Khami, Matobo, Hwange and the Falls, in ten days
Hwange National Park, Khami Ruins, Matobo Hills, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe · 10 days · From $5,200 per person · Booked direct with Josh Elliott, owner-operator
Overview
Ten days, four landscapes, and the order that makes all of them land properly.
It starts at Khami, on our own estate west of Bulawayo, with the UNESCO-listed stone capital a few minutes from the door and almost nobody else on the site. Two nights, with plains game on the sanctuary and the ruins to yourself.
Then south into the Matobo Hills: balancing granite, San paintings read off a cave wall, and white rhino tracked on foot with a ranger who grew up here. Two nights at Matobo Hills Lodge, also ours, which is why the Matobo chapter on this trip is a proper stay rather than a day trip.
North to Hwange next, the largest park in the country and its elephant heartland. Three nights at Hwange Safari Lodge with a floodlit waterhole in front of the deck, a full day in the park, and a morning on foot with an armed guide.
The Falls close it. Two nights at Palm River on the bank of the Zambezi, the rainforest walk along the rim, and as much or as little adventure as you want before you fly home.
The order runs from ancient stone to granite to elephants and then the Falls, so the trip builds rather than peaking on day one. Private throughout, maximum eight guests, and every departure tailor-made around you.
When to go: July to October is the strongest window, when the game concentrates on the Hwange pans and the Matobo mornings are cool. The Falls run highest from February to May.
Why book direct with ZimTravellers?
Itinerary
The definitive Zimbabwe journey. Falls, Hwange plains, Matobo granite domes, and Bulawayo's cultural richness. The journey begins in Bulawayo and ends in Victoria Falls.
Met at Bulawayo airport and driven out to Khami Lodge on our own 6,500-acre estate west of the city. The afternoon is yours: a first drive on the sanctuary for giraffe, zebra and eland, or the deck above the dam and nothing at all.
A private morning at the UNESCO-listed Khami Ruins, the stone capital that succeeded Great Zimbabwe, usually with nobody else on the site. Back to the estate for lunch, then walks, fishing on the dam or an afternoon drive as the light goes.
A short drive south into the Matobo Hills, a landscape of balancing granite that has been sacred ground for a very long time. Settle at Matobo Hills Lodge, ours, then sundowners from the rock with the whole valley below you.
On foot at first light, tracking white rhino with a ranger. Later, San paintings read off a cave wall by a guide who grew up in these hills. This is the day people remember, and it is the reason Matobo is in the itinerary rather than bolted on.
Out of Matobo after breakfast and north to Hwange, the largest national park in the country. Arrive at Hwange Safari Lodge in time for an afternoon drive, and the floodlit waterhole in front of the deck takes over from there.
Out early while it is cool, back through the middle of the day, out again until after dark. Hwange holds one of the largest elephant populations in Africa, and in the dry months they come to the pans in numbers that are difficult to describe.
A morning walking safari with an armed guide, which changes the scale of everything: tracks, dung, birds, the sound of the bush without an engine in it. Afternoon back in the vehicle, or a hide if you would rather sit still.
North-west to Victoria Falls and out of town entirely, to Palm River in gardens on the bank of the Zambezi. An evening cruise on the river above the lip if the light is worth it.
The rainforest walk along the rim, timed for the light and the spray, with a guide who can read the geology as well as the view. The afternoon is open: the gorge for adrenaline, the river for a slower version, or neither.
A last morning on the river, then the short transfer to Victoria Falls airport for your flight home.
25% charge (deposit): 90+ days out.
50% charge: 61 to 90 days.
75% charge: 31 to 60 days.
A 25% deposit confirms your itinerary.
Requested and confirmed within one working day.
Per person sharing, excluding international flights.
Private (max 8 guests).
Operated by ZimTravellers / Matobo Hills Lodge (own operation).
Physical level: Easy.
What’s included
Practical
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