Victoria Falls
Vic Falls - the adventure capital of Zimbabwe. The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya (the ‘Smoke that Thunders’) is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European recorded to view the Victoria Falls — which he did from what is now known as 'Livingstone Island' in Zambia, the only land accessible in the middle of the falls. While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is claimed to be the largest. This claim is based on a width of 1,708 metres (5,604 ft)and height of 108 metres (354 ft), forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world. The river's annual flood season is February to May with a peak in April. The spray from the falls typically rises to a height of over 400 metres (1,300 ft), and sometimes even twice as high, and is visible from up to 50 km (31 mi) away. The two countries permit tourists to make day trips from each side and visas can be obtained & paid for, at the border posts. A famous feature is a naturally formed pool known as the Devil's Pool, near the edge of the falls, accessed via Livingstone Island in Zambia. When the river flow is at a safe level, usually during the months of September to December, people can swim as close as possible to the edge of the falls within the pool without continuing over the edge and falling into the gorge. Vic Falls in Zimbabwe has wildlife roaming around and through the town plus one can easily visit the Zambian side of the falls as a day visitor. Start or end your Botswana or Zambia safari holiday at Vic Falls Zimbabwe. From 2011, there are direct flights from Cape Town to Livingstone, the Zambian side of Vic Falls, or fly from Johannesburg to Zimbabwe Vic Falls. Activities to enjoy include White Water Rafting, Elephant Back Safaris, scenic flights in helicopter or ultra-light plane, walking safaris, cultural experience, canoeing and even day trips to Hwange or Chobe Game Reserves.
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Hwange Park
Hwange
National Park (formerly Wankie Game Reserve) is the largest game reserve in
Zimbabwe. The park lies in the west, on the main road between Bulawayo and the
widely noted Victoria Falls. Hwange National Park covers over 14,600 square
kilometres. The Park hosts 105 mammal species, including 19 large herbivores
and eight large carnivores. All Zimbabwe's specially protected animals are to
be found in Hwange and it is the only protected area where gemsbok and brown
hyena occur in reasonable numbers. The population of African wild dogs to be
found in Hwange is thought to be of one of the largest surviving groups in
Africa today.
Elephants
have been enormously successful in Hwange and the population has increased to
far above that naturally supported by such an area. However there have been
consecutive years of drought in the Hwange region and this population of
elephants has put a lot of strain on the resources of the park. The landscape
includes desert sand to sparse woodland as well as grasslands and granite
outcrops. Due to the lack of water, man-made waterholes were introduced to
sustain the animals through the dry season. Dry Season: July to September is hot during
the day but can drop to below freezing on particularly cold winter nights.
During these dry months the animals are concentrated around the man-made
waterholes, without which they would die. Rainy Season: Big fluffy clouds release the
summer rains and the vegetation bursts into life. The area has a relatively low
average rainfall of between 22-25 inches (570-650 mm) per annum.
Lake Kariba
Lake Kariba
is the world's largest artificial lake and reservoir by volume and the fourth
largest by surface area. It is located
on the Zambezi River, about halfway between the river's source and mouth, about
1300 kilometers upstream from the Indian Ocean, and lies along the border
between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba was filled between 1958 and 1963
following the completion of the Kariba Dam at its northeastern end, flooding
the Kariba Gorge on the Zambezi River. A
number of fish species have been introduced to the lake, notably the
sardine-like kapenta (transported from Lake Tanganyika), which now supports a
thriving commercial fishery. Other inhabitants of Lake Kariba include Nile
crocodiles and hippopotamus.
Gamefish,
particularly Tigerfish, which was among the indigenous species of the Zambezi
river system, now thrive on the kapenta, which in turn encourage tourism. Both
Zambia and Zimbabwe are now attempting to develop the tourism industry along
their respective coasts of Lake Kariba. Matusadona National Park is a game reserve park in
northern Zimbabwe, from the Lake Kariba inland to the hinterland. Matusadona boasts a unique combination of pristine and
rugged wilderness, together with the water frontage of Lake Kariba. It is one
of the last remaining sanctuaries of the endangered Black Rhinoceros. It is
commonly recognized as having the second largest concentration of wild lions in
Africa after Ngorongoro Crater. Its relatively poor accessibility by road and
extremely harsh internal network of roads keep the crowds and traffic low - it
is accessible by boat from Kariba and from the Bumi Hills airstrip.
Mana Pools
Mana Pools
is a wildlife conservation area in northern Zimbabwe constituting a National
Park. It is a region of the lower Zambezi River in Zimbabwe where the flood
plain turns into a broad expanse of lakes after each rainy season. As the lakes
gradually dry up and recede, the region attracts many large animals in search
of water, making it one of Africa's most renowned game-viewing regions. In The Mana Pools area, there are four
main pools and several smaller pools are scattered along the river course and
the cliffs hanging over the river and floodplains provide shelter to a large
and varied wildlife population. Long Pool is the largest and extends some 6km
in a west to east direction. Lovely big old trees, mainly faidherbia (used to
be known as acacia albidia), provide a shady canopy with sparse undergrowth.
This makes for easy walking and is one of the reasons why this area is perfect
for walking safaris. These 2,500 square kilometres of river frontage, islands,
sandbanks and pools, flanked by forests of mahogany, wild figs, ebonies and
baobabs, is one of the least developed National Parks in Southern Africa. It
was saved from a hydro-electric scheme in the early eighties which would have
seen the flooding of this subsequent World Heritage site. It has the country’s
biggest concentration of hippopotamuses and crocodiles and large dry season
mammal populations of elephant and buffalo. Aside from the excellent walking safaris in
Mana, the river adds another dimension to any safari as it is ideal for canoe
safaris ...
Matobo National Park
The Matobo
National Park forms the core of the Matobo or Matopos Hills, an area of granite
kopjes and wooded valleys commencing some 35 kilometres south of Bulawayo,
southern Zimbabwe. The Hills cover an area of about 3100 km², of which 424 km²
is National Park, the remainder being largely communal land and a small
proportion of commercial farmland. The park covers some beautiful scenery
including some spectacular balancing rocks and impressive views. Part of the
national park is set aside as a 100 km² game park, which has been stocked with
game including black and white rhinoceros. The Matobo Hills were designated as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Matobo National Park has a wide diversity
of fauna: 175 bird, 88 mammal, 39 snake and 16 fish species. Game include white
Rhinoceros, sable antelope, impala and leopard. The Matobo Park contains the world's
densest population of the latter, due to the abundance of hyrax, which make up
50 % of their diet. San (Bushmen) lived in the hills about 2,000 years ago,
leaving a rich heritage in hundreds of rock paintings. There are over 3,000
registered rock art sites, with the main periods of painting being between 320
and 500 C.E. It was also in these hills that Robert Baden-Powell, the Founder
of Scouting, first learned woodcraft, the fundamentals of scouting, from
Burnham. Cecil Rhodes, Leander Starr Jameson, and several other leading early
white settlers, including Allan Wilson and all the members of the Shangani
Patrol killed in the First Matabele War, are buried on the summit of
Malindidzimu, the 'hill of the spirits'. With beautiful scenery, pleasant climate and safe environment, Matobo
offers excellent hiking country.
Gonarezhou
Gonarezhou
National Park is a National Park located in south-eastern Zimbabwe. The park is a lowveld region of baobabs,
scrublands and sandstone cliffs. Owing to its vast size, rugged terrain and its
location away from main tourist routes, large tracts of Gonarezhou remain as
pristine wilderness. At 5,053 km² Gonarezhou is the country’s second largest
game reserve after Hwange National Park. It
forms part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links
Gonarezhou with the Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Limpopo
National Park in Mozambique. Animals can move freely between the three
sanctuaries. Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve is set on 124 000 acres of wilderness
in the southern corner of Zimbabwe, bordering the Gonarezhou National Park. It
is a spectacularly diverse and beautiful piece of Africa, boasting geological
diversity, habitat variability and a wide variety of plant and animal species.
Home to one of the highest concentrations of the endangered black rhino as well
as fourteen species of eagle, the area is known for its magical sandstone
outcrops, mopane forests, and majestic baobab trees. Malilangwe is also an area
where you will find over 100 rock art sites that date back more than 2000
years. Apart from the 'Big 5' a variety
of small antelope including klipspringer, oribi, grey duiker, steenbok, and
grysbok are found in the region In terms of birdlife, Malilangwe boasts over
400 different species. Dry Season: The
cool dry season is from April to August. This six month period of almost
completely dry, sunny weather gives average temperatures in the mid 70's°F to
the low 80's°F (23-28°C). Rainy Season:
From November to March it rains about one out of every five days. The sun
emerges again after every thunderstorm and humidity and heat are high.
