Welcome to Tembo Plains Camp
“For those travellers seeking a luxury Zimbabwe safari, Tembo Plains Camp, located in the private Sapi Reserve, is the perfect place.
“Tembo” means Elephant in Swahili. This luxury safari camp honours the animals found on these Zimbabwean plains alongside the Zambezi River. We draw on the elephant’s pace and essence for the camp’s atmosphere. Tembo Plains Camp reflects more than just a place; it also speaks to our long and unique relationships with elephants.”
– Dereck Joubert
Tembo Plains Camp
Tembo Plains Camp is tucked away into a thick riverine forest on the edge of the Zambezi River. It lies in the private 128,000-hectare Sapi Private Reserve, east of Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park.
When we designed this Réserve-Collection luxury safari camp, it was to reference the famous Zimbabwe Ruins and not lose sight of our love of exploring.
Tembo Plains Camp is a unique combination of canvas and stone walls. The semi-circular walls inside each tented suite isolate the bath and shower from the bedroom and indoor lounge areas. Outside, a pack-stone wall design referencing those Zimbabwe Ruins continues along the back of the guest bedroom. It gives you a greater sense of privacy, which is often an issue in tents.
We didn’t want a completely ‘built room’, so the front of all the guest suites offers uninterrupted views of Zimbabwe’s Zambezi River flowing past.
Tembo Plains Camp has four double or twin-bed configuration suites.
In the main camp’s central area, the wine cellar and interactive 5-star kitchen feature this stone design again. The spa and curio store are each individually hidden discreetly behind beautifully weathered Zanzibar doors.
All these carefully considered design elements accentuate a relaxed, luxury Zimbabwe safari experience.
Our fellow Réserve-Collection luxury safari camp in Zimbabwe is The Zanji Suite at Tembo Plains.
Our Réserve-Collection luxury safari camps in Botswana include Zarafa Camp and The Dhow Suite at Zarafa, Selinda Camp and the Selinda Suite, Sitatunga Private Island and the Sitatunga Private Island Suite, and Duba Plains Camp and the Duba Plains Suite.
Fellow Kenyan Réserve-Collection luxury safari camps are Mara Nyika Camp and The Sambuk Suite at Mara Nyika, Mara Plains Camp and The Jahazi Suite at Mara Plains, Mara Toto Tree Camp, and ol Donyo Lodge.
Tembo Plains Camp is a proud member of Relais & Châteaux – the only luxury Zimbabwean safari camp currently with this honour.
Safari Suite
Tembo Plains Camp has four double or twin-bed configuration suites. Each offers guests a private indoor lounge area, outdoor swimming pool (with exercise bikes on an expansive veranda) and outdoor dining area.
Stunning, handmade bathtubs complement indoor and outdoor showers and give each suite a sense of ‘home.’
Each suite has a professional camera and a selection of lenses for your complimentary use. At the end of your safari stay with us, your wildlife images and video footage is downloaded as our gift to you to take home.
High-quality binoculars are available for you to use while with us at Tembo Plains Camp.
The complimentary Wi-Fi and working areas in each suite provide space to catch up on business or manage your photographic images from the day’s safari adventures.
All these little touches deliver your desired luxury Zimbabwe safari.
Safari Experiences
Painted dogs, lions and leopards are common around Tembo Plains. Buffalo are regularly seen and, sometimes swimming in the Zambezi River itself, as are hippos and elephants.
The private Sapi Reserve was established in 2016 by Great Plains Conservation as a beautiful private photographic reserve safe for wildlife. It borders the Mana Pools National Park to the west and forms part of our mission to convert vast tracts of Africa into pure conservation land.
The Sapi Reserve is now recognised as one of the finest wildlife destinations in Africa today. We have unrestricted access to this fantastic wildlife sanctuary and, should we wish, access to the neighbouring Mana Pools National Park. Therefore, guests can explore a combined range of over 337,000 hectares of prime, protected wilderness.
The Sapi Reserve is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and a core area of the middle-Zambezi biosphere reserve.
Enjoy the privacy of a safari, so rare today, in a wildlife-rich sanctuary along the Zambezi River with us. Here you don’t have to worry about anything else except how best to soak up every moment. Enjoy day and night wildlife-viewing drives, boating, canoeing, and guided walks and tracking during your stay. And, of course, our Relais & Châteaux level cuisine and service.
Feel free to check out the live, online PlainsCam, which streams live footage from the floodplains in front of the camp.
Watch the world-famous lions of National Geographic fame hunt during the day
Play cricket on the banks of the lower Zambezi River
Canoe the lower Zambezi River and have lunch on a sandbank in the middle of the river
Lasting Impact
Sapi Reserve Restoration: Restoring 128,000 hectares along the Zambezi River
Working with teams of world-renowned experts, the Great Plains strategy for restoring the Sapi Reserve includes developing basic infrastructure, roads, and communications systems, a strategic wildlife management plan, wildlife monitoring teams, support for Zimbabwe National Parks, species reintroduction, ongoing flora and fauna surveys, and photographic tourism—all with a single goal in mind: to restore and protect this essential ecosystem.
