Africa | Zimbabwe | Water For Hwange Safari

Arrive at Victoria Falls Airport where your Zimbabwe safari experience begins. Meet your shuttle vehicle for your road transfer to Gorges Lodge on the edge of the Batoka Gorge, 200 meters above the mighty Zambezi River (30-40 mins).

Gorges Lodge has arguably the most spectacular views in Southern Africa and offers a unique Victoria Falls experience from a peaceful and idyllic base on the edge of the Batoka Gorge. Gorges is also a pioneering lodge in Zimbabwe, being the first built on community land in the country. The local community directly benefits from guests’ stay with contributions helping to improve schools, domestic water supplies, and health clinics in the local villages.

Spend the afternoon sipping delicious refreshments by the pool and enjoying the amazing view. Head off to Dibu Dibu for sundowners and snacks while you watch the lodge’s resident pair of black eagles soar only meters away from you. Before dinner, enjoy a short presentation by Mark Butcher (head guide) on the lodge’s pioneering community and conservation work in the Victoria Falls area and Hwange National Park.

Take a leisurely stroll back to the main lodge reception area where you’ll be entertained by a team of talented traditional dancers and enjoy a tasty 3-course dinner in the main lodge area, overlooking the gorge. Tonight’s moon is nearly full which should lend itself to some great photo opportunities of the Batoka Gorge. After some moonlight views and photos of the Batoka, enjoy a peaceful sleep listening to the sound of the Zambezi river rushing below you.

About Gorges Lodge

Perched 200 meters above the roaring Zambezi River, Gorges Lodge offers spectacular views and a quiet respite from the busy activities near Victoria Falls. The lodge is about a 30-minute drive from the falls on community land that it shares in partnership with local villages. Ten stone and thatch chalets sit on wooden platforms, each one facing an impressive skyline with views out over the gorge and river below. Activities from the lodge include visits to the falls and nearby Chisuma Village to gain insights into some of the real-life daily activities of a typical Zimbabwean rural community. Additional activities at Gorges include walks into the gorge and birding treks to see the pair of Verreaux’s Eagles that also call the lodge home or head into Victoria Falls to participate in any number of the adventure activities available such as white-water rafting, bungee jumping, and helicopter or microlight flights over the falls.

Today, we head into Victoria Falls town for a guided tour of Victoria Falls. One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Victoria Falls is one of Africa’s greatest geographical features. At 5,600 feet wide and over 330 feet in height, you’ll be inspired and amazed by the sheer size, power, and beauty of the thundering curtain of water. When the Falls are at their fullest a dense plume of spray rises 1,500 feet into the air visible from many miles away, which is why the Falls are known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya – “the smoke that thunders.”

Transfer by road (2.5 hours) to Dete Siding and board the Elephant Express railcar for a relaxed ride down the railway line across Hwange, game viewing all the way into camp. Light lunch and drinks will be served on board. The Elephant Express is a one-of-its-kind 24 seat private rail car that traverses the historic colonial-era railway line which runs along the edge of Hwange National Park and onward to Victoria Falls. Arrive on the Ngamo plains and disembark for a game drive to the ‘Look Up Blind’ to enjoy outstanding close-up elephant photography, literally at toe level, and enjoy sundowners over Stoffie’s Pan.

Arrive at Camelthorn Lodge, a community-based lodge situated in a beautiful indigenous forest on the edge of Hwange National Park and the Ngamo plains. Hwange is famed for its huge herds of elephants (they number upwards of 45,000 in the park!) but it also attracts a variety of other plains game including wildebeest, buffalo, kudu, waterbuck, and sable. Predators are regularly spotted, especially lions, jackal, cheetahs, leopards, and wild dogs are also known to frequent the area.

Today you’ll explore and learn about the successes and challenges of community-based tourism and conservation from the front-line villages located directly on the border of Hwange National Park. Historically, indigenous rural communities received very little direct benefit from Zimbabwe’s booming tourism industry. For the rural villager living next to a national park, wildlife was by no means an attraction: elephants ate their crops and lions killed their livestock. The animals were problematic and something to neither encourage nor protect. Tourists were just people that traveled past in buses who sometimes waved but spent their money elsewhere.

Mark Butcher and his team of guides and lodges have worked for 20 years to change that paradigm. The goal and long-term vision are that by building safari lodges and camps within the communal lands and peripheral areas around parks and by bringing people closer to nature, a symbiotic relationship between conservation, responsible tourism, and local communities can grow. This in turn promotes the conservation of the local wildlife and natural resources and encourages sustainability for these village communities while at the same time adding significantly to the experience for the responsible safari enthusiast. You will visit several villages, both of which have benefited from tourism and those which are only beginning to.

Head to Ngamo School, in a nearby village, and walk to school with the local kids, arriving to attend school assembly. Meet with the local village headman, Johnson Ncube as well as the school headmasters to hear more about what village life is like on the border of Hwange National Park. Embark on a game drive through the park to Mfagazana pan to christen the new solar/diesel hybrid pump, which provides water for thousands of elephants and other wildlife in southern Hwange. Visit the neighboring Vulushaba village and christen their new solar pump, providing water for the villagers. This village has played an important role in identifying two international poachers who were apprehended thanks to their help. The hybridization of both pumps will be funded by the participants on this safari. Return to camp with sundowners en route and then dinner under the stars at Bomani pan.

Enjoy early morning tea or coffee and prepare for a full-day trip into the park for a one-of-a-kind‘ pump run.’ Hwange’s famous elephant herds and all wildlife in the park are sustained during the dry season on a pumped water program started in the 1930s. This ‘pump runs’ combine game viewing in remote areas of the park with practical hands-on conservation.

Participate in supply and maintenance support to the wells and pump attendants that are the heartbeat of Hwange and its water-dependent wildlife. Your efforts today will directly support thousands of elephants and other wildlife. Game drive from pan to pan, weaving between the throngs of jostling elephants that come pouring in for the water, which makes for a fun, memorable, and extremely rewarding day.

About Fly Camp

Our fly camp setup is a simple and authentic African experience, hearkening back to the early days of safari when travelers slept surrounded only by the wide-open expanses of the bush, and the night sky glittering overhead.  We’ll sleep with comfortable bedrolls – a 2” foam mattress with sheets/blankets, a pillow, and mosquito nets, around a crackling campfire. Fall asleep in the crisp night air to the sounds of the bush, as scouts ‘stand guard’ with a weapon and keep the fire stoked up through the night.

Wake up to an early breakfast over the campfire and depart on a patrol with the Cobras en route to the most remote part of the National Park and an exclusive adventure camp, Jozibanini. Located in the far south-west of Hwange National Park, a five-hour drive through sandy 4×4 country from the nearest civilization, Jozibanini ranger station had been abandoned and frequented by elephant poaching. After these incidents, Mark and his team decided to establish an outpost at Jozibanini which staff and a privileged few guests could use as a base for both management of water resources and a safari experience unlike any other. The camp’s presence in the area deters poachers and is even staffed by ex-poachers who have turned over a new leaf. Keeping the experience truly wild, the six tented rooms at Jozi sit on raised wooden decks, all full en suite. Dine al fresco with nothing but the African sky above as befits the ambiance.

The ecosystem here is semi-desert, akin to the Kalahari in neighboring Botswana. Ancient windblown fossil sand dunes are separated by shallow valleys where elephant paths have compacted the terrain, providing the opportunity for game viewing by mountain bike. The Jozi project has helped protect and conserve hundreds of acres of remote park, and regular traffic on the route has translated into reliable support for both the park’s pump attendants and about 25% of Hwange’s thirsty wildlife in the dry season.

Arrive and attend a debriefing and settle into your tent before venturing out for a game drive and picnic lunch overlooking the Jozi waterhole. Join your professional naturalist guide for a walking safari, exploring the region around camp and track elephants and other game which frequent the waterhole. Dinner is under the stars before retiring to your tent for the evening. The beds can be rolled onto the deck of the tents, so you can drift off gazing skyward at millions of stars in the dark Hwange sky.

About Jozibanini Camp

Jozibanini Camp is situated in the remote and wild southwest of Hwange National Park in a wilderness unused for nearly 20 years. Only the wildlife and the Parks rangers who look after it frequent this area, once roamed by San people. This is a small, truly exclusive camp in a truly wild place, providing a unique, untamed wilderness experience.

Ideally, we recommend this as a two-day add-on for guests from Imvelo’s other Hwange properties; Bomani, Camelthorn, or Nehimba. Enjoy bush breakfasts, mountain biking safaris, and the look-up blind. Sleepouts are also available where you’ll fall asleep to the sounds of Africa and the endless starry sky.

Head out for a guided mountain bike ride through the elephant paths along the inter-dune troughs around Jozibanini (this is a slow, non-technical ride). Your guide will set up a lovely picnic lunch for you under a shady tree where you can have a siesta before riding back to camp in the afternoon.

Head into the underground blind for a few hours of spectacular ‘toe nail’ level photographic opportunities of wildlife at the waterhole. This unique perspective makes for amazing photos and videos. Once the sun has set, enjoy a drive back to camp for a tasty dinner under the glorious night sky.

Depart Jozi for a full-day game drive through the remote southwestern Hwange to Nehimba Camp. Nehimba is situated right on the edge of the mopane woodlands of northern Hwange and the Kalahari sandveld of the west and offers a full spectrum and diversity of fauna. The topography here is entirely different from the south of the park, with kopjes, some rolling hills, and thick mopane forests. In addition, the elephant hunting lions of this area are famous. The area is well watered so is host to large numbers of animals throughout the year but particularly during the dry season.

About Nehimba Lodge

Deep in a private concession tucked inside the remote northern region of Hwange National Park hides Nehimba Lodge. By combining luxury living with ultimate elegance and African charm, this lodge is designed to create the most exceptional safari experiences. The main guest area and seven spacious guest accommodations are thatched tents built on teak decks, overlooking the magnificent lodge pan – a favored spot frequented by a variety of wildlife and large numbers of elephants, particularly in the dry season. Each thatched tent has a private balcony, en-suite bathroom with an outdoor shower, hot running water, and electricity provided by the camp’s generator. The main lodge includes a swimming pool and free wifi.

One of the unique features of the Nehimba area is the famed Nehimba seeps. The seep is an ancient source of water once used by the San Bushmen historically as well as being a place where elephants still dig for water and minerals. The sunset photography opportunities with elephants are second to none in this unique and peaceful spot.

For those who would like to view Hwange in a different ‘light’, you can accompany one of the guides on a night drive through the concession. Filtered spotlights are used to pick out the various nocturnal species that can be found such as hyena, porcupines, civets, genet cats, and if you’re lucky, perhaps even a leopard on the hunt!

Road transfer via a three-hour game drive to Mbala and a four-hour transfer on the tarmac to Zam Sands (last one-hour game drive in Zambezi NP). Zambezi Sands River Camp is set on the banks of the thundering wild waters of the Zambezi River, inside Zambezi National Park. Settle into your luxury tent and enjoy a tasty late afternoon snack on the main lodge deck while the mighty Zambezi rushes past. Head out on a game drive, stopping off at a scenic spot to watch the sunset with sundowners and mouth-watering canapés. Night drive back to the lodge and indulge in a superb three-course meal under the stars before retiring to your tent.

About Zambezi Sands River Camp

Located on the sun-drenched shores of the mighty Zambezi River inside Zambezi National Park, Zambezi Sands is 10 luxuriously spacious canvas tents set on wooden platforms, each one with a private view of the river, all connected to the main lodge by elevated walkways. Each tent is opulently furnished in an Arabic-Bedouin-type ambiance featuring double or twin beds with a lounge area, en suite bath as well as outside toilet and shower. Outside each tent, a massive deck has a private splash pool to cool off and relax with a drink in hand in complete privacy. Transfers in and out of camp can be by boat. Located 40 minutes from Victoria Falls, Zambezi Sands has the advantages of being in a more isolated, pristine wildlife habitat, and on a more calm section of the river allowing for many activities including canoeing, fishing, game walks, and wildlife safaris, sunset cruise in a private boat, and excursion to Victoria Falls. Experience real ecotourism visiting a Zimbabwean village and school supported by the camp.

Start the morning on foot, exploring the shoreline and enjoying its wildlife. Park rangers and staff routinely patrol this section of Zambezi National Park for illegal snaring or signs of poaching by Zambians from the north bank – your group will provide extra eyes to these teams and get some hands-on experience in detecting cross border poaching activity in support of Park Rangers.

Return to camp for a light lunch, a dip in your private plunge pool, or take a short siesta. After a safety briefing, float the Zambesi in stable inflatable canoes through gentle rapids and lazy channels past small islands. The trip will culminate in the last sunset on one of the sand bars to enjoy a cool drink and tasty snacks.  Return to the lodge via a ‘night eyes’ game drive before enjoying a farewell dinner around the boma fire.

Enjoy your last morning sipping tea or coffee on your private deck as the sun rises over the river and the mist settles and then breakfast on the main lodge deck, taking in the sights and sounds of your Zimbabwean safari one last time. Transfer to Victoria Falls Airport to catch your departing flight.