Zimbabwe Holidays

Take in the majesty of Victoria Falls on a two-hour guided visit that will bring you face to face with one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. This extraordinary waterfall was created over millions of years as the constant pounding of the mighty Zambezi River eroded what began as a narrow fissure in the basalt plain into what you see today, so its waters now plunge dramatically into a chasm around 75m wide and 108m deep.

Once through the entrance of the National Park, you’ll begin with a visit to the statue of Dr David Livingstone, where you’ll learn about his first encounter with the Falls, his reactions and his role in spreading its fame to the wider world. From here, you’ll continue along the path facing the Falls, stopping at the viewpoints along the way and, conditions permitting, descending the Chain Walk for a closer view of Devil’s Cataract and Cataract Island. Between March to July, when the river is at its highest, you can feel the ground shaking and the noise is incredible.

The spray, which rises high into the air and looks just like smoke and creates a unique ecosystem on the opposite side of the chasm, supporting a dense rainforest rich in plant, insect and animal life. As you walk through it, your guide will give you a brief explanation of how the Falls were formed along with pointing out some of the more interesting plants, birds and other points of interest.

Step back in time to a more gracious era with an indulgent late-afternoon Zambezi cruise on an elegant vintage-style boat. The three vessels in the Ra-Ikane fleet were inspired by the design of David Livingstone’s expedition craft, the Ma-Robert, and feature plenty of gleaming teak and brass. Carrying just 12 to 16 passengers, along with a captain-guide and a waiter, they’re a wonderfully stylish and intimate venue from which to drink in the beauty of the pristine wilderness.

You’ll depart from the jetty 3.5km above the Falls and glide quietly up the Zambezi and then down in a circular route, admiring the scenery while the crew keep you supplied with canapės and your choice of drinks. This stretch of the river is broad and shallow, and the captain will skillfully steer you through narrow channels between islands teeming with game, sharing his knowledge of local history and wildlife. The Ra-Ikanes’ small size allows them to go where the larger boats can’t, so you’re all but certain to have close encounters with hippos, crocodiles and elephants, along with a host of other animals and birds, along the way.

The grand finale to the 2-hour trip is a dazzling African sunset, with the changing colours of the vast sky reflected in the lake-still water for as far as the eye can see – a truly breathtaking sight. As darkness begins to fall, you’ll return to the jetty for your return transfer to your local hotel.

Along the north-eastern boundary of Hwange National Park, remnants of Africa’s colonial history can be seen peeping out of the terrain. This section of the railway line, built in 1904 as part of the British imperial dream to run a railway from Cape to Cairo, links the small village of Dete to the open grassland of the Ngamo plains and Bomani Tented Lodge. The Elephant Express is a 24-seater railcar that transports guests to the south-east remoter regions of Zimbabwe’s largest national park. Breezing over the plains in this open-sided railcar feels like no ordinary transfer.

It takes two hours cruising along at 25 miles per hour, three hours if you count the minutes spent stopping for your first glimpse of Hwange’s extraordinary creatures. You might think that the animals would be deterred by the sight of a railcar but the trainline has been part of Hwange’s scenery since 1904 slicing through the land on its way to Victoria Falls. It even pre-dates the park itself, which wasn’t officially declared until 1928. On your journey you might come across a couple of lion or even families of cheetah who use the raised track as vantage points to scout for prey. Or it could be elephant plodding across the way, wildebeest cantering through the tall grass and if you’re lucky, you might catch a thrilling encounter between predator and prey. Your driver will glide you along slowly to get a good look or completely stop for you to relish the moment.

Hwange National Park offers a glimpse into the Africa of old. Its 5,657 square miles still feels wonderfully preserved with that feeling of empty space, few people and animals as far as the eye can see. This sense of exclusivity is powerfully enhanced in the private concession encompassing Bomani Tented Lodge located in the remote south-east part of Hwange.

On safari you’ll find extravagant natural beauty; watery pans alive with diverse wildlife from baboons to big cats, plains frequented with predators such as lion and packs of African painted dog. Then there’s the record amount of elephant – in the late, dry season nearly 50,000 – so easy to see in the flat open grassland. For close encounters, you can often spy these fascinating creatures from behind the two water-level photography hides by the very active Stophie’s Pan.

Off-roading in the national park is forbidden, but in the private concession, Bomani guests can veer off track and follow game on foot. The guides here are some of the best in the continent due to the many years it takes them to simply acquire a walking safari license. Those who have ever experienced animal-spotting on foot will know that these types of safaris can be the most thrilling. You can tread silently up to a Cape buffalo, so closely you’ll be in awe of the sheer size of its torso, and observe a waterhole during the dry season when animals appear from all directions to lap the dwindling water. The smaller wildlife is equally inspiring like the cute looking dwarf mongoose that in their packs can even take down a cobra. Night time brings a whole new dimension. Using the gentle beam of red torchlight you might spot the shy-natured aardvark or the holy grail of safari animals that is the leopard stalking its prey at night. You’re a long way from civilization but that’s what makes it so exciting.

One of the biggest draws for guests to Hwange is the park’s wonderful elephant herds – the tusker elephant population numbers more than 40,000. Activities at Somalisa Camp include walking safaris, game drives and birding trips. When walking you get to bond with nature without the sound of an engine. Walking around the waterholes your guide will show you how to identify tracks of insects, birds and mammals.

Hwange National Park is the largest in Zimbabwe. It is named after a local Nhanzwa chief and was once the royal hunting ground for the Ndebele warrior-king Mzilikazi. The wildlife is astounding. Over 100 species of mammals live here and there are more than 400 species of birds. One of the biggest draws for guests is the park’s wonderful elephant herds – the tusker elephant population numbers more than 40,000. Activities at Somalisa Camp include walking safaris, game drives and birding trips. When walking you get to bond with nature without the sound of an engine. Walking around the waterholes your guide will show you how to identify tracks of insects, birds and mammals.

The dry season (July to October) is the best time to visit as large concentrations of wildlife descend to drink from the waterholes. You can get between seven and 10 species – sable, elephant, buffalo, lion and others – around a waterhole at one time, giving each other time to drink. The Zimbabwe national flower, the flame lily, is in bloom too. In the wet season, the rains turn everything green and migrating birds arrive from the Northern Hemisphere. Hwange National Park truly is a year-round spectacle.

After nearly 20 years, white rhinos have been reintroduced into Hwange National Park. As part of your stay at Bomani, you’ll can join the rhino experience, which starts at the sanctuary headquarters. Here, you’ll meet the special rhino guards, the Cobras, who’ve been recruited from local villages and trained to protect the animals 24/7 and alleviate human-wildlife conflicts. They’ll give you a short talk about the project before seeing the rhinos. Each Cobra has a story to tell; some were even former poachers who’ve now dedicated their lives to saving rhinos.

Back in the 80s, rhinos were part of the scenery but all were sadly lost to poachers. Thanks to the Community Rhino Conservation Initiative (CRCI) two male rhinos, Thuza and Kusasa are in the park and visitors may be able to spot the Big Five in Hwange.

Next, you’ll take a short walk to find Thuza and Kusasa, who live on former cattle grazing land that belongs to villages in the Tsholotsho area. CRCI works with the community to create sustainable conservation; funds raised by the visits go directly towards projects such as school improvements, boreholes and healthcare, meaning that villagers have an incentive to cherish wildlife.

Approaching rhinos in their natural environment is an absolute privilege. You’ll come away humbled and inspired by this remarkable conservation story with the aim to safely reintroduce white rhinos into the wider national park.

When Ted Davidson, the first warden to work in Hwange National Park, arrived in 1928, you can only imagine his surprise when he discovered there was no reliable surface water available for the wildlife during Hwange’s long dry seasons. During the wet season, the wildlife would flourish but when the rain ceased and the pans dried up, the animals would vanish, migrating to rivers outside the boundaries of the park. Davidson, pressured the colonial authorities to release funding so he could establish year-round waterholes fed by windmills. The wildlife quickly responded and flourished under this new system. Seeing how these pumps sustain wildlife in Zimbabwe's largest park is an interesting activity between safari game drives.

After some five years of mapping terrain and studying the environment while every dry season feeling frustrated by his inability to sustain his wildlife and in particular the elephants under his protection, it became clear that something needed to change and the introduction of windmills was the best solution.

Over the years, windmills were replaced with diesel engine-driven pumps, more effective at pumping the requisite amount of water needed to sustain the larger population of wildlife now inhabiting the park. From the remote outpost of Bomani, guests can actually see these pumps in action on a pump run while delivering fresh food and technical supplies to the pump attendants. From May to November every year, enthusiastic youngsters, all hailing from the front-line villages, man each of the 19 waterholes across 120km.

Today most of the diesel engines have been replaced by solar hybrid pumps. The solar component pumps water during the day time and the diesel hybrid component takes over in the evening as much of Hwange’s wildlife, in particular the famous elephant herds, drink all through the night.

Flying across the African bush on a light aircraft is always a fantastic experience, but flying into and out of Lake Kariba is an experience you’ll never forget. Kariba, on Zimbabwe’s northern border, is the world’s largest manmade lake, in terms of volume of water. Seeing it from the air makes you appreciate its vastness – you feel like you’re at the edge of the sea.

Guests book the flight as a way of travelling from A to B and getting between camps but it’s a very special flight. As you cross the countryside on the Bumi to Mana Pools flight, part of the Zambezi river comes into view. You get plenty of time to appreciate the spectacular landscape beneath you while enjoying views of the rugged Matusadona mountain terrain, the islands and the petrified trees.

Flying times are dependent on whether a Cessna or Caravan is being used but the flight from Somalisa to Bumi is around 1 hour 15 minutes and from Bumi to Mana is around 1 hour and 20 minutes. Sometimes you get a glimpse of the Kariba dam wall – a must for any engineers – with its magnificent concrete arch. The amount of water that pours over is quite phenomenal. The pilot will give commentary especially if they see wildlife as sometimes you can see elephants grazing at the shoreline.

What makes Bumi so special is that they don’t have any other operators nearby so you only see their vehicles in the area. The scenery itself is amazing and, during game drives and walking safaris, you can often see animals, including  elephants, impalas, kudus, waterbucks and baboons, on the shoreline.

Safaris can start very early. There's a great spot for sunrise with a lot of beautiful ‘dead trees’. After that you could do a mid-morning game drive and return for lunch just in time to see large elephants arriving at the shoreline for a mud bath and swim in the lake. You could do the late-afternoon drive with sundowners. Kariba sunsets are amazing. During a night safari you'll be on the lookout for nocturnal species like white-tailed mongooses, owls and maybe even hyenas and genets.

On Kariba, there are certain animals that you can see more often than in many other places and their behaviour is totally different. They are so used to the vehicles which they don’t see as a threat. On a walking safari, there’s a lot to talk about – dandelions, ants and termite mounds as well as animal footprints. How fresh are they? Where are they going? How do trees communicate? There’s so much to learn.

Bumi Hills has so much to offer with water-based activities on the lake. A lot of animals come close to the shoreline where there’s plenty of food to eat and you can see these on a boat cruise where you can approach the animals without causing much noise. Lake Kariba is also one of the greatest fishing spots in Africa amd over 240 bird species can be found.

Instead of a game drive you could choose a mid-morning or afternoon fishing trip. There are a lot of different species you can catch but in particular it’s great for tiger fishing and bream. A lot of people who want a challenge choose tiger fishing which is done on a catch-and-release basis. After you catch one, you can weigh it and see how many kilograms it weighs before releasing it back into the lake.

Afternoon boat cruises start at around 4pm to search for animals on the shoreline. The advantage with this is that you can approach the animals without causing much noise. For birding, Kariba’s amazing because there are over 240 bird species reported in the area; darters, cormorants, plovers, Egyptian geese and herons. The cruise then docks somewhere and wait for sunset, probably one of the best you will ever see.

Canoeing trips on the Zambezi normally take place in the afternoon when you’ve got the sun on your back and you’re just flowing down the River Zambezi. You can canoe yourself or you can be accompanied. Fishing, on a catch-and-release basis is best in the morning.

Canadian-style canoes made from fibre; two-man seaters or three-man seaters depending on the number of people are used. 

You may find elephants feeding by the river and sometimes they may cross right in front of you. Keep an eye on the shoreline as lions, waterbucks, impalas and birdlife come to drink in the river. Sundowners are normally set up by the water just when the sun is setting behind the escarpment on the Zambian side. You may hear the hippos honking and elephants from behind you and sometimes you get to hear lions calling.

Fishing is best in the mornings. Fishing is on a catch-and-release basis and done from the banks of the river except during the rainy season when you will fish from a boat. You don’t need to be an expert, you'll be taught by your guide. There’s a large number of bream species, tiger fish, barbel, bubblebarb squeaker, chessa, nkupe among a few of the many fish found in the Zambezi.

Mana Pools is a World Heritage Site. It’s more like a floodplain and it’s very flat so walking safaris are relatively easy. There are many acacia trees that draw the animals to the water and its quite open so you can see them from a distance.

You may see wild dogs, lions and elephants standing on their hind legs which is a rare behaviour. They stand on their hind legs to break the branches off the trees, an adaptation started by one of the bull elephants then the other elephants followed.

As you are driven around on a game safari, when you see something interesting you can stop and walk towards it so you don’t have to drive off-road. You really feel at one with nature. Walking is what every guide loves to do because you can actually get close to the animals. You also get to see the smaller things such as antlion that live underground and feed on other insects which you wouldn't get to see from a vehicle.

When David Livingstone first saw Victoria Falls, he called it ‘a sight so wonderful that angels must have gazed down on it in flight’. Nowadays, mere mortals can also enjoy a privileged aerial view of one of the world’s greatest natural wonders on a breathtaking helicopter ride, during which you’ll be able to appreciate not just the magnificent waterfall but the sheer scale of the Upper Zambezi and the landscape through which it flows.

When David Livingstone first saw Victoria Falls, he called it ‘a sight so wonderful that angels must have gazed down on it in flight’. Nowadays, mere mortals can also enjoy a privileged aerial view of one of the world’s greatest natural wonders on a breathtaking helicopter ride, during which you’ll be able to appreciate not just the magnificent waterfall but the sheer scale of the Upper Zambezi and the landscape through which it flows.

For the 12-minute trip, inevitably known as the Flight of Angels, you’ll be collected from your hotel for the five-minute drive to the helipad site, with the plumes of spray from the Falls providing an impressive backdrop. After a short safety briefing, you’ll climb aboard a four-seater or six-seater Bell helicopter and, with a whirr of the rotor blades, lift off into the sky for your first bird’s-eye glimpse of ‘the Smoke that Thunders’.  

The pilot will fly left-hand and right-hand circuits over the waterfall in both directions, giving passengers the best viewing, filming and photographing opportunities, before turning to head upstream over the vast Upper Zambezi for about 4km. From here, you’ll return to the helipad over the Zambezi National Park, keeping a lookout for wildlife below you. For even more of an indulgence, there’s also a 25-minute Zambezi Spectacular option, which includes a loop over the dramatic Batoka Gorge below the Falls.