Days 1 - 3 Northern Hwange

Arrive at Victoria Falls, where you will meet your guide and set off by road into Hwange National Park, located about 2 hours south of the airport. Roaming the 15 000 km² of this iconic park’s savanna grasslands and woodlands are the Big Five and a hundred other species of mammals, the largest diversity of mammals of Africa’s national parks. 

Located on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, Hwange has a semi-arid climate with marked seasonal changes. During the dry winter months (May to October) wildlife congregates around the shallow pans and man-made waterholes making for excellent and reliable game viewing. Once the rains arrive, however, the vegetation bursts into life, dry pans fill up and wildlife disperses to graze the more remote stretches of the park thanks to the abundant surface water. Bird watching is particularly good from November to April.

After enjoying your first game drive, arrive at your luxury lodge, home for the next 3 nights. The lodge consists of 9 spacious tented chalets with ensuite bathrooms and outside showers, built on teak decks and overlooking a magnificent waterhole – a favoured spot frequented by a variety of wildlife and large numbers of elephants, particularly in the dry season.

Savour the next 2 days of game drives and walks, exploring Northern Hwange National Park. Because your lodge is situated right on the edge of the mopane woodlands of northern Hwange and the Kalahari sandveld of the west, it so offers a great diversity of fauna. The elephant hunting lions of this area are famous. Night drives may reward you with various nocturnal species such as hyena, porcupines, civets, genet cats, and if you are lucky, perhaps even a leopard on hunt.

Days 4 – 7 Southern Hwange

This morning, embark on a 2-3hr game drive exploring the northeastern part of Hwange National Park before reaching Dete Railway Station just outside Hwange’s Main Gate. Here you will board a one of a kind game viewing train for the 2.5hr trip down the eastern border of Hwange National Park to your next camp located in the southeast corner of the park.

Your luxury eco-camp consists of 11 raised Meru-style tents with ensuite bathrooms and a view of a waterhole that attracts a great variety of wildlife.

During your stay you can enjoy game drives and walks, as well as horseback safaris and a visit to the local communities for an un-orchestrated look at village life in rural Matabeleland.

Back in Hwange you will stop at a specially built underground game-viewing hide, aka the "Look-up" blind, named such because its located at the water level so you'll be looking up at the elephants! It is a perspective without compare and an experience not to be missed!

You may also be able to join an anti-poaching unit for an early morning “dawn patrol” of the border of Hwange National Park, checking the area for illegal snaring or signs of poaching . You can provide extra eyes to these teams and get some hands-on experience in detecting poaching activity.

Guided bush walks are usually undertaken in the mornings or late afternoons and are conducted by a fully licensed and highly experienced armed Zimbabwean professional guide. In this remote and wild area, every walk provides fascinating insights into Hwange’s circle of life; watch Hwange’s elephants shake acacia trees to loosen and then eat the pods while on a smaller scale dung beetles roll up the elephant dung containing acacia seeds into balls. Dung beetles bury these balls, and the acacia seed is now ready to germinate and grow into a new tree.

Just before sunset, stop at a watering hole to watch the sun sink beneath the horizon before heading back to the lodge to freshen up for your delicious dinner under the brilliant stars, the Milky Way and the Southern Cross.

Day 8 Return to Victoria Falls

Enjoy one last Hwange sunrise with tea or coffee on your private deck followed by a hearty breakfast in the main lodge. After breakfast, depart for your road or air transfer to Victoria Falls for your onward travel.

Contact Africa Travel Specialist, Christine Boecker to book this Safari

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Accommodation ranges from tailor-made camp sites to luxurious safaris camps. 

The abundance of animal and bird life in mostly private wildlife areas is a result of its diverse range of habitats: teak and mopane woodlands, dry acacia scrub interspersed with pans and vast open palm-fringed plains, all of which can be explored on this exciting and adventurous walking safari.

Contact Africa Travel Specialist, Christine Boecker to join this Walking Safari

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Enjoy fine cuisine in five-star luxury as the train meanders northwards from Pretoria, across the Tropic of Capricorn before entering Zimbabwe, headed to Bulawayo, second city of Zimbabwe and capital of Matabeleland.

Continue along one of the world’s longest stretches of straight railway line – 114 km – before traversing Hwange National Park, a rich and diverse wildlife sanctuary where a game drive is included.

Contact Africa Travel Specialist, Christine Boecker to join this Rail Safari

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