Zimbabwe. June 2023.
3. Hwange National Park and Maabwe Camp.
From Vic Falls we drove via Siamatella to Main Camp where we stayed for a couple of nights. It was good to see that the waterholes had plenty of water in them but surprising that we saw so few animls.
Sinamatella to Main Camp
This could be a lovely drive but the road (which used to be tar) is in an awful condition, such a pity.
We stopped for lunch at one of the waterholes where we saw plenty of birds and some hippos on an island. At another waterhole we saw a crocodile and a few buck in the distance. Along the route the only animal we saw was a lone jackal.
Main Camp
This is a large campsite with several large, shady trees. It's such a pity that the money that the Zimbabwe Parks Authority charge for campsites is not used to maintain the camps - in particular the very run-down ablution blocks. We managed to find one block where we were able to have hot showers once we'd spoken to the staff and they arranged for us to have wood for the donkey boiler.
Morning Drive
We drove from Main Camp south-east to the Kennedy Pans area, using our Track4Africa GPS to find the way. They are in the process of updating these maps which, currently, don't have a lot of information about the camps but do show the tracks in the Parks.
We stopped at a hide by Makwa waterhole where we had coffee and rusks while watching some impala come down for a drink and saw several birds nearby.
We passed through lots of wooded areas where the colours of the autumnal trees were starting to show. It's impossible to see animals in these areas unless they walk out in fornt of you!
As we got closer to Kennedy Pan the landscape started to open up and it became easier to spot birds but still hardly any animals were to be seen.
Kennedy Pan 2
We had our best sightings here - 2 family elephant herds and a lone hippo.
Hwange to Maabwe
From Hwange we drove to Maabwe Camp which is on the shore of Lake Kariba. We passed through lots of villages which made for an interesting drive. The last few kilometres to Maabwe was along a narrow rocky track.
Maabwe Camp
This is a remote campsite at the western end of Lake Kariba. The owners are very friendly and helpful, they gave us some Kariba bream which Jane cooked for us. We often heard fish eagles and saw one nearby.
Last updated: October 2023