With just nine secluded suites, Ivory Lodge is a small safari lodge by any standards in a private concession bordering the renowned Hwange National Park. Service is personal and the managers and staff offer a genuine welcome and warm hospitality that goes beyond any star grading.

Your room is elephant-high above the ground. Built into a grove of teak trees, your private balcony looks out over a waterhole frequented by elephants and the great game of this enormous game reserve. Most activity in the wild happens at night and the floodlit waterhole reveals the stealthy comings and goings of elephants out for a midnight sup and lions stopping in for drink en route to a hunt.

The swimming pool is an essential item in this parched part of the country and the cool living areas and open firepit (perfect for lying back and enjoying the incredible starlit sky) create a mood of cool relaxation in the middle of the African bush.

And in the middle of the African bush you certainly are. Covering an area the size of Wales, Hwange National Park is one of Africa's great game reserves. Famous for its huge herds of elephant, all the big game is also found here including lion, rhino, leopard, cheetah, wild dog, hyena, buffalo, hippo, giraffe, zebra and a host of antelope species. Unlike many parks, bush walks and evening game drives are allowed and these two safari activities make Hwange a special game reserve indeed.