Zimbabwe

“Nothing but breathing the air of Africa, and actually walking through it, can communicate the indescribable sensations.”
William Burchell

Zimbabwe is an authentic, rugged fascinating country in Africa, home to warm people, wildlife galore, superb photo safaris, and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World: Victoria Falls.

Two major rivers form the Northern and the Southern boundaries of Zimbabwe, the Zambesi River cutting along its Northern frontier while the languid Limpopo River forming the Southern border, in between the Zimbabwe has a variety of habitats from granite hills to the majestic mountains, lush forests and beautiful rivers.

Zimbabwe derives its name from the spectacular stone structures of the Great Zimbabwe ruins, a Unesco World Heritage Site with a mysterious origin.

Zimbabwe is home to other four Unesco Site: Matobo Hills National Park, Victoria Falls, Mana Pools National Park and Khami Ruins National Monument.

Zimbabwe’s largest national park, the Hwange National Park, is the elephant stronghold, it is a game-rich area that was once the royal hunting ground of the Ndebele warrior king Mzilikazi; it was proclaimed a national park in 1929, and today it offers superb wildlife viewing.

The Hwange National Park is situated on the border with Botswana, its location in a convergence zone between the Kalahari Desert and the moist mambo woodlands, offers a variety of landscape and one of the densest concentrations of wildlife in Africa in particular vast herds of elephants and buffalos, gemsboks and clans of brown hyenas can be found in this pristine slice of wilderness, that also boasts one of the largest populations of African wild dogs.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Mana Pools National Park is one of the most remote and rugged area in Zimbabwe, it lies at the heart of the Zambezi Valley and it is home to a wonderful mix of grassy floodplains, woodland, broad river and enormous riverine forests, the perfect location for an unforgettable photo safari.

The park owes its name to four famous natural pools, these pools are remnants of ancient lakes carved out by the mighty Zambezi, Mana means four in Shona language; these pools are important because they hold water all year round acting as a magnet for all manner of wildlife and waterfowl during the dry season.

The Matobo Hills National Park is home to several interesting sites as well as the grave of English colonialist Cecil Rhodes, about 3 000 examples of Khoi rock art and even earlier Stone Age settlements.

The Matobo National Park is also a destination for wildlife and hosts perhaps the greatest density of Verreaux’s or Black Eagles in the world and for its rhino population.

The Gonarezhou National Park and the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve in Southern Zimbabwe are ‘hidden gems’ home to stunning scenery with towering red cliffs and massive baobab trees and dramatic diverse game viewing including the Big 5.

Bordering Lake Kariba, the world’s largest man-made reservoir and home to the fierce tiger fish, the Matusadona National Park is a mixture of grassy floodplains and rugged hill country and it offers sanctuary for some of Zimbabwe’s biggest elephant and buffalo herds, a great concentration of lions as well as leopards, spotted hyenas, cheetahs and wild dogs.

“No one can imagine the beauty of the view from any thing witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes; but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.”

Dr. David Livingstone

Zimbabwe is best known for the magnificent spectacle of the Victoria Falls, one of the world’s natural wonders, the iconic view of the main Falls is a breathtaking experience.

Long before the Scottish explorer Dr David Livingstone ‘discovered’ the Victoria Falls in 1855, the local Batonga people had named them Mosi-oa-Tunya, ‘the smoke that thunders’, the roar of the Zambesi River that falls into the gorge can sometimes be heard from 40 kilometers away and the plume of spray can be seen 30 kilometers away.