My first impression of Gwango Heritage Resort, was the arrival of the rain along with us. I initially felt sorry for the receptionist when I realised she was going to have to help us move our luggage to our room in the downpour, but this didn’t last long because she was so enthusiastic and in such high spirits. We immediately felt incredibly welcome. We hadn’t realised the deluxe room we were booked into had its own private verandah – what a pleasant surprise! What better way to settle into your new accommodation than sitting on your very own personal verandah, overlooking the teak forest and watching the first rains wash the dirt off the trees turning the leaves an emerald green.
Nicely mellowed, we headed to the restaurant for an early dinner. Once again we were met by very friendly staff, including the aptly named barman ‘Marvellous.’ With a cold drink in hand, we were hard pressed to choose from the menu what we wanted for dinner. There was a great selection, at really affordable prices. Something a little out of the ordinary on the menu, was the choice of rabbit. This was all explained when we met the owners, Elisabeth and Danny, who invited us to see the reason behind rabbit on the menu. The following day they showed us the community project they had started, teaching local villagers another way of earning an income aside from poaching – rabbit farming! Being so close to the national park, poaching is always an issue, which is why Danny and Elisabeth were determined to show the villagers there was another affordable way to earn a living, and given the speed with which rabbits breed, it has proven a huge success.
We were shown around the resort, including the bush chalets and camping area. The entire place is located amongst a lovely teak forest, as I mentioned before. We were fascinated by the beautiful purple flowers and gorgeous wooden furniture made from the trees that are knocked over by the elephants. Speaking of the elephants, I had heard a lot about these particular elephants, as they have been made famous in the books by Alan Elliot and Sharon Pincott. We were truly blessed on our second evening at dinner, when some of the herd came to drink at the pan located right next to the restaurant. From seeing one of the ‘Big Five’ at dinner, to the fascination of watching a dung beetle roll his dung ball past us when we returned to our room for the evening. Big or small, we thoroughly enjoy watching all creatures in the wild.
Everything about Gwango is unique, from their very differently outfitted orange game vehicles (including a uni-mog) to their Elephant Tracking night drives around the estate. Sadly, we were unable to go on the night drive as it was already fully booked but we did go on an afternoon game drive into the National Park in one of Gwango’s very distinguishable game drive vehicles. Our guide, Nash, was very knowledgeable, and we were treated to a lion sighting. This lion sighting was a bit different to normal because we saw the pride of lions watching a herd of giraffes, or rather, the giraffes were nervously watching the lions! We thought we might see a kill, but sadly it was starting to get dark, and we therefore had to exit the National Park. I really do wonder what happened after we left.
As well as the highly affordable Gwango Heritage Resort, on the opposite side of the tar road leading into Hwange National Park Main Camp Entrance, Danny and Elisabeth are nearly finished work on Gwango Elephant Resort. This will be a more upmarket resort, with an age restriction of 10 years old. As opposed to being a bed only resort, this resort will offer all inclusive packages. We were privileged enough to be shown around the building project, and all I can say is we are VERY excited about seeing this resort open. So WATCH THIS SPACE FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS!
My personal rating of:
- Best Value for money
- Most enthusiastic and friendly staff
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