Eminently EveNB: It is strongly advised to read all the reviews on this site in their entirety to ensure that the destinations really suit all your needs & preferences.
Click on the subheadings below to jump to their contents:
- Introduction
- Booking & contact details & fees
- Travel/Motorist First Aid Kits for sale
- Directions, road conditions & best type of vehicle to use
- Arrival & experience with the staff members
- Accommodation & fees
- Meals & fees
- Activities
- Conclusion
Introduction
In September 2014, my husband and I met and we have been inseparable since. Being September 2024 now, it’s wild to imagine that it’s been 10 years already. We of course decided to celebrate this big 10 the best way we know how and that is to spend some quality time together while having some much needed intimacy with nature. We also decided to buy ourselves a boat from South Africa so we planned quite an elaborate trip around collecting it from Beitbridge.
The trip outline was as follows: We would leave Harare around 6am and get to Lion & Elephant Motel in Bubye around midday and spend the night there. This would allow us to break the driving distance so that we are always fresh and alert when on the roads. The next morning we would wake up and head straight to Nottingham Estate which would be our first holiday destination. We would spend three days and two nights there, only leaving on the third day to go and collect the boat before heading to Romelda Lakeside Retreat in Masvingo (our second holiday destination for this trip) where we would spend four days and three nights.
Now that we have the plan for the trip all laid out, let’s see if it all went according to the plan and what I think of the destinations we visited, starting with the Lion & Elephant Motel.
Booking, contact details & fees
The contact number for Lion & Elephant Motel is +263773284637. It was quite easy to find as they are active on Facebook. I sent a WhatsApp message to the number and Keith was on the other end of the chat. He communicated in a timely manner and made sure that the booking process went smoothly. He told me that we did not have to pay anything in advance but we always prefer to, in order to avoid driving around with more cash than necessary. Swipe machines and bank transfers are also not the most reliable as most destinations are in remote areas with poor network coverage. So we paid for the accommodation in full.
Contact us on +263784887595 for your Practical Travel/Motorist First Aid Kits for $35 each.
Directions, road conditions & best type of vehicle to use
The travel date came and I was super thrilled. Lion & Elephant Motel is located on the banks of the Bubye River in Masvingo province, just before Matebeleland South Province. It is about 503 kms from Harare and about 122 kms from Nottingham Estate.
From Harare you take the Masvingo/Beitbridge road (A4 / Simon Mazorodze road). The road is newly laid tar all the way to Masvingo except some few kilometers in Fairfields which have horrible potholes. From Masvingo to Lion & Elephant Motel there are some parts with good tar but several others where you have to take detours as the road is still being upgraded. We passed quite a number of small cars on these roads so I imagine it is possible to use a small vehicle from Masvingo to Lion & Elephant Motel. A lot of patience & caution would be required though to navigate the parts with the horrendous potholes and the several dirt roads.
I would not recommend driving a small car on these roads during the rainy season in their current state.
Arrival & experience with the staff members
We arrived at Lion & Elephant Motel around midday and we received a warm welcome from everyone we interacted with. One lady took us to our chalet but the ladies who were cleaning were not done yet, which was understandable since we had arrived two hours early.
We decided to go and have lunch while they finished working on the chalet.
Accommodation & fees
Our chalet was ready by the time we finished lunch so we headed straight there. The chalets all look warm and inviting from the outside with their freshly painted green walls and thatched roofs. Our chalet was number 33 and it was $65 per night (two people occupancy).
As I opened the door, I saw some stunning reed baskets beautifully decorated on the wall to my left. There was a half length mirror in the corner, a tea station with everything one needs to make tea and a four corner socket. There was also a camping-like chair on one side and a wooden bench on the other side. This was quite a good start to the chalet tour. I liked how they made this section look arty but also functional.
I left that corner and while glancing around the room, the bed caught my attention. It was covered quite elegantly in white linen and a green throw blanket which matched the brightly coloured pillows to give the bed some character. I sat on the bed to give it a quick comfort test and it was quite good.
On each lower corner of the bed were some large, thick, blue folded towels with hand soaps on top. Two bedside lights were also mounted on the wall which gave that section of the chalet a really cosy feeling.
I continued exploring and my steps led me to one of the biggest bathrooms I had seen in a chalet thus far. At the far right was the white toilet with a wooden seat. In the middle facing the door was the white basin, a lot of usable space around the basin and a mirror mounted on the wall between two large windows. At the far left was the spacious walled shower cubicle which perfectly kept water on that side instead of flooding the entire room. The bathing water was nice and hot as they use gas for heating.
All in all, I was really happy with how our home for the night looked. It covered all the basics and offered a lot of comfort.
Meals & fees
Lion & Elephant Motel offers meals and their menu with prices is displayed on their WhatsApp catalogue which makes it easier to plan. The menu is not extensive though so if you’re a foodie you may not find it to be versatile enough. However, being just a stopover place, most travellers will find it to be quite sufficient.
For breakfast we had the full English option (toast, bacon, sausage, eggs, beans and some rooibos tea) which was $10 per person. Continental breakfast is also an option (cereal, yoghurt, fruit, toast) and is $5 per person.
During lunch we had their $5 beef burgers, $3 french fries and a soft drink which might have been $1 but I don’t really remember. The other option was toasted sandwiches with ham, cheese & tomato, chicken mayo or bacon & egg for $4.
Dinner was either rump steak $20, pork chop $15, chicken schnitzel $15, fish fillet in batter $10 or beef stew $8. The above are served with either chips, rice or sadza and some vegetables. On our first night we had chicken schnitzel & rice and the second night we had sadza & beef stew.
All the meals were freshly made and tasty. I enjoyed.
Activities
Lion & Elephant Motel is a stop over point with their main objective being to give travellers a safe and comfortable place to take a break while travelling. It therefore does not have dedicated activities. What I enjoyed quite a lot though was to have a dip in their well maintained large pool. I felt fresh and relaxed, especially after several hours of being on the road. I also enjoyed taking a stroll on the sandy Bubye riverbed early in the mornings and late afternoons.
Swimming is free as a resident but you will be charged a small fee to use it if you are just stopping by to catch a few hours break.
Conclusion
Lion & Elephant Motel is definitely a perfect stopping point when you are travelling in the Southern region of Zimbabwe. The well maintained accommodation and freshly cooked meals are every long distance traveller’s dream. I also love how they maintain their garden so well which gives such perfect relaxing spots. The motel is in addition surrounded by a lot of natural vegetation with the Bubye dry riverbed being an eye catcher. The swimming pool is definitely the icing on the cake.
I hope you enjoy your stay there when you are next travelling in that region. If you do visit please share with me your thoughts here or on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram.
Remember to always have a little intimacy in your life & as always I’m talking about Intimacy With Nature
