ZIMBABWE

"Zimbabwe has some of the most extensive National Parks in Africa. These parks are independently run and most have diverse research and animal protection schemes in operation. Zimbabwe delivers the best “big game” walking experience in Southern Africa, with a choice of different types of vegetation and terrain. If you are concerned in any way about the security in Zimbabwe, please contact me personally mike(at)khangela.com" Mike Scott

 

 

Hwange (after Chief Wange c. 1890)
Known around the world this 14 000 sq km (1 460 000 ha) of park created in 1929, is Zimbabwe's biggest with the most diverse and numerous concentrations of game. The heart of the park, formerly dry, is now watered by more than 60 artificial pans fed by boreholes. These attract elephant, crocodile, hippo and a myriad other species. Vegetation varies enormously from mopane woodland and petrified forests to arid Kalahari sand veld with its semi desert flora.

 

 

Matusadona (full of dung -- referring to heavy game populations)

When Lake Kariba filled in 1959, animals caught by the flood were rescued in an operation called Noah and transferred to the Matusadona Hills. There 137 000 hectares of rugged bushveld was set aside as a sanctuary. Elephant, buffalo, leopard, lion, rhino ... and more ... still roam this, the most attractive shore of Lake Kariba. The other boundaries of the park are the forbidding Zambezi Escarpment, the Sanyati and Ume Rivers. Crocodile and hippo abound on the lake shore while deeper inland hidden valleys may be found, home to animals and birds rarely seen by the average tourist. One of Africa's most perfect settings, it combines water, wilderness and incomparable Kariba sunsets.

 

Matopos (Matobo...The bald ones)
A sea of granite whale backs and balancing rocks, the Matopos is steeped in Zimbabwe's history: from the Stone Age bushman (san), who left their mark with stunning cave paintings, to the 19th Century Matabele tribe people. It is the centre of the local animist religion and surrounded by myth and legend. Still home to traditional villages, including n'yangas or witchdoctors, it is also the burial place of Cecil John Rhodes and other pioneers of the country's colonial past. The area, entrusted to the country by Rhodes, incorporates a national park, which features black (hook-lipped) and white (square-lipped) rhino and large herds of sable antelope.

 

 

Mana Pools (four)
Four large permanent pools, flanked by forests of mahogany, wild figs, ebonies and baobabs, formed by the meanderings of the middle Zambezi, have provided an oasis for one of the most concentrated populations of game in Zimbabwe. It has the country’s biggest concentration of hippo, crocodiles, elephant and buffalo. The 2,500 square kilometres of river frontage, islands, sandbanks and pools form one of the least developed National Parks in Southern Africa; Therefore one of the best to discover.

 

Safaris to Chizarira, Gona re zhou and Chimanimani can be arranged by special request.