Activities at Thorntree River Lodge

Thorntree River Lodge's riverside location and its unique position allow for a variety of activities, including sunset cruises, game drives, cultural tours, fishing and, of course, visits to Victoria Falls.

Comfortable pontoon boats take guests out onto the Zambezi River, where you can enjoy and appreciate the unspoilt beauty of this lovely stretch of water. Feel its peace and serenity as you enjoy a drink, cast a line or raise your binoculars to the passing array of animals and birds. Adventure lovers will also be able to experience white-water rafting, river boarding, tandem kayaking and bungee jumping, as well as sightseeing flights over the falls by helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft or microlight. All activities can be pre-booked by contacting the African Luxury Hideaways office, or arranged on arrival at the lodge.

Zambezi River Canoeing
Throntree River lodge lies 15 kilometres upstream of the famous Victoria Falls. One of the more relaxing activities is to board a two-man canoe and paddle down the Zambezi River. Your canoe will have a cooler box of drinks and refreshments for you to enjoy as you glide past hippos and storks and all other types of wildlife. Canoeing is one of the best ways to get close to elephants and other wildlife that are usually difficult to view. Two experienced guides will ensure your safety on this three-hour trip that is usually done before lunch.

Zambezi River Cruise
Morning and evening river cruises will take you along the river boundary of the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park, around Siloka Island and back to The Waterfront jetty. Total cruise time is approximately three hours. From the boats, sightings of elephant, giraffe and even rhino coming down to the river to drink are common. There is also an abundance of hippos, crocodiles and birdlife to be seen. All cruises have a complimentary bar and snacks service. An experienced guide accompanies each cruise and has a good knowledge of the wildlife and local history of the area.

Game Drives
The Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park is a small wildlife sanctuary on the banks of the Zambezi River, just a few kilometres from The Waterfront. This park protects five white rhino (possibly the only remaining rhino in Zambia), as well as various antelope, buffalo, giraffe, wildebeest and zebra. The riverine vegetation is beautiful and there are stunning views across the Zambezi River. It is also possible to see the Old Drift where the settlers lived prior to 1904. A game drive lasts approximately two-and-a-half hours and is accompanied by an experienced local guide.

Victoria Falls Tours
A natural phenomenon and one of the seven natural wonders of the world, Victoria Falls is an immense curtain of water cascading over 100 metres. Around 550-million litres flow over its lip each minute – at peak flow this figure increases to a staggering 750-million litres. Around the falls is a rainforest sustained by the spray of the falls, with some plant species rarely found elsewhere in Zambia or Zimbabwe. During peak flow (January to June) the Zambian side of the falls is the most spectacular and there are walkways to lookout points or viewing from across the swaying Knife Edge bridge.

A guide will accompany clients
During high water, visitors can get wet so raincoats are advisable (available for hire) and cameras should be sealed in plastic bags
Transfers to/from The Waterfront are included in the price
National Park fees are included in the price

Light Aircraft Trips
This is a flight over Victoria Falls in a fixed-wing Cessna 206. Each seat in the aircraft is next to a window, offering unsurpassed views of the spectacular scenery below. Flight duration ranges from 15 to 30 minutes and offers stunning views of Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River, or trips downstream over the Batoka Gorge and upstream over the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park, all of which provide excellent game-spotting opportunities. The aircraft is able to carry five passengers and is available for charter.

Helicopter Flip
Thorntree River Lodge offers a 15- or 30-minute flip over Victoria Falls. The helicopter seating is designed so that every passenger has a good view of the falls and scenery below. Flights operate all day and have capacity for five passengers per flight. Charter flights are also available. One option is to include a helicopter flip with a white-water rafting trip through the Batoka Gorge – it’ll save you from walking from the bottom of the gorge at the end of the day!

Jet Boating
Jet boating is a thrilling new adventure offered in the Zambezi River’s Batoka Gorge, below the Victoria Falls. Feel the wind in your hair and the spray in your face as the powerful jet boats speed through rapids, rush past gorge walls and spin on the flat water.

The 30-minute jet-boat trip can be combined with a spectacular helicopter flight (from a heli pad by the river) through the gorge, flying just above the water level and then over the falls themselves. This dramatic flight is available either into or out of the gorge.

Bungee Jumping
One hundred and eleven metres of pure adrenaline rush! The bungee jump operates off the Victoria Falls bridge and has a 100 per cent safety record – over 50 000 people have committed themselves to the thrill of jumping off this bridge. Challenge the limits of your mind and test the edge of fear by leaping off this impressive bridge, with the Falls behind you and the mighty Zambezi below. Ankle-and-body harnesses are attached to clients and, after jumping, they are winched back onto the bridge. Photographs and a video are taken of each jumper and are available for purchase.

White Water Rafting
Acclaimed as the wildest one-day white-water run in the world, the Zambezi River is also recognised by rafting and kayaking enthusiasts as one of the top ten paddling rivers on the planet.White-water rafting on the Zambezi River near Victoria Falls has been classified by the British Canoe Union as Grade 5: extremely difficult, long and violent rapids, steep gradients, big drops and pressure areas. This is a high-volume, pool-drop river with little exposed rock either in the rapids or in the pools below the rapids.

The Lion Encounter
Situated on the Masuwe Estate, only ten minutes from the centre of Victoria Falls town you'll find a group of lion cubs ranging from three to 16 months of age. These lion cubs offer guests an unparalleled experience and insight into the behaviour of this threatened African species. The ‘walking-with-lions’ encounter is an opportunity to interact with two or three cubs for over an hour during a single session. The lions are unrestrained and roam free as you join them on a walk through riverine vegetation and African bush on the banks of the Masuwe River. The encounter is fully supervised and professionally managed by an experienced and qualified team that has been working with lions for over 20 years, originally at Gweru’s Antelope Park. This activity is available in Zimbabwe only, but arrangements can easily be made for guests staying in Livingstone on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls.

Elephant Back Safaris
An elephant-back safari is not just a ride on the largest animal in Africa; it's an unforgettable experience in which clients are encouraged to interact with the elephants and enjoy a ride through wilderness areas and beautiful riverine scenery. Whilst on the ride, clients may see other wild elephant as well as buffalo, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and a host of other game. Along the Zambezi River, hippo and crocodile are common, and there is a wide variety of bird species. Each elephant has its own handler and clients will leave having witnessed the elephant's incredible skills, intelligence and willingness to respond to instruction. The ride takes approximately one hour, although the overall interaction time with the elephants is about three hours. Trips are available in the morning and afternoon.

The Elephant Encounter
Zambezi Elephant Trails offers a unique bush walk in the company of elephants. Guests will walk with their guides through some of Victoria Falls’s most pristine scenery as our elephants go about their day roaming free in the bush to browse, play, socialise and, sometimes, swim. These magnificent animals offer guests a privileged glimpse into a day in the life of an African elephant. Guests are able to meet and learn about our elephants and our guides are also well versed in local folklore, bush medicine and indigenous flora and fauna.