Luxury in the African Wild: Exclusive Zimbabwe Safari

Flying to Mana Pools, you will follow the Zambezi River, admiring how the river provides a border between two countries. Most of the landscape is ochre-hued, but around the river, there are green escarpments, which are areas where wildlife can thrive. You will land, and a wild atmosphere will fill the air. Elephants will march close to your lodge, buffalo will swim across the Zambezi, upsetting a hippo who wanted to bathe, and monkeys will shout from the treetops, alerting everyone to a lion nearby. There are no towns or cities for hundreds of miles, and there will be virtually no other visitors here.

Check-in to the waterfront camp and meet your private guide. He will explain different activities that are possible here, helping you construct your program for the next three days. A game drive will be best for today, which will be a slow journey that eases you into the safari experience and spots most of the large mammals. Lionesses will lounge in a clearing, watching you with fierce eyes, and zebras will kick up dust as they move from open plains to lush grassland around the river.

Zimbabwe was once the darling of African travel. Political problems have kept visitors away, and many believe that these problems have had an adverse effect on wildlife and conservation. This is a myth, and Zimbabwe has always had one of the best networks of protected areas. A lack of visitors has kept them pristine in comparison to countries where too many visitors crowd into smaller parks. It is also important to understand the sheer scale of the parks. Some of Zimbabwe’s parks are larger than US states like New Jersey, and most are contiguous with parks in neighboring countries, enabling the free movement of wildlife.

Mana Pools is the same ecosystem as Lower Zambezi National Park, but it is just across the river in Zambia. Elephants will use their trunks as snorkels while swimming between the two countries, and hippos will not swim, but they will walk along the bottom of the river, emerging every few minutes to breathe. Zebra and other ungulates do swim across either, and their journey can be witnessed directly from the camp. Leopards are a little tricky to spot here, but safaris are about the opportunity to experience wildlife as it really is in an untamed natural environment.

Game drives will help you track the big animals, going in search of prowling lions and spotted hyena and getting you up close with elephants and giraffe. Game walks will provide thrilling hours in the bush, especially when pachyderms mark the horizon. Local trackers have grown up alongside dangerous animals, so they know how to keep you safe. The focus will be on the ungulates, and sometimes you will walk amid zebra and wildebeest herds, really appreciating their behaviors and gestures. In most African national parks, this is not possible, but in Zimbabwe, it is part of the everyday experience.

One potential activity is a full day of canoeing along the Zambezi River. Most wildlife is seen around water, and by paddling the Zambezi, you will watch how daily life unfolds. The water will provide safety so you can come within just ten meters of a riverbank that is populated by elephants and lions. Hippos will fill the river, and the guide will ensure you to nimbly avoid them. This will be another great opportunity to come eye to eye with large and potentially dangerous animals. It will be possible to share a double kayak with your partner or to travel in two kayaks with guides doing most of the steering.

Mana Pools is lush and green, and it is a haven where resident wildlife can thrive. It is a landscape that can support a lot of life in a relatively small area. You will land in Hwange and witness the atmosphere change entirely. Arid and dusty savanna stretches out with baobabs and acacias scattered about the landscape. Wildlife thrives here. It just needs larger territories, and Hwange has this, stretching for almost 15,000 square kilometers.

Later, you will check-in to the boutique camp and venture on a game drive, admiring how a safari in different parks can be so different. At first, it will appear like there is little wildlife, but you will just need to travel a little further, and soon, you will see a profusion of life. Sable antelope will provide a dazzling sight, Impala will skip elegantly across the savanna, and wildebeest will gallop enthusiastically past the vehicle. Bachelor buffalo herds will huff and puff loudly in your direction, and a lone elephant bull may flap its ears as you pass.

Game drives will be the mainstay of the experience here although it may be possible to do a short game walk, depending on what animals are near the camp. By now, you will have encountered most of Zimbabwe’s famous animals. The focus will turn to drama over these two days. In Hwange, there is real competition for food and water, and predators compete for the best territories with lion roars echoing through the night. Elephant and buffalo herds will face off with males occasionally coming to blows. Antelope graze tentatively with many sentinels looking out for danger. You will track cheetah through the grass and may have the opportunity to even watch one sprint after an impala.

Your camp will be positioned in the most wildlife-rich area. Animals come for the permanent waterholes nearby, sometimes spending many days to reach the landscape around the camp. There are only six boutique safari tents, and the accommodation will not be like camping or glamping. Africa’s luxury safari camps are like high-end hotels in the bush. Think spacious bedrooms, fully functioning bathroom facilities, and ornamental features. You can hear the safari when lying in bed from elephant hoots to nearby grazers. Every morning, you will smell the landscape, guessing what passed by through in the night. Outdoor bush showers will be positioned beneath the stars, so the safari atmosphere is never interrupted.

Elephants love the camp because it has a swimming pool. They come to drink from it almost every evening, which is another indication of how people can only be visitors here. Hyenas are monitored through the day and night, and a large campfire will keep them away. Hippos are common, and you will see them out of the water here for a chance to appreciate their true size and bulk. As the safari continues, you will also search for rarer sights such as packs of wild dogs. By spending six days on a safari, you will come to appreciate distinct behaviors, specifically how zebra cluster together in amorous fashion while wildebeest are continually encouraging each other to run.

You will complete your safari by driving through Hwange from the camp to the northern gate. From here, it will only be an hour to Victoria Falls, and you will return to your lodge from day one. You will follow the sounds this afternoon as you visit the world’s largest sheet of falling water. Two-thirds of the waterfall is on the Zimbabwean side of the border, and a walking trail will take you to 15 viewpoints and four distinct sections of Victoria Falls. At first, there will be some water and mist, but if you get close to the main falls, then it will be impossible to stay dry.

Water tumbles over 100 meters into the abyss, and the falls are over a mile wide. Interestingly enough, it is the narrowness of the chasm that makes the spectacle so special. In some places, this chasm is barely 50 meters across. So, you can stand on a rocky platform, close enough to be completely drenched by the spray. It will make for an intimate experience, and you will soon realize why this wonder is indigenously known as Mosi-oa-Tunya, The Smoke That Thunders. Here, you will embrace nature’s power and feel the spray raining down on you. Your lodge is only three miles away, so you can soon warm-up and complete the afternoon on the riverbank, watching hippos and listening to the falls.

Your final day will be left free, and there are many activities that you can choose. You can cross the border and view Victoria Falls from the Zambian side, take a helicopter flight above the spectacle, or cruise on the Zambezi River away from the falls. It is easy to spend a day relaxing around the camp, reading a book as monkeys swing past. Victoria Falls town is a small and cute town with a handful of restaurants. A sunset cruise will complete your day with drinks being served as hippos and elephants emerge along the banks.

After a relaxed morning, you will be transferred to Victoria Falls Airport for your outbound flight.