Reviews of safaris to Hwange National Park

"Our thanks to Tom and the rest of the team at Expert Africa for helping us to arrange a memorable trip to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 6 on a Botswana safari

"This was an excellent combination of camps in Hwange originally booked in 2020 but delayed by Covid. Expert Africa were very good at keeping me informed of restrictions and rebooking the trip. All elements of the trip ran like clockwork with the exception of a lost bag at the airport which Expert Africa and camp staff helped get returned.

The Hide is on the borders of the park and next to the rail line so you will see a reasonable number of other vehicles and occasionally hear the train. Accommodation is at the luxury end with roll top baths overlooking the waterhole, mains electricity and very solid 'tents' while maintaining the feeling of being out in the bush.

As it has its own concession separate night drives are available after dinner and well worth the time but if travelling in winter take plenty of warm clothes and wear the ponchos provided, not glamorous but effective.

Our guide was a Victoria Falls based contractor who exemplified the reputation Zimbabwe has for very high standards. In addition to masses of elephant and general game we saw two lion prides, one several times, sable and buffalo.

Two highlights were walking in a forested area getting close to elephant and a zebra herd, and the close up views of elephants afforded by the hide at the camp, just feet from where they were drinking. One curious young bull even put his trunk up to the viewing space to sniff us out.

We spent a night at The Dove's Nest sleep out treehouse. This was an amazing structure and a great experience even if time there was rather short. Be aware that the stairs, particularly to the sleeping platform, are rather steep.

Camp staff and management were friendly and efficient while the food was good and plentiful. While meals are generally taken together with other guests and staff there is some provision to eat separately if you have a special occasion like the honeymooning couple's first dinner. I also noted careful attention to the dietary requirements of some guests.

This is quite a high end comfortable camp within reasonably easy reach of the Main Camp transfer point. It's not quite as 'bush' as our next camp but a great place to start a safari and I bet the pool is really welcome in the heat of summer.

After 4 nights at The Hide our transfer to Camp Hwange went as planned delivering us in time for a great lunch.

Camp Hwange is also very comfortable while being a bit closer to a traditional tented camp, albeit with thatched roofs and running solar heated water.

Tents and the main area all look out over a waterhole with a moonscape near the bar for closer viewing of visiting game and birds.

The camp was very efficiently run by welcoming camp manager Shane and her staff who all managed to convey a real investment in making your stay as perfect as possible.

The guiding was excellent and we were fortunate to have both qualified guide Moses and trainee Savannah on our vehicle plus an additional tracker on occasion.

Moses was a fount of information and committed to getting good sightings in interesting places including sundowners with the hippo at Masuma Dam. As well as approaching elephant on foot we also encountered a herd of buffalo when Moses had us crawling up an elephant pathway to get within about 15 meters. a truly once on a lifetime experience. Moses took us walking for part of most drives, sometimes for a couple of hours and sometimes a short approach to game.

Even though she was in her first year of training Savannah was a great addition to the team and I'm sure will go on to make a very good guide. She's a wiz at spotting owls at night.

Overall Camp Hwange was everything I wanted from a safari, good food, comfortable accommodation, great staff and plenty to see. There were some drives when game was a bit thin on the ground, its a safari not Whipsnade, but Moses always seemed to find something interesting including African Rock Python, Wild Cat, a Porcupine and several Bat Eared Foxes.

The combination of The Hide and Camp Hwange worked well, thanks to Tom at Expert Africa for the suggestions, as they sit in somewhat different environments while also having access to a variety of different types of vegetation.

My last Expert Africa organised trip was more than a decade ago and it's good to see their high standards have been maintained despite the disruption of the last two years.

This was my fathers first safari shortly after his 80th birthday, he's already started planning for the next one." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Overall it was a wonderful experience.

Claire steered us well in picking Ilala and Davisons...we were welcomed everywhere, particularly after a tough couple of years. We heard from other travellers of their experiences at other areas, and certainly we would like to explore these in due course." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zimbabwe safari

"We had an excellent trip, more so after all the postponements due to COVID. Tom did a great job organizing it and amending arrangements over the last two years! He also recommended the trip to Save Valley which turned out to be a real highlight.

We wanted to see the parks in the “green season” and it was a very interesting and different time to visit. As expected we saw far less animals than we would in the dry season. But the engagements were deeper as we spent more time with each sighting and learned more. We also saw far more birds and learned more about the flora.

The three locations complimented each other with differing vegetation and wildlife.

All three guides were different and excellent. And great and entertaining characters - all recommended.

Having travelled just as the COVID restrictions ended, we found it very easy to travel, albeit still a little quiet for tourism but picking up. It was so nice to be back to normal out in the camps. It also meant we had camps nearly to ourselves.

Air travel was fine and we just needed to produce vaccine certs to enter countries. Masks had to be worn on flights to South Africa. Certainly Africa is back for business!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Taken all together, we had a superb trip, with great sightings, wonderful guides and faultless organisation.

We just can’t wait to return!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really - it was all very good
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Tom did advise that sightings in Hwange might be a bit thin in April but maybe that could be emphasised a bit more . We were very glad to go there but if we hadn’t had the abundance of Splash Camp in the second half we would have been a bit disappointed I suspect . But taken all together, we had a magnificent trip . Thanks !!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zimbabwe safari

"A big shout-out to Maruska who held our hands through extraordinary times. We had to delay the trip by a year, and then became very much the vanguard of the African safari tourists because of Covid.

We felt as if we essentially had the continent to ourselves--which was wonderful but a bit weird too. The pandemic complicated things quite considerably because of the need for timely PCR tests, flights disappearing, places closing, etc., but Maruska helped get it all organized and all the facets of the trip she organized came together perfectly.

This is our second trip with Expert Africa, the first the result of a recommendation from a friend. Elizabeth, who organized our first trip, did a fabulous job, and now that high bar of service continues. We are likely to go on safari again, and we will most certainly use Expert Africa again--and will recommend your services to friends.

Again: thank you for taking such great care of us, Maruska. I very much appreciated your solicitous and friendly professionalism.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Maintain that high standard!" Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari

"Despite the challenges of postponing from August of 2020, traveling during a pandemic, and having to deal with last minute camp closures, I can't imagine having a better experience." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 18 on a Zimbabwe safari

"We enjoyed our trip allot. Saw a few people that we had seen before.

Saw some animals that we had not seen before.

Some of our game drives could have been better, probably would have been with a different guide" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zimbabwe safari

"My biggest fear of going on safari was not acquiring COVID but having testing for one or all of our 5 party members significantly impacting the trip.

I put my faith in Expert Africa, and everything went seamlessly. From pick up and testing at JNB airport for our initial tests for Zimbabwe to all the planes and vehicles along the way, there were conscientious staff on time waiting to assist us.

While it was a leap of faith, we were rewarded with camps with few other travelers giving us undivided attention and spectacular game viewing.


Here a few things I felt were important in making my trip such a success so that you might consider duplicating them for future clients.

First, I feel the order of the camps is crucial. Somalisa Acacia in Hwange national park was a good place to start. The camp itself is luxurious and beautiful, and the game viewing is very good. If guests can request a guide, I highly recommend Calvit. He made the experience. This camp, however, is about 10° colder than the others. I think going from cold to warm is much easier to adapt to than the other way around.

Steve Edward’s camp at Lake Kariba is significantly different than the other two camps. It is largely water-based which offers a different experience from typical game drives. I think it was a nice way to break up the land based parks. While I felt the game viewing wasn’t as good as the other two locations, the ability to go to the fishing village and see how a large portion of Zimbabwe lives was the most interesting thing I experienced on the trip. An opportunity not to be missed by any of your clients. Also fishing was tremendously fun for my boys.

Finally, I cannot praise the final camp at Mana Pools enough. Its location along the Zambezi river with an expansive view and extraordinary game was by far the highlight of the trip. No camp will surpass it and by having it last, the vacation ends with a crescendo. Also, we found Mash to be an excellent guide again to be recommended if possible.

The Armadale Lodge was very pleasant with large private grounds if a day in Harare is required. My wish is that others may have our experience.

Once in a life time experience!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zimbabwe safari

"This is the fifth time our family has used ExpertAfrica to suggest, and arrange, safari trips. And the experiences just keep getting better!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zimbabwe safari