An absolutely amazing place, not as commercial as Kruger etc. This is truly wild Africa, no fences or barriers etc, we saw massive heards of elephant, up to 50+ in a single heard. There were also many lion, some of which had made a kill (young elephant believe it or not). There were also a plethora of other plains game around, kudu, zebra, warthog, eland, impala, giraffe, ostrich etc. We also saw a couple of honey-badgers that just wouldn't move off the road when we approached & even seemed to want to attack the vehicle! At night we could hear lions roars & hyena woop, elephant rumblings & breaking branches whilst feeding not 10 yards from our chalet. We were there for 5 of the most memorable days of my life & am already planning to return. I would wholeheartedly recommend that you visit this magical place if you are ever fortunate enough to get the chance. I must admit that I was slightly nervous about visiting Zimbabwe after all the negative publicity in the media but on arrival we quickly realised that on the ground the situation is absolutely different & at no time at all did we ever feel threatened or nervous & the Zimbabwean people were all very friendly & polite & are to be commended for their good natured attitude in the face of crippling poverty & a struggling economy. Definitely one of the hidden...
Read moreHwange National Park, Zimbabwe, is home to various African wild animals and different birds. If you are lucky enough you can get to see Elephant herds, Lions, African wild dogs, Entelopes, Giraffes, Zebras, etc. and birds such as Eagles, Vultures, etc. One should be in the Park gates by 06.00 am early morning to get a best chance to view the wild life. As you delay towards noon, so does the chance decline. Or on can prefer to take an evening time slot after 4.00 pm. Water bodies are the best places for the visitors to get the best view of the animals that gather in large numbers to quench their thirst. Needs a lot of patience especially during summer to get a sight as the animals tend to hide under shade of trees and bushes. A guide can be lot helpful, who can charge about $30 per head depending on the season for foreign visitors. Getting down of the Safari vehicle, loitering in the grassland, feeding the animals is dangerous and strictly prohibited. Come prepared with a good HD camera, drinking water, little snack and light clothing to...
Read moreWe visited Hwange National Park for 4 days in March 2018 driving in from Botswana via the Pandamatenga border crossing and leaving through Victoria Falls. We stayed at Robbins Camp - which I first stayed at 25 years ago and again 23 years ago. 20+ years ago Hwange provided a fabulous wilderness wildlife experience.
Hwange is now a shadow of its former self with decimated wildlife populations. The reserve is chronically overgrown and by the look of things the last time that the roads or picnic spots received any maintenance they were part of a country called Rhodesia.
The National Park guys at Robbins put no effort into anything other than trying to invent "additional fees" to be paid into their pockets in US dollars hard currency.
All in all visiting Hwange again was a massive disappointment. I won't be going back.
It is striking how many of the other people who give Hwange a 5 star review are also...
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