Zimbabwe Safari

Day 1

Arrive in Victoria Falls and transfer to the Victoria Falls Hotel or Ilala Lodge.

2 nights on a bed & breakfast basis

Day 3

Today you drive to  Little Makalolo Camp, situated in a remote and private concession within the vast Hwange National Park. Hwange is legendary for its wonderful array of wildlife, particularly the massive herds of elephant and buffalo, and summer sees the large antelope herds migrate onto the plains, closely followed by large predators.

The 6 room camp is built around a waterhole providing excellent viewing of wildlife. Each tented room has en-suite facilities. The lighting in the rooms is battery-powered so there is peace and quiet in camp, allowing one to listen to the sounds of the bushveld instead.

The main area has a lounge, pub, plunge pool and dining area where delicious meals are served. While the emphasis is on game drives, night drives and guided walks, well-situated hides or raised viewing platforms provide the ideal manner to while away the lazy midday hours, watching wildlife come down to the waterholes to drink.

There are a number of shallow pans spread throughout the Park, around which wildlife congregates, making for excellent and reliable game viewing. During summer plains game migrate onto the plains, closely followed by their predators. Elephant, Cape buffalo, sable, roan, southern giraffe, blue wildebeest, impala and sometimes even gemsbok (oryx) can be seen here. This Park is one of the best for predators – lion, leopard, wild dog and cheetah are regularly sighted, along with the smaller African wildcat, serval, honey badger, civet and spotted hyaena.

3 nights at Little Makalolo Camp on a full board basis plus activities.

Alternative accommodation is Davisons Camp, Somalisa Camp and The Hide .

*Mikes note: During the dry season, Hwange offers exceptional wildlife viewing, and being such a large park, a combination of two different safari camps is recommended.

Day 6

Today you will fly across country to the Zambezi Valley.

On the middle reaches of the Zambezi River, a hundred kilometres below Lake Kariba is the Mana Pools National Park situated in the heart of the Zambezi Valley. Ruckomechi Camp lies on the banks of the Zambezi, shaded by a large grove of acacia and mahogany trees and with a superb view of the mountains of Africa’s Great Rift Valley across the river in Zambia.

Ruckomechi Camp accommodates guests in eight spacious en-suite tented units, including a honeymoon suite, all of which overlook the Zambezi River. Each tent has both indoor and outdoor showers, and the camp boasts a favourite amongst guests: its outdoor ‘bath-with-a-view’ in a secluded, scenic spot. The central dining, bar, library and lounge areas face the escarpment and are connected to the rest of the camp by low-level walkways that minimise our environmental impact. There is a separate deck with infinity pool for swimming and sun bathing, and an inviting, cushion-strewn star gazing deck.

The camp vegetation is dominated by broad canopied albida trees, much loved by elephants for their rich nutritious pods; these animals often join visitors in camp for a light meal!

The area is renowned for large numbers of elephant, buffalo, hippo and eland, especially in the winter when they concentrate along the river. Predators such as lion, leopard and wild dog are all found in the area.

3 nights at Ruckomechi Camp on a full board basis plus activities.

Alternative camps in Mana Pools are semi permanent mobile camps, and Kanga Camp

* Mikes note:  Kanga Camp is worth combining with Ruckomechi, during the dry season. Kanga is located away from the Zambezi River. The camp is strung out around a waterhole, and provides amazing close up viewing of predators such as lion and wild dogs.

Day 9

Today you fly back to Victoria Falls and connect with your onward arrangements.

Further details

The schedule outlined above, is an example of the many types of trips we can put together for you in Zimbabwe. For more details on customising the ideal trip, and costs, please contact us.