Zimbabwe Holidays

Take in the majesty of Victoria Falls on a two-hour guided visit that will bring you face to face with the world’s largest waterfall. This extraordinary natural wonder was created over millions of years as the constant pounding of the mighty Zambezi River eroded what began as a narrow fissure in the basalt plain into what you see today, so its waters now plunge dramatically into a chasm around 75m wide and 108m deep.

Once through the entrance of the National Park, you’ll begin with a visit to the statue of Dr David Livingstone, where you’ll learn about his first encounter with the Falls, his reactions and his role in spreading its fame to the wider world. From here, you’ll continue along the path facing the Falls, stopping at the viewpoints along the way and, conditions permitting, descending the Chain Walk for a closer view of Devil’s Cataract and Cataract Island.

The spray from the Falls creates a unique ecosystem on the opposite side of the chasm, supporting a dense rainforest rich in plant, insect and animal life. As you walk through it, your guide will give you a brief explanation of how the Falls were formed along with pointing out some of the more interesting plants, birds and other points of interest. From the furthest point of the walk at Danger Point and Boiling Pot, you’ll retrace your footsteps or take a shortcut to pick up your transport for onward travel.

Step back in time to a more gracious era with an indulgent late-afternoon Zambezi cruise on an elegant vintage-style boat. The three vessels in the Ra-Ikane fleet were inspired by the design of David Livingstone’s expedition craft, the Ma-Robert, and feature plenty of gleaming teak and brass. Carrying just 12 to 16 passengers, along with a captain-guide and a waiter, they’re a wonderfully stylish and intimate venue from which to drink in the beauty of the pristine wilderness.

You’ll depart from the jetty 3.5km above the Falls and glide quietly up the Zambezi and then down in a circular route, admiring the scenery while the crew keep you supplied with canapės and your choice of drinks. This stretch of the river is broad and shallow, and the captain will skillfully steer you through narrow channels between islands teeming with game, sharing his knowledge of local history and wildlife. The Ra-Ikanes’ small size allows them to go where the larger boats can’t, so you’re all but certain to have close encounters with hippos, crocodiles and elephants, along with a host of other animals and birds, along the way.

The grand finale to the 2-hour trip is a dazzling African sunset, with the changing colours of the vast sky reflected in the lake-still water for as far as the eye can see – a truly breathtaking sight. As darkness begins to fall, you’ll return to the jetty for your return transfer to your local hotel.

Along the north-eastern boundary of Hwange National Park, remnants of Africa’s colonial history can be seen peeping out of the terrain. This section of the railway line, built in 1904 as part of the British imperial dream to run a railway from Cape to Cairo, links the small village of Dete to the open grassland of the Ngamo plains and Bomani Tented Lodge. The Elephant Express is a 24-seater railcar that transports guests to the south-east remoter regions of Zimbabwe’s largest national park. Breezing over the plains in this open-sided railcar feels like no ordinary transfer.

It takes two hours cruising along at 25 miles per hour, three hours if you count the minutes spent stopping for your first glimpse of Hwange’s extraordinary creatures. You might think that the animals would be deterred by the sight of a railcar but the trainline has been part of Hwange’s scenery since 1904 slicing through the land on its way to Victoria Falls. It even pre-dates the park itself, which wasn’t officially declared until 1928. On your journey you might come across a couple of lion or even families of cheetah who use the raised track as vantage points to scout for prey. Or it could be elephant plodding across the way, wildebeest cantering through the tall grass and if you’re lucky, you might catch a thrilling encounter between predator and prey. Your driver will glide you along slowly to get a good look or completely stop for you to relish the moment.

Flying across the African bush on a light aircraft is always a fantastic experience, but flying into and out of Lake Kariba is an experience you’ll never forget.

Kariba, on Zimbabwe’s northern border, is the world’s largest manmade lake, in terms of volume of water. Seeing it from the air makes you appreciate its vastness – you feel like you’re at the edge of the sea. 
Guests book the flight as a way of travelling from A to B and getting between camps but it’s a very special flight. As you cross the countryside on the Bumi to Mana Pools flight, part of the Zambezi river comes into view. You get plenty of time to appreciate the spectacular landscape beneath you while enjoying views of the rugged Matusadona mountain terrain, the islands and the petrified trees.

Flying times are dependent on whether a Cessna or Caravan is being used but the flight from Somalisa to Bumi is around 1 hour 15 minutes and from Bumi to Mana is around 1 hour and 20 minutes. Sometimes you get a glimpse of the Kariba dam wall – a must for any engineers – with its magnificent concrete arch. The amount of water that pours over is quite phenomenal. The pilot will give commentary especially if they see wildlife as sometimes you can see elephants grazing at the shoreline.\

Canoeing trips normally take place in the afternoon when you’ve got the sun on your back and you’re just flowing down the River Zambezi. Canadian-style canoes made from fibre; two-man seaters or three-man seaters depending on the number of people are used. You can canoe yourself or you can be accompanied.  

You may find elephants feeding by the river and sometimes they may cross right in front of you. Keep an eye on the shoreline as lions, waterbucks, impalas and birdlife come to drink in the river. Sundowners are normally set up by the water just when the sun is setting behind the escarpment on the Zambian side. You may hear the hippos honking and elephants from behind you and sometimes you get to hear lions calling.

Fishing is best in the mornings. Fishing is on a catch-and-release basis and done from the banks of the river except during the rainy season when you will fish from a boat. You don’t need to be an expert, you'll be taught by your guide. There’s a large number of bream species, tiger fish, barbel, bubblebarb squeaker, chessa, nkupe among a few of the many fish found in the Zambezi.

When David Livingstone first saw Victoria Falls, he called it ‘a sight so wonderful that angels must have gazed down on it in flight’. Nowadays, mere mortals can also enjoy a privileged aerial view of one of the world’s greatest natural wonders on a breathtaking helicopter ride, during which you’ll be able to appreciate not just the magnificent waterfall but the sheer scale of the Upper Zambezi and the landscape through which it flows.

For the 12-minute trip, inevitably known as the Flight of Angels, you’ll be collected from your hotel for the 5-minute drive to the helipad site, with the plumes of spray from the Falls providing an impressive backdrop. After a short safety briefing, you’ll climb aboard a 4-seater or 6-seater Bell helicopter and, with a whirr of the rotor blades, lift off into the sky for your first bird’s-eye glimpse of ‘the Smoke that Thunders’.

The pilot will fly left-hand and right-hand circuits over the waterfall in both directions, giving passengers the best viewing, filming and photographing opportunities, before turning to head upstream over the vast Upper Zambezi for about 4km. From here, you’ll return to the helipad over the Zambezi National Park, keeping a lookout for wildlife below you. For even more of an indulgence, there’s also a 25-minute Zambezi Spectacular option, which includes a loop over the dramatic Batoka Gorge below the Falls.