Top 5 Luxury Safari Waterholes

When you head off on your luxury safari undoubtedly you will be imagining water holes surrounded by wildlife, this is not actually as common as you may think – but their truly is nothing better than a luxury safari camp which has a good waterhole, preferably one you can see from the private verandah of your luxury room or tent. Watching the wildlife come to drink is wonderful and in the dry season often this can attract vast numbers of game, many different species and some predator action too. Here are our top five waterholes in Africa.

Enasoit, Laikipia, Kenya (as pictured above)

Enasoit is an exclusive luxury tented camp which was once a loved family home, and still very much has that feel. Here there are a couple of waterholes seen from the tents and the main area which attracts numbers of game that will blow you away. Everything from eland, to zebra, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and lion make use of these waterholes and the camp has featured in many round ups and blog posts about just that. Our MD Rose Hipwood confirmed this on a recent visit, she was also astounded by the sheer numbers of game species and the abundance of them. You can watch zebras playing, and elephants splashing around and it really is a haven for wildlife enthusiasts.

Sirikoi, Lewa, Kenya

Sirikoi is an extremely luxurious lodge which has a waterhole directly in front of camp – you can sit on the deck, or in the pool or on your own verandah and watch elephants come down to drink – they come at the run so exciting is it for them to see the water hole they drink at daily. On a recent stay at Sirikoi guests were lucky enough to see a waterbuck fight which often ends in the loser being pushed into the water to submit to its adversary – and all of this while sipping a chilled glass of wine from the Sirikoi deck.

Jamala Madikwe, Madikwe, South Africa

This chic and glamorous owner run lodge provides hours of entertainment for our office as they share their videos of whats been going on at the waterhole in front of camp – daily there are elephant and other game species coming down to drink. Something about just having had water makes all the wildlife very frisky and you can see the most wonderful game interactions by just sitting and waiting to see what turns up.

Chitwa Chitwa, Sabi Sands, South Africa

The dam in front of Chitwa Chitwa already has a pod of hippo living happily within it, and simply watching them can provide hours of entertainment between game drives, they often have babies and are very vocal. The dam also attracts elephant daily and on the plains on the opposite side to this luxury lodge one can often see all kinds of plains game, and if you’re really lucky the odd predator too.

Manyara Ranch, Northern Tanzania

Manyara Ranch has a small waterhole in front of camp which during the dry season is a positive haven for game. It is not unusual to see lions in front of camp and you will certainly see plenty of zebra, giraffe and other plains game as they come to gratefully make use of the little water there is. Manyara Ranch is a wild and luxurious camp which offers the perfect off the beaten track safari in this area which can be a little touristy when one ventures into the National Parks.