Hwange National Park

Hwange is Zimbabwe’s most renowned game park, and with good reason – the game-viewing is simply superb. Buffalo, sable antelope, kudu, roan, wildebeest, gemsbok, eland, zebra and giraffe are just some of the plains game that can be seen in Zimbabwe's largest game reserve; and with good pickings for a meal, predators also thrive, including lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena and wild dog.

Hwange is perhaps best known, however, for its great herds of elephant, which number amongst the largest in Africa. Indeed, elephant populations have thrived in Hwange at the same time as they have declined across Africa as a whole. The herds roam freely between Hwange and neighbouring Chobe National Park in Botswana, but good elephant sightings can be expected in Hwange at all times of year.

It’s the landscape that makes Hwange so hospitable for so many species and in such great numbers. Pans and waterholes (some of them man-made) are dotted around the park and attract great quantities of game, particularly during the dry season from July to October. The diversity of terrain also helps to ensure a mix of wildlife, with varying habitats ranging from open savannah plains to mopane woodland.

In and around Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
Hwange has long been Zimbabwe’s most famed game park, and indeed for many years was amongst the most renowned in Africa. Though many of the lodges closed in the 90s and early 2000s as tourism to the region declined, recent years have seen much renewed interest. A number of properties have opened or re-opened, and the park now offers a selection of luxury, mid-range and affordable camps and lodges. Guiding in Hwange has remained excellent.

Game-viewing in Hwange is primarily by 4x4, though walking safaris are possible in some of the private concessions. Night drives are also an option in the private concessions; on a night safari keep a lookout for porcupine, mongoose, bat-eared fox and pangolin.

Hwange is arguably best-visited during the dry season months of June to October, during which months the wildlife can be found concentrated at the park’s many watering holes. However, unlike Mana Pools, most camps in Hwange are open year-round and the game-viewing is reliably good throughout the year.