zimbabwe
the zambezi, hwange and rhino
Twelve nights across northwest Zimbabwe, from Victoria Falls to Hwange's plains and springs and the upper Zambezi.
- Private Safari
- From $10,635 pp
- 2 guests
- 12 nights
trip highlights
- The Zambezi drops into the Batoka Gorge along a curtain of falling water nearly 1.7 kilometres across at Victoria Falls.
- At Mana Pools you follow elephant, lion and painted dogs on foot and by canoe across the Zambezi floodplain.
- Hwange's pumped pans draw large dry-season elephant herds to fixed waterholes in the Robins country.
- In the Matobo Hills you track white rhino on foot through a granite landscape scattered with San rock art.
Scroll for the full itinerary
Across Zimbabwe's Waters and Hills
The route links five parts of Zimbabwe in turn. It opens at Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi drops into the Batoka Gorge, then moves to the Mana Pools floodplain, walked and paddled rather than driven. From there it reaches Lake Kariba and the Matusadona shore, the pumped pans of northern Hwange, and finally the granite of the Matobo Hills.
You travel by a mix of boat, vehicle, canoe and foot, with days shaped by the season and the water. Walks and game drives sit alongside river cruises, canoe trails and rhino tracking, and the wildlife runs from elephant and painted dogs to buffalo, lion and rhino. The stays are small camps and lodges, from island treehouse suites and canvas tents to rooms worked into granite.
Daily Itinerary Breakdown
Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River
The Zambezi reaches Victoria Falls as a wide, slow river, then drops into the Batoka Gorge along a curtain nearly 1.7 kilometres across, with footpaths threading the rim rainforest to a run of viewpoints. Days run from a mainland lodge a short boat transfer away, with game drives in Zambezi National Park, sunrise and sunset cruises, guided walks and canoe trails. Your suites sit on a private Zambezi island reached only by boat, six timber-and-glass rooms raised on stilts above the water, adults-only and apart from the main lodge. Elephants follow the banks below and hippos surface in the channels after dark.
- Accommodation at Island Treehouse Suites
Mana Pools on Foot and by Canoe
This is a floodplain wilderness walked and paddled, not driven. Days combine walks, drives and canoe trips as the morning demands, following elephant, lion and painted dogs, with canoes drifting past hippos and crocodiles at eye level. The dry season draws elephant and buffalo down to the shrinking river, and the winterthorn forest is where bulls rear onto their hind legs to reach the high pods. Little Vundu keeps five canvas tents on a private concession fronting the Zambezi, run by guide Nick Murray and built around walking safaris, rebuilt each May and dismantled in November.
- Accommodation at Little Vundu
Lake Kariba and the Matusadona Shore
Here the safari often begins on the water. Game is watched from a boat as readily as from a vehicle, elephants cooling in the shallows, buffalo grazing the exposed lakebed, hippos and crocodiles working the inlets, while land-based drives and walks stay on a private concession. Days follow the rhythm of the lake, with boating, sundowner cruises, birding and catch-and-release fishing for tigerfish. Bumi Hills Safari Lodge crowns a hill above Lake Kariba near the north-eastern edge of Matusadona National Park, its infinity pool appearing to blend into the lake horizon.
- Accommodation at Bumi Hills Safari Lodge
Hwange's Waterholes in the Robins Country
Days here are led on foot and by vehicle across the hilly, rocky Robins country of northern Hwange, working the springs and pumped pans that hold the wildlife through the dry months. Deteema and the nearby springs pull in elephant herds, and the way to see them is to settle at a waterhole and let the sightings come rather than chase them. Buffalo move through in large herds, several lion prides hold year-round, and leopard, cheetah and wild dog are all recorded here. Hwange Bush Camp holds seven Meru tents under tree shade, struck each November and rebuilt in May, run by Dave Carson and Antonette as part of their Kazuma Trails operation.
- Accommodation at Hwange Bush Camp
Matobo Hills and Rhino on Foot
Days here revolve around tracking white rhino on foot through Matobo National Park, alongside guides who know the terrain intimately, some of them professional archaeologists. This is a landscape of granite domes, balancing rocks and whale-back dwalas, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site scattered with San rock art, so a walk to a painted cave carries as much interpretation as any game drive. There are no lions or elephants here; the focus falls on rhino and leopard, on klipspringer and rock hyrax and breeding pairs of Verreaux's eagle. Amalinda Lodge works nine thatched rooms directly into the granite boulders, built by Phil and Lin Stead in the early 1990s.
- 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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- Private Safari
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- 2 guests
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- Private Safari
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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.