Mana Pools, Hwange, Kafue

An off-the-beaten track safari in Zambia & Zimbabwe

Your Guide to Africa

Experiences

Our Collective

Janine Avery

6/11/2024

Home Journal Your Guide to Africa Zimbabwe & Zambia safari

Affordable and untamed

With some of our camps in these areas of Zimbabwe and Zambia only open to guests for a limited time each year, you’ll be embarking on the safari of a lifetime. Staying in remote, intimate safari camps, you'll enjoy unparalleled exclusivity, and traverse vast, untamed landscapes that embody the true essence of wild Africa.

An off-the-beaten track safari in classic Southern African safari country

Experience the raw, authentic charm of three iconic Southern African national parks (Kafue, Hwange, and Mana Pools), with game drives, boating, and guided nature walks all designed to immerse you in an untouched wilderness far off the beaten track. Relish the romance of a bygone era with this affordable olde-worlde safari.

3 nights

Wilderness Busanga Bush Camp

The Busanga Plains teems with charismatic wildlife. And for more than half a year, we don't get to see it. Yet the animals thrive silently in the background. Now open (and for only five months of the year), Wilderness Busanga Bush Camp features just four well-appointed tents that invite you to discover these vast and iconic plains in Zambia’s Kafue National Park.

Stretching in all directions around the camp, the plains teem with aquatic-specialised antelope, and offer spectacular views as well the possibility of wildlife encounters without even having to get into a game vehicle. When do you venture out, either into the wetland channels on a safari by boat, or on dry land on a game drive, special sightings to look for include lion, cheetah, and sable and roan antelope, to name a few.

Then enjoy brunch in the bush, serenaded by a chorus of birds. Spend the afternoon relaxing on the viewing deck or around the pool while watching the grazing herds of puku and red lechwe, and later, feast on delicious traditional Zambian cuisine in the open-air dining area.

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3 nights

Wilderness Davison's

Nestled discreetly beneath a grove of false mopane trees, Wilderness Davison's nine tents offer an incredible wildlife experience in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. This traditional safari camp overlooks an open plain and a waterhole that attracts large numbers of animals, especially thirsty herds of elephant and buffalo.

While the elephants, and their constant presence around camp, are the stars of the show, game drives may also reveal prides of lion, leopards and cheetah, or any number of the nearly 100 other mammal species found in the park. You could also decide to go on a guided walking safari in search of some of the smaller critters that make their home here.

Back in camp, take a refreshing dip in the swimming pool. Spend time on the upper viewing deck above the main area. Savour a sundowner as animals come to drink in the fading light. Or share the day’s stories around an open fire in the boma while the chefs cook your dinner over the flames.

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3 nights

Wilderness Little Ruckomechi

Situated on the banks of the mighty Zambezi River, Wilderness Little Ruckomechi is nestled on a vast piece of private conservation land bordering Zimbabwe’s iconic Mana Pools. This land is not only exceptionally beautiful, with views of the river and the Rift Valley, but is an important sanctuary for wildlife.

Here, experience your own private paradise with just four tents at Wilderness Little Ruckomechi, in the style of the explorer era of safari. From your tent or the plunge pool, watch a herd of elephants amble past, heading for the waters of the Zambezi flowing past camp. Go game viewing in one of Zimbabwe’s most productive wildlife-viewing regions, keeping an eye out for wild dogs and lions. Find adventure canoeing or tiger-fishing on the Zambezi River, or embark on a river cruise as crocodiles sun themselves and carmine bee-eaters grace the banks. Finally, drift off to sleep in the Star Bed sleep-out, and experience a night under the stars, safely elevated on a platform in the trees.

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Affordable and untamed