zimbabwe & botswana
khwai camping to chief’s island
Twelve nights from Victoria Falls to the Chobe and across Botswana's Okavango, by vehicle, boat, mokoro and on foot.
- Private Safari
- From $8,995 pp
- 2 guests
- 12 nights
trip highlights
- Walk among habituated elephant bulls and canoe past hippos and crocodiles on the Zambezi floodplain of Mana Pools.
- Run a water-based safari along Lake Kariba's drowned shoreline at Matusadona, watched by boat as readily as by vehicle.
- Settle at the pumped pans of northern Hwange, where elephant herds gather through the dry months.
- Track white rhino on foot through the granite domes and San rock art of the Matobo Hills.
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Zimbabwe on Foot and by Water
This twelve-night route links five parts of Zimbabwe in turn. It opens at Victoria Falls and the Zambezi, moves to the walked and paddled floodplain of Mana Pools, then to Lake Kariba’s shore at Matusadona, on to the pumped pans of northern Hwange, and finishes among the granite hills of Matobo.
You travel by 4×4, boat and canoe and, above all, on foot, with walking safaris central at Mana Pools, Hwange and Matobo. The camps are small and, in places, seasonal: canvas tents on the Zambezi, a lakeside lodge, a seven-tent bush camp and rooms worked into granite. Guiding leads throughout, from tracking elephants on foot to tracking rhino across the stone.
Daily Itinerary Breakdown
Victoria Falls and the Upper Zambezi
The Zambezi reaches Victoria Falls as a wide, slow river before dropping into the Batoka Gorge along a curtain of water nearly 1.7 kilometres across. These first two days take in the falls and the calm river above them, with footpaths through the rim rainforest, sunset cruises past hippos, crocodiles and elephants, and the option of rafting the gorge below or a helicopter flight over the curtain. You reach Old Drift Lodge by a cruise of roughly fifteen minutes along the Zambezi, inside Zambezi National Park on the site of the old river crossing. Its fourteen canvas tented suites face the water, each with a plunge pool and a claw-foot bath on the deck.
- Accommodation at Old Drift Lodge
Mana Pools on Foot and by Canoe
Three days on the Zambezi floodplain at Mana Pools, walked and paddled rather than driven. Walks approach habituated elephant bulls on foot as they rear onto their hind legs for winterthorn pods, while canoe trips drift past hippos and crocodiles at eye level and drives follow fresh lion or painted-dog tracks. Little Vundu holds a private concession fronting the river, five canvas tents under sausage trees, run by guide Nick Murray. Rebuilt each May and dismantled in November, it is a simple bush camp with open-air bathrooms and meals cooked over the fire.
- Accommodation at Little Vundu
Matusadona and Lake Kariba
On the southern shore of Lake Kariba, Matusadona runs its safari from the water as readily as from a vehicle. These two days mean boating and sundowner cruises along a shoreline of drowned trees, elephants cooling in the shallows and buffalo grazing the exposed lakebed, with catch-and-release fishing for tigerfish and guided walks on the private concession. Bumi Hills Safari Lodge crowns a hill above the lake, looking across to the Zambezi Escarpment, its infinity pool edged toward the water horizon. It reopened in January 2018 after a full renovation.
- Accommodation at Bumi Hills Safari Lodge
Northern Hwange and the Pumped Pans
The Robins area of northern Hwange is undulating, rocky country of mopane woodland and open grassland, worked on foot and by vehicle over these three days. The pumped pans and springs near Deteema hold Hwange's elephant herds through the dry months, and the way to see them is to settle at a waterhole and let the sightings come; buffalo herds and lion prides work the same ground, and painted dogs den across the park between June and August. Hwange Bush Camp is a small seven-tent camp run by Dave Carson and his wife Antonette, struck each November and rebuilt in May, with guides who host the meals and share the fire.
- Accommodation at Hwange Bush Camp
Matobo Hills and Rhino on Foot
The Matobo Hills are a landscape of granite domes, balancing rocks and whale-back dwalas, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site scattered with San rock art. These final two days centre on tracking white rhino on foot through the national park, with klipspringer and rock hyrax on the stone, breeding Verreaux's eagle overhead and painted caves interpreted by guides who include professional archaeologists. Amalinda Lodge is built into the granite boulders on a private concession some 45 kilometres from Bulawayo, its nine thatched rooms shaped around the rock, with a wine cellar in a natural cave.
- Accommodation at Amalinda Lodge
Ed Charles, BBC Producer
Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.
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zimbabwe & botswana
the falls, the delta and the pans
Twelve nights from Victoria Falls into Botswana, linking a walking concession, a permanent Delta lagoon and the salt pans.
- Private Safari
- From $24,480 pp
- 2 guests
- 12 nights
zimbabwe
falls, plains & the zambezi
Thirteen nights across Zimbabwe, from the Zambezi at Victoria Falls to Mana Pools, Lake Kariba, Hwange and Malilangwe.
- Private Safari
- From $23,105 pp
- 4 guests
- 13 nights
rated five stars by our clients
our approach
remote, exclusive
& personal
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.
Get in touch to start planning yours.