Hwange National Park

HNP is one of the best compare with others in Zambia and Zimbabwe

I did electrification of Hwange NP as Chief Electrical Engineer visited many times with wife & twin sons from May 93 to Jul 89

Spend time in an unspoiled wilderness with something to see round every corner

Hwange has been mostly untouched by the modernisation of the western world. The wildlife there is free and you can see it in the behaviour of the animals and birds. As you drive by them they watch you with what appears to be mild curiosity but have little fear if you don't get too close. The park is wonderfully safe (from people), nicely located 1.5 hours drive from Victoria Falls and is huge so one can drive around all day. The accomodation in the National Park's lodges is basic but comfortable. Clean bedding, Mosquito nets, Fridge/freezer, kettle, cooking and eating utensils. We had Elephants eating the tree pods all around our chalet at one point. As an Ex Zimbabwean and a wildlife photographer I love staying here. I'm also happy to stay at more expensive private lodges nearby but the chalets at Main Camp are lovely for me.

Hwange is absolutely beautiful with good roads and accommodation, but giving you that exclusive bush hideaway. We have been sitting at the hides on our own for hours just watching the wildlife. Lots of elephants to be seen. Discovered best places to see them is at the waterholes from the platforms/hides. The heat makes the animals come to drink all through the day. Nyamandhlovu Platform is a prime game viewing area at a pumped water hole. We took excellent photo's here. We stayed in selfcatering lodge at Main Camp and had excellent dinners at the restaurant. Te park covers vast areas and one has to be prepared to take food along each day and lots of water. Fill up with petrol/ gas when you can. Excellent curios /art pieces to buy on the road to Hwange from Victoria Falls.

The scale is right, the place is delightful, the staff are great, the animals are abundant.

Everything about the Hide in Hwange works well. The rooms are comfortable without being unnecessarily opulent and are right for the location. The travel arrangements ( you are picked up from the Park Entrance) work really well, there is abundant game and a wide choice of excursions and drives. The staff, with whom you eat the exceptionally good food, are extremely knowledgeable and hard working. Its a rare destination and not to be missed.

Wonderful amount of wildlife around, many birds and animal species.
Roads/tracks not good, lot of rubbish on roadsieds.

Loved the scenery and abundant wildlife. It was a great time to be there as there many more animals than people.

A little-known pearl in the heart of Africa

Perhaps Zimbabwe is one of those places in Africa where mass tourism has passed by in recent years due to socio-political reasons. May be it is also that same reason that turns a safari into this wonderful national park into a unique experience. Tranquility, little influx of visitors and an enormous diversity of fauna make this place an essential scene to enjoy any nature trip.

Located in an enclave punished by the history of the last two centuries, this park summarizes, in its entirety, the best of a safari in Africa: diverse landscapes, a high density of wild fauna and the recovery of endangered species - the African Wild Dog or Lycaon- make Hwange one of the best national parks in Africa.

With a bit of luck, especially at dawn, it is not difficult to find a herd of lycaons in full activity. A true experience to discover the group behavior of these fantastic animals: synchronized movements, strategic deployment, restless tracking to the search for food, and constant and jumping nerve. I had not had the luck to meet them in other African parks before and their picture was wonderful.

The great guides of "Ivory Lodge", located right on the edge of the park, gave us the possibility of going out to meet other equally interesting species. Also early in the morning, a herd of 18 lions on the side of a pond, delighted us with a good selection of playgrounds.

Among all the scenes of wildlife, I will highlight one of the most impressive I have lived in Africa. The displacement, at dusk, of a herd of hundreds of buffaloes through the dry basin of a river. Slowness accompanied by strength, serenity, sliding across the earth like a giant raft in the middle of a calm ocean.

A little-known pearl in the heart of Africa.

We saw all the animals we could expect to see including wild dogs on a hunt, lions, cheeta, leopard, lots of elephants, giraffs, kudus, stein bok, duikers, hippos, crocodiles and many more.

Hwange NP is very interesting and offers different landscapes. The wildlife was, due to the wheather, reduced (in comparison with Chobe NP e.g.), but we saw, that a lot of animals live there!

The camp site was terrific, near the lake, during the night we heard the hippos walking around, really beautiful!

[see my main review]