Lady Jacqueline (houseboat)
Houseboat, half-day cruise or overnight · Houseboat: based at Bumi Hills, cruises the Matusadona shore · African Bush Camps
High-end
Outside the gate
Safari company
The houseboat of Bumi Hills Safari Lodge, sleeping eight in two queen cabins and two bunk rooms, with a plunge pool. It runs half-day cruises and overnight trips along the shore. Houseboat guests may not go ashore in the park unless an armed guide accompanies them.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Small enough for one family: two queen cabins, two bunk rooms
- A plunge pool on deck, plus an air-conditioned lounge
- Both half-day cruises and overnight trips available
- Booked straight through Bumi Hills Safari Lodge
Cons
- No rate published; ask Bumi Hills Safari Lodge directly
- Park fees are extra
- Cannot go ashore in the park without an armed guide
What's here
- Swimming pool
Arranged from the lodge:
- Boat trips
Read from Lady Jacqueline (houseboat)'s own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Matusadona National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryThe trust's conservation levy for an international adult.
- $30per person, per day
- VehicleForeign-registered car or 4x4, per day.
- $5per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $195 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
The ZimParks 2026 gazette gives $24 for an international adult, not $30. We use the trust's levy because that is what operators pass on in 2026. Confirm with reservations.matusadona@africanparks.org.
The full fee schedule for Matusadona National ParkRates at Lady Jacqueline (houseboat)
Not published. No rate is published. Booked through Bumi Hills Safari Lodge for a half-day cruise or an overnight trip. Park fees are extra.
What the rate covers is not confirmed. We do not know yet whether meals, drinks and activities are included, so read this as the bed only.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Indicative rates read in September 2026 from each property's own website or rate sheet, and where noted from an agent or the VisitKariba directory. Watch the basis: lodges quote per person per night, houseboats per boat per night, and several Kariba town places per room or per unit. Park fees are extra almost everywhere, at $30 per international adult per day on the trust's levy, and houseboats add their own park and lake charges.
Questions about Lady Jacqueline (houseboat)
How much does Lady Jacqueline cost?
No rate is published. Lady Jacqueline, Bumi Hills Safari Lodge's own houseboat, is booked through the lodge directly, either for a half-day cruise or an overnight trip, with park fees charged extra on top of whatever price you are quoted.
What is Lady Jacqueline like on board?
It sleeps eight guests in two queen cabins and two bunk rooms, with a plunge pool on deck and an air-conditioned lounge, small enough to suit a single family rather than a large group charter.
Can you go ashore from Lady Jacqueline in the park?
Not on your own. Houseboat guests may not go ashore in Matusadona unless an armed guide accompanies them, so sightings from the boat and any land activity need to be arranged through Bumi Hills Safari Lodge in advance.