Hwange National Park is located in the far west of Zimbabwe on the border of Botswana and is the largest park and protected area in the country at approximately 14 500 km² in size. The Park supports enormous species diversity and provides an authentic safari experience with an abundance of wildlife and fantastic birdlife.
Hwange National Park is situated on the eastern edge of the Kalahari Desert. The area is dry and water is scarce during the winter months, so there are a number of pumped waterholes to sustain the wildlife.
The wet summer months provide afternoon thunderstorms and the park is turned into a lush green haven. A variety of plains game, including blue wildebeest and zebra migrate here and give birth to their young during this time of year. Hwange is an important element to wildlife conservation in Southern Africa, as well as neighbouring countries like Botswana and Zambia.
Hwange National Park is famous for its large concentration of wildlife during the winter months. There are a number of pans throughout the Park offering drinking water where wildlife congregates, making for incredible and consistent game viewing.
During the summer months when plains game migrate onto the lush park to give birth to their young, predators follow suit as they look out for easy meals. Wildlife in the park includes elephant (to a large extent), Cape buffalo, sable, roan, southern giraffe, blue wildebeest, impala and occasionally gemsbok, which are specialised to the dry winters.
Hwange National Park is one of the best in Zimbabwe for predators, as lion, leopard, wild dog and cheetah are regularly seen, along with the smaller African wildcat, serval, honey badger, civet and spotted hyena. The park is a bird lover’s haven with more than 400 species found. Hwange is well-known for its massive herds of elephant and buffalo.
