The Ark Lodge

this is a real eye opener the Ark is quite high up that is was a bit chilly the staff where very nice and helpful the food was first class and lots to chose from. there is viewing areas to view wildlife at the waterhole and salt lick that attracts all the animals. rooms are nice and they even put hot water bottles in the beds. after 5 they light the big fire in the lounge that fills the room with heat

This mostly wooden structure was built in the 1970's and doesn't appear to have been upgraded since. The only reason to go here, from my perspective, is to view wildlife at the waterhole. Most of that activity occurs during the night. We were told that we would be alerted throughout the night via a bell system when there was activity at the waterhole, but that didn't happen and we were disappointed. We apparently missed some good activity. The food was buffet style, good and there was a lot of variety. Though we reserved a room with a double or larger bed, months in advance, we were placed in a very smelly room with 2 smaller than twin beds. There is no heat in the rooms and we were cold. Some black liquid leaked from the floor above onto our luggage rack area, wall and floor. The response to our reporting of this was underwhelming. When our travel agent contacted them about this, Ark staff casually told her that the black fluid was wildlife excrement and offered only a weak apology. In hindsight, we believe they knew this before our stay - because of the dark stains on the floor. Also, there was a huge mark up in the gift shop. At least on books. The whole experience was pretty bad.