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Population: 11.2 million
Area: 390 000 sq km
Language: Shona, Ndebele, English
Electricity: 220/240 Volts AC. 50 Hz
Currency: Zimbabwe Dollar
Holidays: January 1, March 29, March 30, April 1, April 18, May 1,
August 11, August 12, December 22, December 25, December 26
Times: GMT/UTC plus two hours
Climate: Sept to Oct, is hot and dry. Nov to Mar is hot and wet. The best time to visit is Apr – May and Aug – sep when the weather is mild and little rain.
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With more than a passing resemblance to a National Geographic best-of issue, Zimbabwe is a beautiful and usually safe country to visit. It boasts the majestic Victoria Falls, magnificent wildlife preserves and the medieval ruins of Great Zimbabwe, as well as the bustling city of Harare. Whether you're lying in a tent listening to hippos snuffle in the river nearby or shaking your booty at an all-night percussion jam, there's enough elbow room to raise a bucket of chibuku to your lips and toast this fascinating country. Diverse cultures and ethnical groups mixed with spectacular natural beauty with some of the best wildlife in the world, makes this country a destination worth while visiting. |
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 Harare Victoria Falls Hwange National Park
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| Harare |
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The capital city of Zimbabwe, Harare, is a beautiful, light-filled, open city; high on the country's central plateaux.
It is a city of modern buildings, wide thoroughfares, numerous parks and gardens. A city whose streets are lined with flowering trees that turn streets and pavements into tunnels of colour in the season of the year: the purple of jacaranda, the mauve and white of bauhinia and the flaming red of flamboyant.
Harare has a wonderful and invigorating climate. At just over 1500m above sea level (+5000 feet), its altitude compensates for the effect of its tropical latitude and thus the seasons, so often absent in Africa, are once more clearly marked in the annual round.
As a former colony, much of Harare’s history was turbulent. For ninety years the city was known as Salisbury, Rhodesia. In 1980 Zimbabwe became Africa’s newest independent nation. The city is named after a former African ruler of the area called Harare, which means "one who does not sleep."
While Harare entertains visitors with an array of theaters, night spots and restaurants, it is best known for its numerous and extensive gardens. The world renowned Shona sculptures are a major attraction. The people of Harare love sports and the outdoors. The city offers soccer, the most popular sport, horse racing, tennis, rugby and water sports at Lake McIlwaine. |
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| VICTORIA FALLS – The Smoke that Thunders |
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The Victoria Falls are the largest and most beautiful waterfalls in the world. Here the smooth-flowing Zambezi River suddenly changes character to plunge headlong into a sheer-sided chasm over 100m deep and 1 688m wide.
The resulting spectacle is that of the biggest curtain of falling water in the world which rolls itself out in a continuous motion of thundering water and rising spray. The force of the falling water - 545 million litres per minute in the flood season sends spray clouds spinning high into the sky. These clouds of spray, which often reach heights of over 500m, give rise to the local name for Victoria Falls - Mosi-oa-Tunya - the smoke that thunders.
The area surrounding the falls is known as the Rain Forest created by the perpetual spray. Paths, carefully blended with their surroundings, have been laid through the forest and lead to viewpoints poised at suitable intervals on the lip of the gorge. Collectively, they provide an uninterrupted range of views of the Falls from one end to the other.
In Victoria Falls the town itself, is the Craft Village, depicting several traditional Zimbabwean villages, and shops offering a variety of local products to take away as souvenirs of an unforgettable visit. Extending along the Zambezi River west of Victoria Falls is a National Park where tour operators conduct regular game viewing trips. The park is especially well-known for its herds of sable antelope.
A sight not to be missed in Victoria Falls is the Big Tree, a giant Baobab 16m high and estimated to be between 1 000 and 1 500 years old. At the Crocodile Ranch, a visitor may see over 2 000 live reptiles of all sizes.
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| Hwange National Park |
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During the 19th century, the area now known as Hwange National Park served as a hunting reserve for the Ndebele kings. When Europeans arrived on the scene, they realised the area's richness in wildlife and set about overhunting it. Hwange was accorded national park status in 1929, settlers created artificial water holes fed by underground water and, by the 1970s, Hwange had one of the densest concentrations of wildlife in Africa. Animals you can expect to see include elephant, monkey, baboon, impala, lion, giraffe and zebra.
Although Hwange is Zimbabwe's most accessible and wildlife-packed national park, it's not overcrowded and most vehicles stick to short loop drives within 10km (6mi) of Main Camp. The best time to visit is the dry season (September and October) when animals congregate around the water holes (most of which are artificially filled with petrol-powered pumps). When the rains come and rivers are flowing, successful wildlife viewing requires more diligence because the animals spread out across the park's 14,650 sq km (5700 sq mi) for a bit of trunk and antler room.
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Itineraries available on request
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