Pinnon Safari Lodge was designed and built by Ruth and Lyndon Pinches using the knowledge and experience of our friends in the Kafue National Park local community.
Lyndon Pinches is an ex-British army officer with an astounding enthusiasm for all things wild and dangerous. Pinnon Lodges is the result of his daydreams to build a safari lodge in Zambia that would allow him to pursue his lifelong ambition to live in the African bush and to create a business that would benefit and protect the wildlife he is so passionate about. Lyndon is in charge of the day to day running and organisation of the lodge and is chief photographer.
Ruth Pinches is an ex-primary school teacher from England with a similar passion for living the wild life and an absolute fascination with the living world. Ruth is in charge of administration and marketing for Pinnon Lodges.
Curiosity and a sense of adventure led us to pursue Lyndon’s daydream, and immediately upon arriving in Zambia (one of the most friendly and beautiful countries either have experienced in our numerous travels) we both knew we had made the right decision. We set about designing the sort of lodge we would like to stay in but couldn’t find within our budget; it should feel luxurious, special, comfortable, relaxed and intimate but above all, be affordable rather than exclusive.
HOW DID WE END UP HERE?
A question we are frequently asked is how did we end up here. Well it actually started in Malawi. We had taken short term positions at an anti-poaching organisation based in a small forest reserve with a population of 200 elephant which was significantly under threat from poaching. Lyndon used his military experience to advise and train the scouts while Ruth helped run things around camp. While an invaluable experience, we felt we could have a longer lasting impact by setting up a lodge and feeding profits in to anti-poaching efforts. Zambia seemed like it would be an ideal location so we packed up our backpacks and got the bus from Lilongwe to Lusaka. With the intention of exploring the country to find the perfect spot we purchased an old 4×4 and set off to explore. Less than 3 hours later the car ground to a halt, the engine pumping out black smoke. We were immediately taken in by the warm and friendly locals near Nalusanga. Stuck there for a week, we talked with our new friends about our plans, so, excited for us they insisted we should meet the Royal Chieftainess Kabulwebulwe. She gave us her blessing and promised to help us find the perfect spot next to The Kafue River. She kept her promise and so within days of arriving in Zambia it seemed our wild dreams were coming together.
THE BUILD
Having found the land at the end of 2014, we spent all of 2015 getting all the paperwork in place ready to begin building at the end of the rainy season in 2016. We opened in October 2016. Then November 2017 we had a huge fire which unfortunately destroyed the whole restaurant and dining area. So at the the end of 2017 we were building again! Happily we have now restored our beautiful restaurant.
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