Elephant Playground
Hwange is Zimbabwe’s premier national park and attracts concentrations of elephant and buffalo as impressive as any in Africa. During the Dry season these arrive by the thousand, migrating from as far west as Botswana to dominate the waterholes and surrounding bush. A rich variety of other herbivores that nibble their way through the park’s tapestry of mopane woodland, teak forest and open savannah includes plentiful giraffe, zebra, blue wildebeest, greater kudu and, of course, impala. Sable and roan are among the more notable antelope, the former occurring in good-sized herds in the eastern woodlands. All major large predators are also present, and the park’s small but healthy population of African wild dog is the focus of an excellent conservation centre just outside the main entrance – well worth a visit.
Recent surveys suggest that populations of some of Hwange’s large mammals have declined over recent decades, with the park having struggled during Zimbabwe’s difficult times. On my last visit to the north of the park (May 2018), an area that boasts the scenic grandeur of the Sinamatella Plateau, I found game viewing harder work than previously. This may have reflected poaching and other management problems, but it may equally have been down to poor luck or the time of year. Hwange is certainly highly seasonal, with game dispersing widely during the rains and congregating in the Dry season, and the dense bush in some areas can make wildlife viewing challenging. By contrast, however, my most recent visit (October 2019) to the southeast produced some spectacular game viewing at the height of the Dry season. It is in this region that most private concessions are located, with game drives often exploring the open plains around Ngweshla and other permanent pans. The lion prides here are well known for preying upon young elephants – something that I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to witness. I also saw wild dogs, cheetah and, to my amazement, a pangolin.
Hwange remains a viable self-drive destination for the independent traveller, with several public camps and all-weather roads, although the infrastructure is today a little frayed at the edges. Private camps – most located in concessions along the park’s eastern boundary – are today preferred by many visitors. These offer an excellent safari experience, with guides well schooled in locating the large predators. Waiting at waterhole viewing platforms can often be more rewarding than driving around, especially during the Dry season. And with few visitors, you will often have sightings all to yourself. Whatever your approach, Hwange’s diversity of habitats means a corresponding diversity of wildlife, and persistence, in my experience, is generally rewarded with something special. Birding is always excellent, with Kalahari species such as pied babbler and violet-eared waxbill spicing up the savannah woodland selection. Raptors are especially prolific.