Victoria Falls * Zambezi National Park * Hwange * Lake Kariba * Mana Pools
Our Zimbabwe Safari Explorer is a comprehensive 12-night itinerary through four of the country’s most iconic and contrasting wilderness regions. From the thundering spectacle of Β Victoria Falls to the remote floodplains of Mana Pools, this safari reveals Zimbabwe at its most diverse, immersive, and rewarding.
Begin with a brief stay at Victoria Falls at a hotel perfectly positioned to experience one of the world’s great natural wonders. You then move into a private concession within Zambezi National Park, where riverine landscapes and abundant wildlife offer a quieter, more exclusive safari experience along the Zambezi’s pristine banks.
Then take a short flight to Β Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe’s largest and most celebrated game reserve. Here, vast open spaces, productive waterholes, and large elephant herds define the classic African safari. From Hwange, another scenic flight carries you to on Lake Kariba and Matusadona National Park, where the pace eases and wildlife encounters β both by land and water β are seen in this land of endless horizons.
The safari culminates in Mana Pools National Park, one of Africa’s most revered wilderness areas. Known for its legendary canoe safaris and intimate walking encounters with elephants, Mana Pools offers a deeply immersive finale. This is raw, untamed, and profoundly memorable.
Note: In the Green Season, Nyamatusi Safari Camp stays open BUT there are no seat in charter flights between December and March so it would be on a private charter basis. Contact us for a quote.
The Zimbabwe Safari Explorer upgrade option features premium camps including Old Drift Lodge, Somaliso Camp, Bumi Hills and Nyamatusi.
The itinerary is flexible and can be shaped around your interests, pace, and preferred level of exclusivity. Chat to us!

On arrival at Victoria Falls, you are met and transferred to Ilala Lodge.Β One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, Victoria Falls is a sight not to be missed. When the river is in full flow in April and May, over a mile of unbroken surging water plunges into the Zambezi gorge below. Click here for more on Victoria Falls.
Ilala lodge is within easy walking distance to the Falls. No tours are booked at this stage but can be added at quotation. This is the ideal time to do some of the adventurous activities only available from the town such as the Treetop Canopy tour, Helicopter tri[s, adrenalin activities or even white water rafting.
Today you haveΒ a short transfer to Old Drift Lodge which lies in its own private concession along the magnificent Zambezi River.
Old Drift Lodge is a bush paradise that exudes an old world charm, yet with modern luxuries.The lodge lies upstream from the iconic Victoria Falls in the Zambezi National Park. It lies on the banks of the Zambezi River.Β Accommodation comprises 10 double suites and 4 family suites. The spacious canvas en-suite rooms all have a private lounge, βsleep-outβ deck, indoor and outdoor showers, plunge pool. Thereβs even an outdoor bath overlooking the Zambezi River.
Activities offered at Old Drift Lodge emphasize the rich natural environment. Enjoy exploring the Zambezi National Park with its abundance of wildlife by road, river or on foot.
After breakfast, you are transferred by road toΒ Hwange National Park. On arrival at the park, you are met by the camp and enjoy a game-viewing transfer byΒ 4Γ4 vehicle to The Hide.
Hwange National Park is Zimbabweβs premier game park. Hwange is big game country with massive herds of elephants, especially visible at the end of the dry season in September, as well as lion, buffalo, hyena, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest sable, roan and other antelope. Game-viewing in Hwange is made easier by the shallow salt pans throughout the park. These natural salt pans offer the perfect cooling mud bath for elephants. Here you take part in early morning and late afternoon game drives in open 4Γ4 vehicles and game walks.
The Hide is a classic tented safari lodge on the eastern boundary of Hwange which is owner-run. A tented camp is perhaps the definitive African safari experience, as you are able to hear the sounds of the bush all around you in the cool of the night. The small size of The Hide is one of its differentiating features, as this means that you have an intimate atmosphere in camp, as well as a greater feeling of the untrammelled open spaces of the bush when you are on a game drive. The Hideβs main area is a picturesque A-frame thatched lodge with dining room and sun lounge downstairs and a large lounge/viewing area upstairs.
Alternative Option β Opt for Somalisa Camp in Hwange (alongside its sister lodges of Bumi Hills on Lake Kariba and Kanga Camp at Mana Pools)
After breakfast, you are transferred to the airstrip for your charter flight to Lake Kariba. On arrival at Lake Kariba, you are met and transferred by 4Γ4 vehicle to Changa Safari CampΒ where you stay for 3 nights.
Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe was formed when the middle Zambezi river was dam-flooded in the late 1950βs, bringing not only much needed hydroelectricity but also the pleasures of an inland sea and a glorious βcoastlineβ to the country. This shimmering lake, with its characteristic silhouettes of dead trees, is a paradise for photographers particularly at sunset. The Matusadona mountains provide a fitting backdrop.
Alternative Option β Opt forΒ Bumi Hills on Lake Kariba
In the optional 3 night extenson (April to October only), you continue to Mana Pools National Park.
Mana Pools is renowned for its large numbers of elephant, buffalo, hippo, crocodile, and eland that concentrate along the river when the inland waterholes dry up β especially in the winter months. Leopard and lion are present but are not seen as regularly. This World Heritage Site is one of the least developed national parks in Zimbabwe. It is this overwhelming sense of wilderness, as well as its haunting beauty,Β which is a large part of the attraction of Mana Pools
Alternative Option β Opt forΒ Β Nyamatusi Camp at Mana PoolsΒ (alongside its sister lodges ofΒ Somalisa Camp in Hwange and Bumi Hills on Lake Kariba)
Today you fly back by seat in charter to Harare
This is a sample itinerary using specific hotels and lodges. However most of these sample tours can be adapted to suit you. If applicable, it includes domestic seat-in-charter flights. But it excludes any regional and domestic scheduled flights (as these are subject to change and specific routing). These are added to a specific quotation once we have your dates.
Meals and accommodation as shown in digital brochure (Bed & Breakfast for 1 nights, 3 nights on Fully Inclusive and 5 night on Full BoardΒ (excl drinks), charter flights and road transfers between lodges, services of experienced ranger whilst on safari
EXCLUDESInternational flights, visas, items of a personal nature, meals not specified
