Muddy Teak is a four-tent bush camp inside a private concession in central Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, taken by a single group at a time. It is built around walking, tracking and a waterhole a short walk from the tents. The camp opens seasonally from May to November, and shares its concession with sister camp Camp Hwange, about a kilometre away.
The camp opens seasonally from May to November
The camp sits beneath a canopy of Kalahari teak, close to the transition zone where the northern mopane woodlands give way to the sandy teak forests of Hwange’s southwest. Because the whole camp belongs to one party, there are no fixed drive times and no set dinner hours. The guides work to the wildlife instead, following lion calls into the dark or reading fresh spoor at dawn.
The waterhole in front of camp draws elephant, buffalo, sable and other game through the dry months. You can watch from the pool deck, from the tents, or from a ground-level logpile hide where guests sit at eye level with elephants close enough to hear them draw breath. The teak forest around it is home to a resident lion pride known locally as the Supermodel Pride.
You can watch from the pool deck, from the tents
Guiding is the reason most people come. Walking with these guides, a tracker alongside, is what sets Muddy Teak apart, whether that means following spoor through the woodland or standing quiet as the bush wakes around you. Beyond the tents the story runs deeper still, with concession fees contributing to park protection and anti-poaching patrols across Hwange.
The camp is the work of Dave Carson, a Zimbabwean professional guide with more than three decades in the bush. He took the concession in 2010 and opened Camp Hwange to guests in April 2012, building it around flexible guiding rather than fixed safari timetables. Muddy Teak followed later, a strictly sole-use extension of the same private ground. Carson remains a co-owner, a director and a working guide. Both camps now operate under Wild Expeditions Africa, the collective of independent, owner-run operators founded by Chris Roche in 2020, which Carson’s camp joined later.
Four canvas tented suites stand on low wooden platforms beneath the teak canopy, spaced for privacy and facing the water. Three sleep two adults each, and the fourth is a two-bedroom family suite, so the camp takes up to eight adults and two children in all. Roll-up canvas sides open the bedrooms to the woodland, and the indoor-outdoor bathrooms carry their showers to both sides of the wall. The furniture was made by hand in Victoria Falls by The African Touch.
The camp runs on solar power and draws its water, treated, from a borehole
Private concession status changes what a day can hold. Where the public park allows only daytime driving, here the guides go out at night after nocturnal hunters, take the vehicle off-road to reach a sighting, and lead walking safaris on foot. A three-course dinner can end mid-course if a guide hears a lion, the vehicle heading out into the dark to follow. Walking safaris are for ages twelve and up, and children of eight and over can join the game drives.
Carson is a trustee of the Bhejane Trust, and the camp works closely with Hwange Lion Research and Painted Dog Conservation, supporting the national park’s anti-poaching patrols. A partnership with the Lesedi Schools and Clinic near Victoria Falls brings local schoolchildren in twice a year, and apprentice guides are trained within Zimbabwe’s rigorous guiding tradition. The camp runs on solar power and draws its water, treated, from a borehole, so conservation runs through the daily operation rather than alongside it.
accommodation
Four canvas tented suites on low wooden platforms under teak trees, facing the waterhole. Three are standard suites for two adults each; one is a two-bedroom family suite. King beds, mosquito nets, roll-up canvas walls and indoor-outdoor showers throughout. Maximum eight adults and two children.
activities
Guided walking safaris and tracking with professional guides, morning and afternoon game drives, and night drives for nocturnal predators, all permitted within the private concession. Off-road driving to reach sightings, and time in a ground-level logpile hide at the waterhole. Walking safaris are for ages twelve and up.
conservation
Co-owner Dave Carson is a trustee of the Bhejane Trust, and the camp partners with Hwange Lion Research and Painted Dog Conservation, supporting national park anti-poaching patrols. Its Lesedi Schools and Clinic partnership hosts local children twice yearly. Solar-powered, treated borehole water.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
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Flying is the easy way. A light aircraft from Victoria Falls reaches Shumba airstrip in roughly half an hour, and camp is a ten to fifteen minute drive from the strip. Hwange has no scheduled flights, so the leg is a charter we build into the trip, and arranging it privately, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, suits a camp your party already has to itself.
By road, allow around four hours from Victoria Falls, with the last stretch inside the park driven slowly, effectively your first game drive. Whichever way you come, pack soft bags of about twenty kilograms per person including hand luggage if there is any flying in the plan.
Yes, and it should be planned for. Zimbabwe's malaria risk below 1,200 metres, which covers Hwange, is rated high by the UK's official travel health advice from November to June, with tablets usually recommended; from July to October, which is most of this camp's season, the risk is lower and bite avoidance is the baseline. The CDC takes a broader line and recommends antimalarials for the whole country all year.
Confirm what fits your dates with a travel clinic or your doctor, and keep covered up after dark either way.
Yes, the camp is only ever sold whole. Bookings start at three nights and four paying guests, and from there the tents, the guide and the vehicle belong to your party alone: nobody else at dinner, no sharing sightings, and the day built around what your group wants to do.
That structure is why it works so well for families and groups of friends. If your party is smaller than four or your dates are short, tell us anyway; we can look at whether the sums still make sense or point you to the sister camp on the same concession.
The rate covers the camp itself, all meals, house drinks, laundry and the full run of activities with your own guide and vehicle for the duration, so day to day there is very little to reach for a wallet over. Premium and imported drinks sit outside it.
Park fees and conservation levies are charged alongside the rate, and we build them into your quote from the start, together with the charter flights, so you see one honest figure for the whole stay.
Very little, and that is the point. The camp keeps its wifi deliberately limited, so plan to be offline for most of your stay and treat any connection as a bonus rather than a promise.
If you genuinely need to stay reachable, tell us before you travel and we will advise on what is realistic, and on where in the itinerary the reliable connections fall.
The season runs May to November, which spans Hwange's two extremes. Early on, dawn starts are genuinely cold, sometimes near freezing, so bring a warm jacket, a hat and gloves for the first drive of the day. By October and November the heat is fierce, and light, breathable clothing in neutral colours with strong sun protection becomes the whole wardrobe.
Because the walking matters here, bring comfortable closed shoes you have already worn in, long trousers for the grass, and binoculars for the hide. Soft bags only if you are flying in.
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