Travel to Hwange

Hwange

is the most popular

wildlife reserve in Zimbabwe

wildlife is sustained by a network of sixty waterholes

At 15000 square kilometres, Hwange is a very substantial and high quality safari area with excellent populations of wildlife.

The landscapes are comprised of broad sandy grasslands dotted with tall palm trees and substantial patches of teak and acacia forests.

A very wide range of plains animals includes buffaloes, sables, roans, elands, zebras and giraffes, harried by loads of lions and reasonable numbers of cheetahs, leopards and wild-dogs.

The reserve contains an extensive network of around sixty waterholes, most of which are artificially pumped to sustain the dense wildlife populations, which have long since been cut off from the Zambezi River by human settlement.

Largely due to its proximity to Victoria Falls, Hwange is the most visited safari area in the country, but still retains a good sense of remoteness and authenticity away from the busy main gate area.

Private concessions

The Hwange area contains a number of private safari areas, including the well known Linkwasha Concession and Somalisa Concession.

These concessions generally contain between two and four camps, which enjoy exclusive use of their safari areas. They are also not subject to national park restrictions on off-road driving, walking safari and night vehicle safari, which can make an enormous difference to the range and quality of the overall experience.

Safari guiding

Hwange is renowned for having the highest level of safari guiding on the continent.

In other safari countries the vast majority of up close approaches to animals is done by vehicle. Here in Hwange many of the best guides simply use vehicles for finding tracks, once they find animals they like to get down and approach on foot. This often includes approaches to potentially dangerous animals like elephants and lions.

This kind of high adrenaline safari is by no means compulsory, there’s plenty of camps which take a more conventional approach, but if you are looking for this kind of experience, then you’re in the right place.

At 15000 square kilometres, Hwange is a substantial reserve of broad open landscapes.

It is comprised of broad sandy grasslands dotted with tall palm trees and substantial groves of hardwood forest.

Hwange is sustained by a network of sixty waterholes, most of which are artificially pumped to sustain the dense wildlife populations.

A very wide range of plains herbivores includes buffaloes, sables, roans, elands, zebras and giraffes.

Predators include loads of lions and reasonable numbers of cheetahs, leopards and wild-dogs.

The main activity is vehicle safari, often punctuated by picnics and sundowners.

The better camps also offer excellent walking safari, potentially including high adrenaline approaches onto lions and elephants

Another real highlight are the various hides, which provide intimate interaction as the animals come and go from the various waterholes.

Some camps are very much able to offer ‘armchair safari’, with the animals coming to you.

A handful of locations may also deliver some reasonably good night vehicle safari.

Hwange contains a dozen good camps, all of which are pretty authentic.

Access is usually by light aircraft from Victoria Falls. The journey can also be done by road transfer and even by train.

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Video

Map

The Hwange area is reasonably close to the substantial international airport at Victoria Falls, making it easy and convenient to include it in safaris.

The usual stay duration is 3-7 nights, with longer stays often combining two lodges.

Seasonality

The best time to visit Hwange is during the May-Oct dry season, when the wildlife is focused around the waterholes and easy to find.

Within that period, May-Jul is pleasantly cool at night, but the animals may not yet be fully migrated back into water.

Towards the end of that period, Oct-Nov the wildlife should be at its strongest, but the weather is likely to be uncomfortably hot, especially at night. Bear in mind that most camps do not have air-conditioning.

Getting there

Hwange lies quite close to Victoria Falls and the journey between the two is usually done by means of a scheduled light aircraft hop, direct into the various bush airstrips.

It is also possible to transfer by road, a journey of 4-5 hours. It may even be possible to travel down by train.

Onward flight connections are available to Matusadona, Mana Pools and on to Gonarezhou. Onward road connections can be made to Matobo, Great Zimbabwe and Gonarezhou.

Where to stay

The Hwange area contains a couple of dozen lodges, ranging from very chic high-end options to very large and dated motel style lodges.

Although not a hard and fast rule, the majority of the better camps are located in the private areas, leaving the lesser lodges, self-drivers and overland safaris to fight for space in the public access areas.

The best safaris to Hwange usually combine two or more of these private areas, or sometimes combine a private area with the main reserve.

Most of the good camps are set alongside these waterholes, providing some great ‘armchair safari’. Elephant viewing in particular can be exceptional, sometimes it feels like you are under siege, as the local herds wander between the tents and drink the swimming pool dry.

If you are specifically looking for the kind of high adrenaline safari described in the section on safari guiding above, then Camp Hwange and Hwange Bush Camp are the stand-out options.