10 Days Zimbabwe Camping and Walking Safari
10 Days Zimbabwe Camping and Walking Safari
Zimbabwe is well known for its rigorous guide qualification process and on all walking safaris you are accompanied by a guide armed not only with a firearm but with a wealth of experience and knowledge to ensure exceptional safari experience as approaching wildlife is considered expert safari experience as some of the wildlife are dangerous like Buffalo, hippos, Rhinos and Elephants, in a wilderness perspective nothing beats encountering wildlife on foot during your safari in Africa.
Safari highlights
- Victoria falls hike
- Hwange national park
- Lake Kariba
- Mana pools national park
Detailed safari itinerary
Day 1: Arrival at Victoria Falls airport
Upon arrival at Victoria Falls airport, you will be received by our representatives and transfer to your lodge for relaxation, later in the day our safari guide will come and meet you at the lodge for a briefing about the safari and also double check if you have the right gear for walking safari.
Day 2: Hiking to Victoria falls
This morning we make a beeline for the natural wonder itself – Victoria Falls. Visiting the falls early this morning will ensure we beat the crowds and get fantastic views of this natural wonder. Provided the rains have been kind, the falls will be a spectacular sight, making for great photos. Keep an eye out for some wonderful birdlife as well! After you will visit the town for more adventure and later return to the lodge for relaxation and later in the evening you will take a sunset boat cruise on the Zambezi River.
Day 3: Drive to Hwange national park
After morning breakfast you will start your drive to Hwange national park, this is a true African wilderness, we will be camping deep inside the national park, giving us a great chance of locating some of this region’s incredible wildlife. Once camp is set up after our three hour drive, we will head out for our first game drive proper. Our key focus will of course be the African Wild Dog, and they persist in good numbers throughout Hwange. Hwange is also famed for its high density of Elephant, as well as generic game including Giraffe, Buffalo, Zebra, Greater Kudu and much more.
Day 4: Full day walking safari in Hwange national park
After morning breakfast full dressed in in your walking safari gear, you will head in to the park with armed experienced walking safari guides for a full day walking safari in the park, you will start your day following animal trails as morning hours a perfect to track animal foot prints, as the day goes on you will head near the waterholes to wait for animals that come to drink water as you enjoy your picnic in a hide out and later in the evening you will head to the water areas to search for more wildlife.
Day 5: Full day game drive in Hwange national park
These three days are dedicated to exploring Hwange with the help of expert local trackers, focussing on tracking down and spending time with African Wild Dogs and several other species. Lion sightings are common here, and we could also encounter Leopard and Spotted Hyena on our drives. This is one of the few locations in Zimbabwe where Cheetah sightings can be reliable, and spending time with these splendid cats is a key objective of this trip.
Black and White Rhino are also present, although rarely seen, so we will be sure to follow up on any tracks of these rare creatures. Very lucky visitors may even come across rarities including Pangolin and Caracal; such is the wilderness of this area.
Day 6: Drive from Hwange to Lake Kariba
After a final morning game drive in Hwange, we will break camp and head to Lake Kariba. We will overnight near the town of Mlibizi, from where the ferry will depart tomorrow morning. The drive will take us around three hours, giving us plenty of time to soak in the changing landscape and the increasing lushness of the surroundings as we approach the vast lake.
Day 7: Take the ferry from Lake Kariba to Mana pools national park
The full day today will be spent on board the Kariba Ferry – departing early in the morning, we won’t arrive until 7am tomorrow, so this is a great chance to relax, catch up on some reading or review your photos from Hwange. There’s always lots of activity on the ferry, so we can’t guarantee a great night’s sleep, but we can certainly guarantee a truly amazing sunset.
Arriving in Kariba at approximately 7am, it will be past midday before we arrive in camp in Mana Pools, but we promise the journey is worth it. Our first camp will be in Chitake Springs, a rare water source in the dry interior of the park. This water attracts large herds of Buffalo and Elephant, which in turn attract predators. In particular, a resident pride of Lion often gives excellent viewing, and African Wild Dogs frequent this area too. In fact, our 2019 departure saw the dogs make a kill in between our tents!
This wonderful area is best explored on foot, so this afternoon we will approach the springs on our first walking safari, hopefully allowing us great views of some of the big game that thrives here.
Day 8: Full day game drives in Chitake springs
Chitake Springs and Nyamepi, enjoying a mixture of game drives and walking safaris, our focus will be dependent on the interests of the group, but we should expect a focus on Lion and African Wild Dog in Chitake, with a higher chance of Leopard and large packs of African Wild Dog in the floodplains near Nyamepi.
Day 9: Full day game drives in Nyamepi game area
Nyamepi is a sensational game-viewing area, and visitors should expect to see Eland, Zebra, Hippo, Elephant, Buffalo and much more here. The views from camp are truly wonderful, as is the birding. The mega-stars of this area are absolutely the small collection of Elephant bulls that have learnt to feed on the highest branches of trees by standing on their hind legs – a sight that’s incredible to behold.
Day 10: Drive to Harare for your own word journey
A final brief game drive will take us out of the park today, as we head south to Harare for your homeward flights.
Trip includes
- Vehicle, guide and fuel for the entire trip
- Camping equipment
- Game drives and walking safaris
- Park entrance fees
- Food and drinking water
- Airport transfers
- Victoria falls entrance fees
Trip excludes
- International flights
- Travel insurance
- Zimbabwe tourist Visa
- Tips for guides and camp staff
- Alcoholic drinks
When to book this safari itinerary
We recommend booking this trip one year in advance to allow us prepare all the necessary camping gear requirements as most of our equipment comes from United states of America and South Africa.
Best time to do walking safaris in Zimbabwe
Between June and October Africa is at its most challenging – the bush is dry, the grasses are golden, and the animal densities are at their highest, congregating around the water sources. The drama of predation is at its highest, enjoyed through the sparse bush.
