Hwange National Park

Hwange is a vast area and requires patience and travel over great distances to see the wildlife. There is no fencing so the animals wonder over large areas.
We prefer to get away from volumes of commercial tourism so Hwange is the ideal place for us. We love it and will return as often as we can.

If you're into bush vibe, this park is a great destination; not so much so if you're into wildlife.

Hwange National Park is quite a large national park, which gives off a really nice bush vibe since it is definitely not overrun with tourists at all, neither in minibuses or private vehicles. Due to the vegetation of rather dense miombo woodland, you can see wildlife practically only at the many waterholes; safaris consist therefore of driving from waterhole to waterhole. Due to the overpopulation of elephants you'll see a lot of these! It seems the mismanagement of Zimbabwe by the current regime has had a surprisingly limited influence on the park in terms of wildlife. Conclusion: if you're into bush vibe, Hwange National Park is a great destination; not so much so if you're into scenic beauty or wildlife.

Enjoying a great park on a budget

We visited Hwange in December which is a little far into the rainy season to see the most animals. The best time to visit is in September when the water holes are great places to spot the wide range of animals in the park.
We stayed in the rustic National Parks cottages which, even in the middle of shortages that were affecting Zimbabwe, were great places to stay and very cost-effective.
We did not have a 4x4 but found there to be ample routes around the park for a normal 2 wheel drive car. We saw a wide selection of antelope, giraffe, cheetah and zebra. We were sad to miss out on the elephants but they had disappeared off into the bush because of the rains. We also got great views of the Black Rhino at the nearby Hwange Safari Lodge.
When we were not self-driving, we went on some excellent guided drives with extremely knowledgeable local guides.
At that time of year, the birding was excellent and could fill in the periods when the larger game was not visible.