Hwange National Park

Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

A herd of elephants at a Hwange National Park waterhole during a golden sunset.

Hwange National Park is a vast sand-and-scrub wilderness in western Zimbabwe, where dry-season waterholes bring elephants and other game within easy watching distance.

The place

Hwange National Park fills a large part of north-west Zimbabwe, in Matabeleland North Province, between the city of Bulawayo and the road to Victoria Falls. The nearest town is Dete. At about 14,600 sq km it is the country's largest protected area, and it holds more than 100 mammal species and some 400 kinds of bird. Underfoot, most of it is Kalahari sand, which swallows rain at once, so rivers are scarce outside the north and north-west, where the Deka and Lukosi run and some of their tributaries have been dammed. Water instead gathers in pans, shallow hollows that either fill from rainfall or are topped up by groundwater seeps, as at Ngweshla, Shakwanki, Nehimba and Shapi. Old drainage lines near Main Camp and Linkwasha turn into seasonal wetland after good rains. Where basalt and granite break through the sand, in the north around Sinamatella, warm and salty springs rise. The tourist side of the park is zoned. The east and north hold the camps, picnic sites and hides, while the centre and south are kept as wilderness with little development and access only for guided groups. Visitor numbers are modest for a park this size, in the tens of thousands a year, so even in the dry season the sandy tracks can feel empty. That emptiness is part of the appeal, along with the long, quiet waits at a pan for elephants to arrive.

Its story

Hwange National Park began as Wankie Game Reserve, set aside in the early twentieth century in country that was hard to reach and thinly policed. The first decades were rough. Few roads led into the interior, poachers worked freely, and a logging concession kept cutting timber until 1933. Slowly the reserve gained structure, and in 1961 it was proclaimed a national park.

War then cut across it. In 1967 fighters of ZIPRA and of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the African National Congress's armed wing, clashed with Rhodesian troops in what became known as the Wankie Battles. Much of the park later came under martial law, and through the 1970s visitors were admitted only around Main Camp and Nyamandlovu Pan. After independence the gates reopened, but many tourist roads had decayed, and the network that returned was smaller than before.

Poaching has run through the park's modern story. In 2013 a waterhole was laced with cyanide and more than a hundred elephants died. Later, a protected lion was drawn out of the park at night with bait and shot with a bow. Those episodes sit beside slower, more hopeful news. In 2011 Hwange was brought into the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, a treaty arrangement spanning five countries that treats the wider landscape as one living region, which matters for elephants that pay no attention to borders.

What to see

Culture

Hwange National Park sits in Matabeleland North, where Ndebele and Nambya are spoken alongside English and Shona. The park's name comes from a local chief's title, while older maps and many road signs still carry Wankie, the form settlers used. The towns around it, Dete and Hwange itself, grew up around railways and coal, so everyday life nearby is that of working towns rather than safari lodges: church on Sundays, football on the radio, small shops and bars along the road.

Inside the park, a different set of habits applies. Safari manners grow out of ranger practice: early starts, long silent waits at a pan, and pointing out a distant animal with a quiet gesture rather than a shout. Guides and rangers are mostly local, and an hour spent asking them about tracks, birds and trees tells more than any brochure. Many have their own stories of the war years and of living beside elephants, and they tend to share them if asked politely.

Tipping guides and camp staff is customary, though the amount is personal; small notes in an easy pocket help. Photographing people in villages needs a request first, and a smile before the camera comes out goes a long way. Meat is central to hospitality, so declining it may need a gentle explanation; mention dietary needs when booking.

Stay inside your vehicle or your guide's circle at all times, keep your voice low at the pans, and never feed or approach any animal.

What to wear

Around Hwange National Park, traditional dress belongs mainly to the Ndebele and Nambya peoples. Ndebele women are known for beadwork: broad beaded aprons, neck rings and bands in bold geometric patterns, worn at weddings, ceremonies and festivals. Cured-hide skirts called isidwaba have been part of married women's dress, and wool or cotton blankets draped over the shoulders belong to formal and ceremonial outfits. Such dress is now mostly kept for occasions rather than daily wear.

Day to day, people in Dete and Hwange town wear jeans, shirts, dresses, school uniforms and football shirts, with smarter clothes for church. Rangers, guides and camp staff wear olive or khaki uniforms, which tells you what works in the bush.

Visitors should dress for sun, thorn, insects and cold mornings. Muted greens, tans and browns suit game viewing; bright colours and white stand out and get dusty. Leave camouflage patterns at home, as they are best kept to the military. Lightweight long sleeves and trousers handle the sun and the insects at dusk, and in the dry winter months pre-dawn drives are cold enough to need a fleece and a scarf. Add a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses, and closed, sturdy shoes or light boots, since the sand is deep and the ground thorny. In towns and villages, cover shoulders and knees as a courtesy.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. June to October is the dry season, when pans shrink, animals gather at the remaining water and the sand roads are easiest. June–August mornings are cold; September–October is hotter and dustier but often the busiest for animal watching. The rains make roads hard and travel slower.

How long. 3–4

Getting there. Fly to Victoria Falls Airport, which has connections to Johannesburg, then continue by road into the park. Scheduled buses between Victoria Falls and Bulawayo stop at the park, and overnight trains stop at Hwange town, though arrival times are awkward. Charter flights can land on a strip inside the park.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources