, impala and even hippos trotting on shore. Our guide warns us not to be fooled by their rotund shape and stubby legs– hippos can run up to 30 km per hour! Extreme caution is always taken around the semi-aquatic mammals as they are very territorial.

Our epic adventure is winding down but there are a few more wow moments on tap. We disembark Zimbabwean Dream and fly to mighty Victoria Falls for a misty meander along its 15 viewing spots. Our last night under African skies is spent at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, where every room overlooks the vast wilderness. Morning breaks cool and clear – ideal for a helicopter tour over the falls that locals call Mosi-oa-Tunya or the “smoke that thunders.”

As I begin the journey home, my heart is full of memories and a vow to return to Africa.

Written by Robin Robinson (Cruise & Travel Lifestyles Fall 2023)