At close on 15 000sq km, Hwange National Park is the largest wildlife reserve in Zimbabwe. Situated in the northwest corner of the country, it’s a mere hour’s drive from the Victoria Falls, and can be tacked on to a Falls visit with ease. Michelle Coleman looks at what’s on offer.

About Hwange National Park

Despite some highly-publicised accounts of poaching in recent years, Hwange National Park offers prolific game viewing with over 100 mammal and 400 bird species. The park’s elephant population is large, and the Wild dog population is one of the largest surviving in Africa.

Managed by the Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Management Authority, Hwange offers a series of camps of various sizes, some of them large enough to offer facilities such as restaurants, grocery stores and fuel stations. Waterholes, dams and pans provide excellent locations for game viewing. There are also picnic and fishing spots as well as wilderness trails to hike.

The park also boasts a number of privately operated lodges, each with its particular appeal.

Hwange’s private lodges

• Bomani Tented Lodge, Imvelo Safari Lodges

Located just outside the park, Bomani Tented Lodge is a favourite of Karen Paardenkooper, Senior Sales Consultant at Travel Wild Africa. Clients can fly in and transfer by road, she says, or board the Elephant Express (see Activities below). In addition to game drives and walks, it also offers visits to the local village and school.

This lodge highlights the ‘pump run’ as an activity, an all-day trip to eight waterholes in the park to drop off fuel and rations for staff at these points. A picnic lunch is enjoyed near one of the waterholes, followed by a leisurely game drive back to the lodge in the afternoon.

• Camelthorn Lodge

Pump runs, village and school tours are also offered at Camelthorn Lodge in the southeast of the park, where the centrepiece is a large Camelthorn tree. Less than a kilometre away, the lodge has built an underground blind in front of a waterhole. Camouflaged as a termite heap and buried under an ancient Mitswiri tree, it offers dramatic photographic opportunities. Elephants can be photographed from toe level, silhouetted against the sky at a distance of eight metres.

• Davison’s Camp, Wilderness Safaris

Davison’s, named after the park’s first warden, Ted Davison, is one of the most affordable options offering a private concession experience. It sports a raised deck to view the busy camp waterhole in comfort and runs visits to successful community projects at villages on the outskirts of Hwange.

• Elephant’s Eye, African Luxury Hideaways

Elephant’s Eye is not far from the entrance to the national park and has a sleep-out deck where guests can spend the night under the stars.

Esther Ruempol, Key Account Executive, and Cordula Gallarate, Contracting and Team Manager for Your Africa, point out that gourmet food and wine weeks are periodically held at Elephant’s Eye.  The next one is scheduled from December 16-20, when Darryl Burger, a chef and sommelier from Cape Town, will take guests on a gastronomical food and wine journey.

• Ivory Lodge and Khulu Ivory, The Amalinda Collection

“Outside of the park, close to Hwange Main Camp, we love both Ivory Safari Lodge, for its rustic feel and its sister lodge, Khulu Ivory, which is a bit more upmarket. They are both located in a private concession overlooking their own waterholes,” says Travel Wild Africa’s Karen Paardenkooper. 

From here, guests can visit the Painted Dog Conservation Centre, which conducts research into the African Wild dog population. They can also indulge in a pan sit – spending the day relaxing near the pan watching the animals, with full waiter service on standby.

At Khulu Ivory, guests are wined and dined around the Captain's Table, enjoying a gourmet-three course meal. They can also experience a unique ‘Show Kitchen,’ where they get involved in the culinary processes, watch food being prepared and interact with the chefs.

• Linkwasha Camp, Wilderness Safaris

Linkwasha Camp has an excellent location, near the Ngamo Plains, which offer excellent year-round game viewing. It is one of the most exclusive camps in the park, its nine luxurious en-suite tents (eight twin and one family) giving uninterrupted views of a waterhole. The public area includes multi-level decks and a cosy winter lounge complete with fireplace and library. Shaded salas surround the pool.

• Little Makalolo, Wilderness Safaris

The camp’s six spacious en-suite tents, with both indoor and outdoor showers, are nestled in the tree line. Teak walkways lead to the main area. A discreet log-pile hide looks out over a waterhole. Situated on a raised platform overlooking Madison Pan a 20-minute drive away, is the Star Bed where guests can spend the night under the stars.

• Nehimba Safari Lodge, Imvelo Safari Lodges

Guests can watch the large herds of elephants that frequent Nehimba Safari Lodge, while having their breakfast. This lodge is set in Hwange’s north, and over and above comprehensive game-viewing activities, offer visits to the Nehimba Seep (a source of surface water that was once used by the San), to Mandavu Dam for good birdwatching and to the Mtoa Ruins, an ancient settlement.

• Somalisa Acacia Camp and Somalisa Camp, African Bush Camps

Somalisa Acacia has been rebuilt and now has two family units with inter-leading walkways between parents’ and children’s rooms, as well as two standard sail tents. Somalisa Camp offers seven sail tents with en-suite bathroom facilities. The two camps can be booked in conjunction to cater for larger groups.

• The Hide

Repeatedly named the ‘Best Tented Safari Camp’ in Zimbabwe, The Hide sleeps 20 guests in luxury tents overlooking a waterhole. It also features Tom’s Little Hide with three en-suite safari rooms sleeping six adults, and The Private Hide with private lounge/dining area and plunge pool. Both can be booked exclusively, with the dedicated services of a private guide and vehicle.

Kim Beyers of Kim Beyers Representation represents the lodge locally.  She points out that it boasts knowledgeable and enthusiastic guides conducting up to four game activities each day, including bush walks, day and night drives, and hide sits reached by an underground tunnel. A highlight of the lodge is its treehouse-style Dove’s Nest, where guests can spend a night with comfortable beds and ablutions.

Hwange Activities

• Hwange Walking Safari

This five-day safari on foot takes place in the Linkwasha Concession in the south-east, and includes Davison’s Camp, Scott’s Pan Platform, Ngamo Pan Platform and Linkwasha Camp. Further information is available here.

• Elephant Express Train

This rail transfer option transports guests between the Ngamo and Impofu sidings, providing an alternative scenic and relaxed transfer along the north-east boundary of Hwange National Park. The refurbished railcar can accommodate 22 passengers on individual coach seats, with teak tables in between. Lunch and drinks are served en-route.