Where Water Lily Lodge sits
Water Lily Lodge stands on the bank of the Chobe River in Kasane, in the north-eastern corner of Botswana where four countries meet. Kasane is the gateway to Chobe National Park and the crossing point for Victoria Falls, and the lodge is on the river itself rather than set back in the town.
A small lodge
The lodge takes a maximum of thirty guests. It describes itself as a place where guests are known on a first-name basis, and it is run at the scale where that is actually possible rather than a slogan. That makes it a different proposition from the large riverfront hotels a few minutes away.
Standard rooms
There are ten en-suite twin or double standard rooms looking over the gardens and the Chobe River. Rooms carry air-conditioning, a safe, a mini bar, tea and coffee facilities, a television and mosquito nets — a properly equipped room rather than a bush tent.
Budget and guide rooms
Alongside the standard rooms the lodge offers budget rooms and dedicated guide rooms. The guide rooms matter for self-drive and tour groups: they mean a driver or guide can be accommodated on site rather than sent elsewhere.
Who the lodge is set up for
The lodge positions itself for three quite different guests: the safari traveller, the business and conference visitor, and the traveller in transit who needs a night in Kasane. That mix is unusual, and it explains the room range.
Eating
Meals are freshly prepared, with balanced menus, flexibility outside the menu on request, and dietary requirements catered for. Rooms are available on a bed-only, bed-and-breakfast, or dinner-bed-and-breakfast basis, which is useful if you are eating out in Kasane on some nights.
Game drives in Chobe
Game drives run into Chobe National Park from the lodge. The riverfront section of the park is a short drive from Kasane and holds the densest dry-season concentrations of elephant and buffalo in the country.
Sunset boat cruises
Sunset cruises on the Chobe River are offered. From Kasane the boat is the single best way to see the park: game comes to the water in the late afternoon, and the light on the river is what most people remember.
Victoria Falls
Day trips to Victoria Falls are run from the lodge. Kasane is close to both the Zimbabwean and Zambian sides, and the Falls are a standard addition to a Chobe stay.
Who it suits
Travellers who want a small river-bank lodge in Kasane with proper rooms rather than a tent, self-drive parties needing guide accommodation, and anyone using Kasane as a base for Chobe and Victoria Falls. May to October is dry and best for game; November to April is green, hotter and better for birds.
