A Hwange safari offers spectacular big game country only two hours drive south from Victoria Falls.
Hwange National Park is Zimbabwe’s largest and oldest game park ranging over an area of 14,600 km². Its sheer size means that it offers a range of vegetation with a resulting diversity of game. It ranges from the dry southern acacia bush bordering the Kalahari Desert to the mopane woodlands, valleys and granite hills characteristic of the north. Hwange is certainly big game country with massive herds of elephants. Which you'll see plentiful numbers, especially at the end of the dry season in September and October. These are joined by lion, buffalo, hyena, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest sable, roan and other antelope.
The shallow salt pans throughout the park actually make for easier Game-viewing in Hwange National Park. These natural salt pans offer the perfect cooling mud bath for elephants. And gradually the pans develop into small waterholes. However because of the deep Kalahari sands, these waterholes dry up as the dry season progresses. Hwange is unusual in that, right from the park’s inception, the rangers have pumped water into these waterholes in the dry season. So a Hwange safari between July to October offers plenty of wildlife as animals flock to these pans for much-needed water. A veritable mecca for game in the dry winter months!
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Nehimba is a luxurious camp situated in the relatively remote north-west part of Hwange National Park. It would be a great camp to sell in the dry winter months from say late June onwards. It is close to the famous Nehimba seep which is one of the only permanent water sources in this part of the Park. This means excellent game-viewing especially later in the dry season when elephants and other wildlife are in desparate need of water. However earlier in the season, the bush is quite thick and the grasses are high making game-viewing less rewarding than at the southern camps of Camelthorn and Bomani.
However there are plenty of plus points at Nehimba such as luxurious chalets with an indoor bath and outdoor showers, good food, a stunning setting overlooking a large dam, and best of all - regular (and I mean regular) - visits from elephants coming to drink from the water and even the swimming pool. We were sitting at the fire having drinks and the elephants kept coming to visit, silently arriving, silhouetted by the moonlight. It was a truly magical experience!
I am not sure about the outdoor showers in the winter months of June/July. Could be a bit chilly!
The road transfer into Nehimba is from the north and very attractive. It is one of the few camps that you could come to straight off the Vic Falls flight (preferably with SAA) as you would leave the airport at 1.30pm, get to the gate at 3pm and then have a game drive transfer into the camp.
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