If the pressure’s on to present a rock this Valentine’s Day, don’t panic. Make the magic happen today or anytime actually when you next visit Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe!
The Victoria Falls are one of the greatest natural wonders of the world and to simply watch this mile-wide curtain of water thunder down is awesome. While someone’s idea of romance is to white-water raft in the Zambezi just near the Falls, for some it may be doing a bungee jump together. Regardless of what you consider romantic , you’ll certainly want to spend a few nights here and there are some wonderfully romantic spots to choose from:

• Share a romantic cocktail on the viewing deck of Buffalo Bar, Victoria Falls Safari Lodge
• Relax by the rocky landscaped pool by Victoria Falls Safari Lodge
• Enjoy the exclusivity and butler service at Victoria Falls Safari Club
• Want something vibrant and fun? A dinner experience at The Boma – the Place of Eating is not to be missed

Enjoy Victoria Falls, and all is has to offer – anytime of year!

What a bargain! Easier access into Kasane Airport, Botswana allows you to visit Botswana as well as Victoria Falls.

Victoria Falls is only an hour by road from Kasane, and this new leg into Kasane can allow you to visit both locations with ease!

Airlink is very pleased to be able to confirm that it will commence scheduled direct services on two new over border routes, Johannesburg and Kasane (Botswana) and Johannesburg and Vilanculos (Mozambique) from Friday 22 March 2013.

Ross Kennedy, chief executive of Africa Albida Tourism, said this is a great opportunity to get guests to make the most of 2 incredible places during their visit – Chobe, Botswana and one of the 7 natural wonders of the world that is our mighty Victoria Falls.

What are you waiting for? Book your tickets now!

Trip Advisor stats are simply astonishing! Imagine…..their site has 60 million monthly visitors and contains 75 million unbiased reviews. It’s the world’s largest travel site by far that savvy travellers use to check out the best places to stay at any global destination.

Therefore it is with glowing pride that we at the Africa Albida Tourism group (AAT) invite you to look at the Trip Advisor page for our five-star champion, Victoria Falls Safari Club.

One of the latest reviews, from a Canadian guest, can’t seem to put enough ++++++ signs after the headline and she exudes real enthusiasm in stating: “This is one of the best places I have ever stayed in.” Superlatives abound as she touches excitedly on all the values that we seek to achieve – exceptional staff, gorgeous location, luxurious rooms, majestic wildlife experience, food and ambiance.

Our butler-service Club, with just 16 luxury rooms and four suites, has only been open for six months and has rapidly established itself as THE supreme place to stay at Victoria Falls. It’s located on the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge estate and is an exclusive retreat that is within easy walking distance of the main lodge to use facilities such as swimming pool, dining room, bar – all overlooking the stunning waterhole.

Yes, the location and experience are incredible, but there’s another common thread in all the Trip Advisor reviews – heartfelt tributes to Claire Wright and her inspired team, with butlers Hugh, Lloyd and Thandie often mentioned.

We hope you’ll click on the link above and look for yourself. There are 20 reviews so far of which 17 rate their visit at the highest five-star level. American guests lead the way and they have visited from Michigan, New York, Colorado Springs, Georgia and Florida – but there are also raves from Canada, Australia, France and other countries.

For the most exclusive quality and experience AAT recommends linking The Victoria Falls Safari Club with our five-star eight-suite Ngoma Safari Lodge just a few hours away in Chobe, Botswana for one of the world’s finest wildlife experiences. Trip Advisor here, too, exudes sheer excitement!

Valentine, our Club Chef with the evening snacks on the Club deck

It has become a ‘must-do’ dining activity in Victoria Falls… not to be missed!

A well-loved local proverb translated goes: “relationships are strengthened by sharing a meal”.  And so it is at The Boma – Place of Eating where the night’s feast is combined with local lifestyle, song and dance to create a sampling of the best of Zimbabwe’s rich culture.

Specialising in traditional Zimbabwean dishes, The Boma nevertheless caters for all palates, whilst the more adventurous diners are enticed with local delicacies such as Mopani Worms and game stews.  Interactive barbecue and dessert stations give guests an opportunity to banter with the award-winning chefs.

The Boma’s resident Fortune Teller or “Sangoma”, hair braider, curio carvers and Storyteller give guests a glimpse of life in a typical village.  Riveting entertainment crowns the evening, with the interactive Drumming Show as the highlight.

A recent guest enthused: “The Boma – Place of Eating is absolutely phenomenal, from the welcome to the farewell.  Everything in-between made me fall in love with Africa again and again!”

The Boma – Place of Eating, a place where barriers are broken and for a moment in time diners are captivated by the spirit of African oneness.

Safaris4Africa, a small Harare-based tour operator, has scooped four of the six accolades in the 2012 Africa Albida Tourism (AAT) group’s Top Achiever Awards for locally based suppliers.

The annual awards reflect the best-performing local partners for AAT – one of Zimbabwe’s foremost tourism industry groups and owners of such prestigious properties as the award-winning Victoria Falls Safari Lodge and the new five-star Victoria Falls Safari Club.

Safaris4Africa is run by two tourism stalwarts, Gwen Wawn and Victoria Nash, who each have more than 20 years experience in the industry and have forged an envied pedigree of excellence for their company. They offer tailor-made safaris for discerning individual travellers and for small groups and operate in Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

From Left:  Victoria Nash, Ross Kennedy (Chief Executive – Africa Albida Tourism), Gwen Wawn & Janet Hounsell

Africa Albida Tourism Top Achiever Awards 2012

Best performing trade partner: 1, Safaris4Africa. 2, Sikiliza.

Most Improved Agent: Vic Falls Anytime.

Top achiever by revenue for Victoria Falls Safari Lodge: 1, Safaris4Africa. 2, The Amalinda Collection. 3, Experience Africa.

Top achiever by room nights for Victoria Falls Safari Lodge: 1, Safaris4Africa. 2, Experience Africa. 3, Premier Holidays.

Top achieving agent for Lokuthula Lodges (Victoria Falls): 1, Co-ordinating Zimbabwe. 2, African Encounter. 3, Off2Africa.

Top achieving agent for Ngoma Safari Lodge (Chobe, Botswana): 1, Safaris4Africa. 2, Sikiliza.

Trip Advisor, the world’s largest travel site, has soared past 50 million avid users who provide neutral and powerful voices in posting their frank “warts and all” reviews and who have come to hold massive influence over potential travellers undertaking their research.

It’s a bold hotel or lodge manager who openly and confidently invites potential guests to use Trip Advisor as a benchmark…but that’s what Africa Albida Tourism (AAT) group’s Claire Wright does here.

The zestful young manager of AAT’s exclusive new 20-room Victoria Falls Safari Club radiates confidence: “We’ve only been open for five months and so far our 19 Trip Advisor reviews reflect our passionate objective of delivering THE premium five-star property in Victoria Falls, using our supreme location as the core and spicing that significant benefit with enthusiastic personal attention to service from our team.

“Of course there will be challenges ahead with some pitfalls, but we have made an inspired start and our Trip Advisor reviews so far reflect this excellence that delights our guests.”

Claire, who previously worked in London for the worldwide Hilton Hotel chain, reports a cosmopolitan array of international guests in the first five months, topped by Americans and Australians. Of the 19 trip Advisor reviews so far seven are by Americans and five are Australian.

We invite you to browse our reviews on Trip Advisor on this link:

Click Here:

You will soon discover that there are several words that create a common thread and are used by our guests time after time….amazing, exclusive, luxurious, fabulous! Claire and her “warm, friendly staff” also keep cropping up for their genuine care for guests and exemplary service.

Claire & her fantastic team!

Zimbabwe-born Brian Gardiner has been appointed Group Operations Manager by Africa Albida Tourism (AAT), Zimbabwe’s tourism and hospitality industry leader and will be based at Victoria Falls.

He brings an international tourism pedigree of high distinction to AAT including General Manager of the Rainforest Canopy Lodge (Belize, Central America), Operations Director for Sanctuary Retreats products located throughout the Chobe and Delta region in Botswana and, most recently, General Manager of the premium luxury resort, NIYAMA by Per Aquum in the Maldives. With total operational responsibility Brian played a key role in the resort’s triumph as “Best New Sensation” in the Tattler Travel Awards held at The Ritz, London, on November 26, 2012.

Welcoming the appointment AAT Group chairman Dave Glynn said: “I am delighted to welcome Brian. His appointment reflects AAT’s commitment to further investing in high-quality people and in the future success of the tourism industry within Zimbabwe.”

“Brian brings with him a wealth of global expertise to continue with our unceasing efforts to invest in the enhancement of the tourism industry and our superior products,” said Glynn.

Brian’s stated ambition is to bring an even more professional and fresh approach to the successful operations of products within the Africa Albida Tourism group – including the award-winning Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, the exclusive Ngoma Safari Lodge in Chobe, Botswana, the five-star Victoria Falls Safari Club and The Boma – Place of Eating, the most popular restaurant at Victoria Falls.

Brian’s focus is “to get the fundamentals absolutely right for quality service, industry innovation & new concepts, all to be delivered by the great people throughout the resort and beyond.” He believes it’s all about continually reinventing and delivering new concepts to ensure AAT products remain relevant to guests and to ensure they have the ‘once in a lifetime African experience’ that Zimbabwe can offer.
Returning to home soil after some years away Brian and his family have happily relocated to Victoria Falls -the epicentre of this world class destination and region.

Brian said: “I am extremely excited to have my feet back on Zimbabwean soil and privileged to be working with such a dynamic and forward-thinking team at Africa Albida Tourism. I look forward to making a difference and ensuring that AAT and Zimbabwe are in the world tourism eye once again.”

Concluded chairman Dave Glynn: “Victoria Falls Safari Lodge was ranked in the Top 10 Best Safari Lodges in Africa in the 2012 Conde Nast Traveler Readers Choice Awards and with Brian’s skills and expertise AAT looks forward to a future filled with more notable success and guest satisfaction in the tourism Industry.”

With globally acclaimed “green” credentials and a multitude of accolades the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge (VFSL) turns 18 on December 14 and continues to invest with confidence in the future of Zimbabwe tourism.
In 2012 alone the Africa Albida Tourism (AAT) group has invested more than US$3m in refurbishments and the construction of a new 20-room luxury wing, The Victoria Falls Safari Club that will be the proud five-star showpiece for the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly to be co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia in August 2013.

AAT chairman Dave Glynn, who has a passion for protecting the environment, was the visionary entrepreneur who built VFSL 18 years ago and who continues to drive group expansion. “I am proud of the significant role we have played in promoting Zimbabwe tourism in a professional and quality manner and I strongly believe that the momentum of the current steady revival will quicken in 2013 and fully restore Victoria Falls to its rightful zenith,” he said.

The opening of the exclusive Safari Club in August 2012 complemented AAT’s five star, eight-suite Ngoma Safari Lodge that opened in 2011 on the edge of Botswana’s famous Chobe National Park, to present the most discerning international guests with a dual-country option with easy access, just 135 kms apart on good roads. Both have attracted a steady and cosmopolitan stream of international guests with Americans providing the primary market strongly followed by tourists from Italy, UK, France and Australia.

These two luxury properties have afforded the AAT group its first chance this year to exhibit to the globe’s “rich and famous” markets at International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) of the Americas (Cancun, August) and Cannes (December).

The original Victoria Falls Safari Lodge was spruced up mid-2012 with a US$300,000 revitalisation of all public areas and its 72 rooms will be refurbished in 2013 to maintain its leading-edge status. VFSL opened on time and on budget 18 years ago and quickly achieved notable recognition, achieving 72% occupancy in its first year.
Since then the accolades have abounded, culminating in 2012 with remarkable recognition by the Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents (AZTA) as “Best Safari Lodge in Zimbabwe” for the 17th successive year and the respected Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards where VFSL was voted in the Top 25 Resorts & Safari Camps in Africa.

It has been featured in such distinguished global publications as Vogue, Habitat, Hello, Travel & leisure USA and in 1997 Tatler called it “one of the world’s 10 best-kept secrets.” Britain’s “OK” magazine voted it in “the top 25 resorts of the rich and famous” …and there have been many more. Heineken featured VFSL in its “Great Bars of the World” – the Buffalo bar has a supreme location overlooking a prolific waterhole, the sunset and a vast swathe of unspoiled Africa.

But founder Dave Glynn takes particular pride in one international award – Green Globe’s Distinction Award in 2000 for outstanding environmental performance. “We take our responsibility to the environment and to our communities very seriously,” he says. “Our Green Steps eco-initiative is a non-negotiable benchmark for all we do and, as we did 18 years ago, when we recently built the Safari Club the design had to adapt to many precious trees. Those that could not be saved were translocated to a nursery, along with the grasses, and have been replanted. We virtually fenced in the building contractors to stop them stamping haphazardly over the fragile environment.”

But since being showered with all these lofty accolades the Africa Albida Tourism Group, determined to remain the industry leader, has made further significant strides as, after a decade of slumber, confidence grows that Zimbabwe tourism is emerging once again into the bright sunshine. This reality is reflected in steadily growing official arrivals statistics and airlines, such as KLM and Emirates, now regularly plying the Harare route.

The heady world of luxury travel will be alerted to a sparkling new African duo of properties at the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) in Cannes from December 3-6. It’s the world’s leading event for luxury travel and showcases more than 1300 of the finest and most desired properties.

Exhibiting in style to catch the attention of the world’s rich and famous will be Africa Albida Tourism (AAT) whose chief executive Ross Kennedy will be showcasing the group’s two five-star gems – The Victoria Falls Safari Club (Zimbabwe) and Ngoma Safari Lodge (Botswana).

This will be AAT’s first foray into ILTM Cannes and the very heartbeat of luxury travel and follows a successful attendance at the inaugural ILTM Americas in Mexico in October 2012.

“One if often judged by the company you keep and that runs so true at these distinguished shows,” says AAT’s Ross Kennedy. “Our two experiences so far at ILTM’s have been outstanding and the carefully qualified VIP quality buyers have great knowledge and exude total professionalism.”

He said that AAT’s two top-luxury properties fulfilled the demand by discerning and wealthy travellers for quality, luxury, service and experiences.

ILTM Cannes will be the European launch of The Victoria Falls Safari Club, an exclusive 20-room butler-service unit on-property and adjacent to the 18-year-old and award-winning Victoria Falls Safari Lodge (VFSL).

“VFSL has been peppered with honours over the years,” said Mr Kennedy, “most recently endorsed by the celebrated magazine Conde Nast Traveler as one of the 2012 Top 25 Resorts & Safari Camps in Africa and Best Safari Lodge in Zimbabwe for the 17^th successive year by the Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents (AZTA).

“Imagine, such rich and worthy endorsements for VFSL now offer our guests an even more superior experience with The Club – the rooms are 50% larger, the luxury and exclusivity are immensely enhanced and the 16 rooms and four suites afford the same astonishing vista over unspoiled African wilderness and the wildlife.”

Complementing The Club, which opened in August 2012, will be AAT’s five star Ngoma Safari Lodge, the superior property in all of the Chobe Botswana area. It features eight stand-alone lodges located in the Chobe Forest Reserve at the edge of the game-rich Chobe National Park. Perched on an escarpment Ngoma overlooks the Chobe River and its vast floodplains and, with its idyllic isolation, is in total harmony with nature.

“Ngoma opened in mid 2011,” said Mr Kennedy, “and it has already made a significant mark amongst discerning travellers. It has a high occupancy rate and is attracting a very cosmopolitan international clientele, headed by Americans, Italians, Australians and French. Our guest book reflects their pure delight, but this is reinforced by the great acclaim Ngoma usually gets on Trip Advisor.”

Discover. Experience. Luxury. That’s the ILTM credo…and AAT’s Ross Kennedy is certain the visionary Zimbabwe group has the properties to match that dictum.

Africa Albida Tourism is proud to introduce Lisa Rickards as group Public Relations Officer, Lisa has recently returned to Zimbabwe after being away from home since her school days.

After completing her high school years in Zimbabwe, Lisa spread her wings across the ocean to the land down under and continued to press ahead with her studies; she graduated in 2004 with a business and communications degree from the Queensland University of Technology.

With that tucked safely under her belt she headed straight into a marketing and sponsorship role which, Lisa says, gave her great insight into business dealings and day to day corporate life. A great experience to have been involved with what is known to be the single biggest non profit organisations in Queensland.

Lisa’s urge to travel began to niggle and she soon found herself on a number of different continents and exploring South and North America was the order of the day. Adventure and intrigue led her yet again to follow her heart and go where the travel bug led her.

This time she found herself in Korea and settled into a two year post teaching full English curriculum as well as heading up the training of new international foreign teachers in South Korea. All the while she managed to explore Asia thoroughly.

The summer of 2012 called Lisa to London and what an exciting summer in London! Lisa was employed by LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games). This role comprised of the recruitment and training of over 3000 volunteers for a hosting operation to ‘welcome the world to London.’ Lisa’s main project was the development and delivery of a training program for these staff in preparation for Games Time. The operation was rolled out throughout all of the London 2012 venues for the summer.

Exhilarated Lisa headed home to Zimbabwe to put her valuable experience and expertise to good use in the equally astute team that she has now become part of. “Best wishes Lisa, may you have a long and happy stay at AAT.” Says Ross Kennedy, Chief Executive of AAT.