ZIMBABWE

                        One of Africa’s top national parks, Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe’s northwest should be on any safari lover’s bucket list. Roaming Hwange’s savanna grasslands and woodlands are the Big Five and 100 other species of mammals – the park has the biggest diversity of mammals out of the world’s national parks. The Belgium-sized park is also home to some 50 000 elephants and is known for regular sightings of cheetah, leopard and lion, as well as one of Africa’s largest populations of the endangered wild dog and rare species such as roan and sable. Birdwatchers will be impressed with the 500 species recorded here.

Game viewing in Hwange is superb during the dry winter months. The park has no permanent natural water sources, so once the rains have stopped and the landscape starts to dry out from June onwards, animals have to rely on the manmade pumped waterholes for water. Animal sightings – wild dog, lion, leopard and cheetah are highlights – are easy to come by, but by far the mammals that Hwange is most famous for are its elephants. Around 50 000 of the giant creatures roam Hwange each year, and during the dry season from June to October, huge herds congregate around waterholes, making the park one of the best places in the world for elephant viewing.
Along with game viewing by self-driving and guided game drives, you can also do horseback safaris – either short rides or multi-day adventures – and walking safaris, which give you a chance to immerse yourself deeper into the wildernes

                    Mana Pools is one of Africa’s best places to do walking safaris – the thin vegetation means that visibility is excellent, so you’ll have the chance to get up close to big game. In addition, the walking guides in the park are among the best in Africa.
Canoeing safaris in Mana Pools are an incredible way to experience raw nature at its best: you spend your days paddling along the Zambezi past pods of hippos and scores of animals drinking on the banks, and at night time you’ll camp under the stars on untouched islands.

Regarded as being both Zimbabwe’s best park and one of the finest wilderness areas in Africa, Mana Pools National Park is a superb safari destination. Situated at the northern most point of Zimbabwe straddling the Zambian border, Mana Pools is remarkably beautiful: a riverine wilderness on the Zambezi River of pools, floodplains, baobab trees and forests that feels totally remote and never gets crowded.                                    The park is famous for its huge elephant herds and is known for great sightings of lion and leopard as well as being one of the best places in Africa to find endangered wild dogs. The appeal of the park is not just its wildlife – it’s how you get to experience the bush in immersive ways: staying in unfenced campsites in the midst of the wilderness and going on walking and canoeing safaris to see animals without the noise of a car. Mana Pools is also one of the only parks in Africa where you can walk without a guide (although this isn’t recommended for safety reasons unless you have a lot of bush experience). Staying in one of Mana Pool’s exclusive unfenced campsites along the Zambezi River is a highlight for many intrepid visitors to the park. Booking one of these campsites for just your group means you’ll be able to have a totally wild experience in the bush with no one else around – just the wild animals that might wander in between your tents.

Matopo Hills, Matopo also spelled Matopos or Matobo, mass of granite hills, southeast of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, formed by river erosion and weathered into fantastic shapes and deep valleys. The hills are associated with folklore and tradition, some being venerated as dwelling places of the spirits of departed Ndebele chiefs. The hills contain gigantic caves (notably Bambata, Nswatugi, and Silozwane) with Khoekhoe paintings, and there are Stone and Iron Age archaeological sites. The name may have originated from matombe or madombe, meaning “the rocks,” or from matobo, ‘bald heads’.

Lake Kariba is landlocked Zimbabwe’s answer to the seaside: a massive manmade lake that provides a magical combination of water and wildlife. Situated in the north of the country and sharing a border with Zambia, Lake Kariba is best explored by a slow cruise on a houseboat over a few days. Whiling away hours spotting birds, hippos and crocodiles from the deck couldn’t be more relaxing, but you can also spend your days on smaller tender boats or canoes going fishing and spotting wildlife in Matusadona National Park on the lake’s shores.
Highlights
Cruising Lake Kariba on a houseboat is one of Zimbabwe’s top experiences. Spending a few days on a boat is the perfect way to unwind and soak up the magic of this vast watery wilderness and its beautiful islands. Matusadona National Park lies on the southern shores of Lake Kariba and is home to the Big Five, as well as the rare roan and sable antelope and 240 species of birds (herons and saddlebill storks are particular highlights). A highlight of visiting Kariba is the water-based game viewing you can do from the lake in small boats or canoes, which allows you to get thrillingly close to elephants and other animals.