A veritable Southern African treasure, visiting Hwange National Park should absolutely be on your safari bucket list. Exploring this exclusive and diverse wilderness is one memorable adventure after the next with Imvelo Safari Lodges, thanks to their circuit of unique, experiential lodges and camps that take in the length and breadth of this vast and stunningly beautiful National Park.
The perfect option for a slow safari, spending quality time in each place, discovering the varied typographies and game viewing allows you to truly experience the magic of the African bush. This is where life happens at a less frenetic pace, keeping time with the rising and setting of the sun as you explore everything that Hwange has to offer with a ratio of more elephant to people.
Barely seeing another vehicle around on your whole safari is a pure luxury these days and to sit in stillness and observe the abundant wildlife in greater detail offers a much more elevated safari experience.
Some inspiration would be to kick off at Nehimba Lodge, or the ‘greatest elephant show on the planet’, as we like to call it, thanks to its high concentrations of these amazing creatures. Located in the remote north of Hwange, overlooking the Nehimba Pan, this is also the home to large numbers of roan, buffalo and the elusive leopard.
Next up is Jozibanini Camp, one of the most remote lodges in Southern Africa, deep in the south west of the park. Jozi offers a truly wild experience in a simple, effortless fly camp style, with meals around the camp fire and just six large en-suite dome tents on raised wooden platforms, complete with bucket showers and star beds. It’s off grid at its best. Mountain biking, time in the underground blind or enjoying picnic lunches at the bustling waterholes – you choose, there is no-one else around, it is your own private safari paradise.
In the south east of Hwange, Camelthorn Lodge and Bomani Tented Lodge enjoy the famed Ngamo Plains, renowned for its cheetah and wild dog concentrations and the immersive community experiences which is the heart and soul of Imvelo’s offering. Walk to school singing with the kids or enjoy a game of soccer to keep active in-between all the bush style meals! Imvelo Safari Lodges feed 3000 school children a year, and play a hugely active role in improving education standards, schooling environments as well as ensuring all those little tummies have a cooked meal.
The committment of the Imvelo team to change lives for the better and to encourage guests to visit one of the most exciting and exhilirating national parks with many off the beaten track moments out there, remains unwavering. They shine a bright light in Hwange and their people, their story, their camps, and their dreams truly make them one of the most extraordinary hidden gems out there.
Images credit: Imvelo Safari Lodges.
