Victoria Falls and Hwange Safari

The morning starts with a relaxed breakfast in Victoria Falls lodge or Hotel. After breakfast, you meet your guide, who will drive you to the Victoria Falls National Park. It's a short drive of about 5 mins and you are at the entrance of the Park. A few metres from the entrance is the Border Post to go to Zambia. You explore the Victoria Falls after a short briefing on security and safety in the Park to make sure you don’t walk on slippery rocks. The Tour of the falls can be 2 to 3 hours depending really on how you wish to enjoy it. Next to the waterfalls is a rainforest that you can walk through on your way back to the main entrance. There is a restaurant and ablution block if you would like to sit and relax after the walk. You will drive through the Victoria Falls Town and have lunch at a restaurant of your choice. After lunch, you have an option to take a helicopter scenic flight above the waterfalls. The flight takes 15 minutes of exceptional view of the extended and physical structure of the Zambezi river and the Gorge. You have a break for drinks after the helicopter as you make your way for the exciting sunset cruise in the Zambezi river. The cruise starts from 4pm until sunset. Enjoy the view of the sunset while watching hippos, crocodiles, elephants or buffaloes and many animals coming to drink in the river. The day draws down with dinner at a place of your choice!

We leave for Hwange National Park in the morning just before 06h00. Driving for 1 hour and 30 mins to Hwange National Park. Hwange is 120 km from Victoria Falls. On arrival, we change our vehicle to a 4x4 private game drive vehicle that makes it easy to view animals. After briefing on the safety and regulations in the national park, we start our safari. Hwange National Park is on the outskirts of the Kalahari desert that stretches from Botswana. The national park is known for its populations of elephants, buffaloes and antelopes. It has 19 species of big mammals. Above all, it is one of the few parks that still has a large population of African wild dogs or painted dogs. There are excellent spots for viewing game usually at waterholes where they congregate for a drink. These waterholes have also become hunting grounds for lions and leopards for easy prey of zebras, buffaloes, and antelopes. But the national Park is also huge, covering an area of 14 650 sq km. Hwange, unlike most other big national parks, is still a more primitive setup, and that's good for the wildlife. Usually, it is not highly populated with cars and buses, which can alter the behavior of wildlife. There are safari lodges around the national park where nocturnal animals can be seen coming to waterholes for a drink. In the early morning, there is an opportunity to see wildlife as the day breaks.

As we drive out of the national park, we may see more animals before they take cover from the blistering heat of the afternoon. Just outside Hwange Main Camp there is a painted dog rehabilitation center we can visit for an hour for an insight on the endangered Painted dogs. The Tour is free and donations in kind and kind go a long way to fight poaching and preserve the last of these species. The drive back to Victoria Falls is another 1 hour 30 mins. Back in Victoria Falls, we have a whole day to choose on the optional activities that you would like to have. Read More about what to do in Victoria Falls on our wide choice of activities

After breakfast, we head to Zambia. A 3 km drive and we’ll be at the Zimbabwean border. We walk across the Bridge for the view of the Victoria Falls from its end-side as we to the Zambian border post. Upon completion of border regulations, we drive to Livingston Island. The Island is run by a local company Tongabezi. The Island has the back-view of the waterfalls and two insane swimming pools. In high water, there is the Angel's pool where you can swim in the Zambezi river water. Tongabezi Guides are professionals and will help you not slip on the rocks. The adventurous one is the Devil's pool, usually open in the low-water season. The Tour of the island is usually 2 hours and 30 mins. You will be transferred from the jetty to the island by a speedboat. Back at the jetty, we’ll drive to the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. It's not an extensive park, but it has one of the last of the big-five that you don't see in Hwange National Park. The rhinoceros here are well protected by the Zambian Parks' rangers. The short safari here can take about 2 hours and we head back to Livingstone Town for a late lunch. We head back to Victoria Falls Town, just 15 km from Livingstone Town.

If you are an enthusiast of water games, you have ‘rafting’ on your cards. You can choose between all day rafting or half a day. Read here for more activities to do in Victoria Falls. Alternatively, you can have a game-drive in the Zambezi National Park for even more safari. Zambezi National park is outside Victoria Falls along the Zambezi River. As small as it is, it has so much to see. Mostly antelopes, elephants, buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles and birds. The day is open for a lot of activities in the resort Town of Victoria Falls.