Amalinda Lodge

Amalinda is built directly into a cluster of granite kopjes in the Matobo Hills, with rooms that use the rock itself as walls and ceilings. It began life as a Bushman shelter and later a colonial homestead, and the current lodge has grown around those bones rather than replacing them.

The Matobo Hills are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, valued both for the density of San rock paintings in their caves and for the spiritual significance the hills still hold locally. Guided visits to painted shelters and to Cecil Rhodes's grave at World's View are standard.

The other reason to come is rhino. Matobo National Park holds a well-protected population of both black and white rhino, and tracking them on foot with park scouts is one of the more memorable walking experiences in Zimbabwe. Leopard density in the hills is high, though sightings are rare.