Hwange Reviews – Page 6 – Reviews 51-53 of 53

bastian birk –

DE

Visited: September 1996 Reviewed: Dec 4, 2011

Email bastian birk | 50-65 years of age

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

Overall rating

4/5

Wildlife:

Bush Vibe:

Scenery:

Birding:

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.

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Alison –

AU

Visited: January 2012 Reviewed: Jun 11, 2012

Email Alison | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari

It was amazing, everything as I imagined an African safari would be.

Overall rating

5/5

Wildlife:

Bush Vibe:

Scenery:

Birding:

We stayed at Ivory Lodge, which is on the border to Hwange National Park, I was a part of a tour group so we camped, but some of my fellow travelers upgraded into the tree houses and they said it was some of the best accommodation of the trip. At Ivory Lodge they have a water hole with a hide, so we spent most of the night watching for what would come to the water hole. We saw a herd of greater kudu and two bull elephants, the elephants were so close you could hear them breathing it was one of the best moments of my trip.
We spent two days at Ivory Lodge, on the first day they took us to the Painted Dog Conservation Centre. At the centre they has 3 rehabilitating dogs and its a place were they take local schools to educate the children and visitors about the plight of the Painted Dogs. Its very rare to see Painted Dogs in the wild so being able to just see some who one day will again be wild was wow. That afternoon we went on a sunset game drive in Hwange and we actually saw real Painted Dogs, so that was my unexpected highlight of the trip, we also saw a breeding herd of Elephants, Buffalo, lots of birds and a cheetah.
On the second day we spent on a whole day game drive, and saw much of the same animals, as well as three lions, and we ran into another herd of elephants they were so close you could have touched them and they weren't afraid they just checked us out and kept eating.
We went during the rainy season, but thankfully it didn't rain, but the park was all green and in full bloom, it was some of the best scenery in Zimbabwe. Our guide were all locals and new everything and always had an answer to our questions.
I would definetely go back it was an amazing couple of days

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Swenglishnick & Zimgirl –

UK

Visited: December 2007 Reviewed: Oct 10, 2011

Email Swenglishnick & Zimgirl | 35-50 years of age

Enjoying a great park on a budget

Overall rating

4/5

Wildlife:

Bush Vibe:

Scenery:

Birding:

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.

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