Hwange
Zimbabwe · Matabeleland North · 1050 m
Description
Hwange is the largest national park in Zimbabwe, fifteen thousand square kilometres of Kalahari sand, teak woodland and open grass pans on the Botswana border, and it carries one of the biggest elephant populations left in Africa. There is no permanent river in it. What holds the animals through the dry months are pumped waterholes, dug and maintained since the 1930s, and the whole safari here is built on sitting at one of them and waiting. Herds of several hundred elephants come in at once. It also holds a well studied population of painted dogs.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 3 to 7 days (optimal 4 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: May – October
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Elephant herds at the pumped waterholes
- Nyamandhlovu Pan platform
- Hwange Main Camp
- Painted dog packs
- Ngweshla & Kennedy pans
- Night drive on the pan circuit
- Lion prides of the Kalahari sand
- Painted Dog Conservation centre
- Sinamatella Camp & the escarpment view
- Deteema Dam & the northern loop
- Robins Camp & the far north
- Teak woodland birding
- Dete Vlei
- Walking safari from a private concession
- Milky Way over the pans
Getting there
- Airports:
- HWN