No Highway to Tsowa

There is no shuttle bus to Tsowa. No lobby, no queue, no porter reaching for your bag before you climb out of your vehicle. You arrive by 4×4 and then by boat. Somewhere in that last stretch of water, with the Zambezi sliding beneath you, the everyday lets go of you.

Most safari properties sell you proximity to wildlife. A view of the waterhole, a fence-line close
enough to hear the lions at night. Tsowa Safari Island sells something else: a private island in the middle of the Zambezi River, close enough to three countries and two national parks that you could, in theory, have breakfast in one and dinner in another.

More than a backdrop

Plenty of lodges along this stretch of the Zambezi let you look at the river. Tsowa puts you in the middle of it. The island’s guides run technical canoe expeditions through the braided channels and minor rapids upstream of the Bakota Gorge; proper paddling, not the gentle drift you might normally expect from a river safari. The current here has its own ideas, and it takes guides who have spent years reading this particular stretch of water to know when to lean into it and when to hold back. This is one of the few places in Southern Africa where you can experience the Zambezi in this state; alive, unpredictable, and not yet given over to the white water it becomes further downstream.

Back on dry land, the pace changes entirely. Ancient baobabs anchor the interior, trunks that have been standing for centuries rather than decades, surrounded by undergrowth left genuinely wild rather than tidied for guests. The micro-safaris here move slowly and deliberately, on the theory that the detail is where the real reward lives: a track in the sand, a call in the canopy, the particular quality of light through old growth.

For birders, this is not an afterthought destination. Tsowa is home ground for the Pel’s Fishing Owl, a bird serious enthusiasts will cross continents to see, and dawn cruises regularly turn up African Skimmers and Half-collared Kingfishers on a river system with more than 400 recorded species.

A Forward Base, Not a Retreat

Here is where Tsowa distinguishes itself from the idea of an island escape. Positioned on the Zambezi between Zimbabwe and Zambia, it sits at the centre of what has become one of the region’s most compelling circuits: Victoria Falls to the east, Chobe National Park across the Botswana border to the south, and the wide, under-visited reaches of Zambezi National Park close at hand.

Rather than asking you to choose between remoteness and reach, Tsowa functions as a forward operating base; remote enough to feel like a genuine retreat, connected enough that the region’s headline experiences remain a short transfer away. Victoria Falls is close by, and the island’s team coordinates access to Devil’s Pool, the swim at the very lip of the falls that remains one of the most viscerally memorable things you can do in Southern Africa. For those who want the view from above, microlight and helicopter flights over the Batoka Gorge are arranged as part of the wider itinerary.

Day trips into Chobe place you among the largest elephant population on Earth before delivering you back to the stillness of your own island by evening. Land-based tracking in Zambezi National Park completes the circuit, with lion, leopard, and African wild dog all recorded across the reserve.

The island’s remoteness, in other words, is not incidental. It is deliberate — the quiet from which the region’s biggest experiences become reachable, and to which you can retreat once you’ve had enough of them.

All images courtesy of The Phoenix Collective / Isibindi African Lodges

Traveller’s Notes

Getting there: Access to Tsowa Safari Island is via a 4×4 transfer followed by a private boat; there are no direct road or airport transfers to the island itself, so factor this into arrival planning.

Best for: Travellers who want a genuine wilderness base with easy onward access to Victoria Falls, Chobe National Park (Botswana), and Zambezi National Park (Zimbabwe).

Wildlife highlight: Serious birders should note the resident Pel’s Fishing Owl and dawn river
cruises for African Skimmer and Half-collared Kingfisher.

Signature experience: Technical canoe expeditions through the Zambezi’s braided channels and minor rapids, upstream of the Batoka Gorge, led by guides with deep local ecological knowledge.

Beyond the island: Devil’s Pool at Victoria Falls, microlight or helicopter flights over the Batoka Gorge, day trips into Chobe, and land-based game tracking in Zambezi National Park.

Sustainability: The property runs on solar power, maintains a zero-single-use-plastic policy, and directs guest revenue into local employment and community feeding schemes.

Location: Positioned on the Zambezi River, on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
More information: www.isibindi.co.za