Starts: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Ends:Â Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Visits: Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park, Livingstone National Park
Duration: 10 nights
From USD 6,896
per person
An exploratory ten-day safari in Zimbabwe where you’ll trace the footprints of the iconic white and black rhino. You’ll take a deep dive into the heroic efforts in place to preserve these mystic creatures who have been persecuted to the verge of extinction. This fascinating journey takes you into Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe’s largest protected park, where you’ll first explore the remote Ngamo plains in the south followed by a full immersion into the wild in the forested and hilly northern stretches, habitat of the solitary-natured black rhino. Your final days will be spent in the luxurious setting of a traditional tented safari camp outside Victoria Falls. Be inspired, enlightened, and energised as you peek respectfully into the secret world of white and black rhinos and, in doing so, become a guardian of the horn. You’ll leave Zimbabwe with indelible memories and stories of your encounters and a far greater understanding of the unique habitats of these giants of the African bush and how you can contribute to the conservation efforts to preserve them. This journey is for between 2 and 6 people and has a minimum age of 16.
After touching down in Victoria Falls, you’ll take a 1.5 hour charter flight to Bomani airstrip in Hwange National Park. In this semi-arid southern region of the park, you’ll spend four nights at the Bomani Tented Camp in suites that blend comfort with a close connection to nature.Â
Here, you’ll experience unparalleled wildlife viewing from the larger grazing herds: buffalo, wildebeest, giraffe, zebra to an astonishing variety of smaller creatures from the resilient leopard tortoise to the industrious dung beetle that form the quiet backbone of the Ngamo plains. You’ll head out each morning and evening with a dedicated private guide.Â
You’ll also spend time in the Ngamo community who live just outside of the park and with whom Bomani camp is closely linked. Together they have re-introduced rhino to the area leading to improved financial independence for the community and conservation education.
From Bomani airstrip, you’ll catch a short 30-minute flight to Shumba airstrip in the northern, hillier reaches of Hwange. This part of the park is more dense with thickets of teak and mopane trees. It is prime black rhino country.
You’ll be met by your private guide Adam Jones who’ll bring you to your temporary camp set-up on a river bank. This simple arrangement will be your base for three exhilarating nights under expansive, star-flooded skies.Â
Under Adam’s guidance, you’ll spend your mornings walking through the bush, reading the subtlest of clues to track and, hopefully, observe the elusive black rhino in his native habitat. Of course, you’ll likely experience a range of game and birdlife. This region supports large elephant herds and strong populations of predators with cheetahs occasionally spotted in the more open stretches.Â
Time will slow down as you strip away the mental traps of modern life and sink into an intuitive rhythm, synching with the natural world and re-wilding your nervous system.Â
You’ll catch a 30-minute flight back to Victoria Falls where you’ll transfer to The Wallow Lodge on the banks of the Masuwe River. Staying 10km outside of the town gives you access to the cultural delights of the town while maintaining a precious hold on the untamed beauty of the African bush. Enjoy the comforts of the lodge’s infinity pool and luxury facilities.Â
Your first day here will be spent taking in the majesty of Victoria Falls. Following a guided tour on foot, you’ll take a scenic helicopter flight over the ‘the smoke that thunders’. The day ends with a sunset dinner cruise on the upper Zambezi river. Enjoy sundowners as you drift past grunting hippos, basking crocodiles, and wading elephants followed by a sumptuous three-course meal once the sun has set.
Your final day will feature a visit to the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, responsible for the country’s nationwide de-horning project. You’ll also cross the border into Zambia for an afternoon game drive in the Stanley Livingston National Park where you’re near guaranteed to see the rare black rhino (in case that they eluded you in Hwange).
This journey is offered between April and November, when your chances of seeing the evasive black rhino in their wild habitat are best. During this period, and especially during the months of July, August, and September, water is scarce and the black rhino must venture out of the thickets in order to quench his thirst at the larger pans that still have water.Â
