ZIMBABWE

Close your eyes and try to imagine a vast African river gurgling its way peacefully through a pristine tropical rainforest…only to be suddenly met by an edge that sends it plunging one hundred and twenty eight meters into a gorge. This heart-stopping drop is the world-famous Victoria Falls and its natural drama takes place right here in Zimbabwe, at the rate of five million liters of water every minute. However, Zimbabwe is not simply a tourist economy built around the Legend of the Falls!

It has a beautiful and diverse landscape, cosmopolitan cities buzzing with the arts and culture, exotic wildlife teeming in its game parks and some very friendly folk indeed.

Capital:  Harare

Best time to visit:

  1. The reason most people visit Zimbabwe is for the game parks, which are best visited in the dry winter season, since animals congregate around waterholes and make easy viewing. Avoid national parks from mid-April to mid-May and mid-July to mid-September, December and early January – these are the periods of South African and Namibian school holidays, and parks can be quite a crush.
  2. Winter is also the best weather for traveling – temperatures hover agreeably between 13º and 20 ºC, although they can drop to below-freezing levels during nighttime. Summers (November to April) can get uncomfortably hot and humid in some parts, but the landscape is lusher and altogether more exciting at this time.

Minimum days required:  5 days

Places of Interest:

  1. Victoria Falls
  2. Matobo National Park
  3. Hwange National park
  4. National Heroes Acre
  5. Nyanga National Park
  6. Chimanimani District
  7. Balancing Rocks

Climate:

  1. Zimbabwe is blessed with very agreeable climate despite its location bang in the middle of the tropical zone.
  2. The reason for this is the fact that most of the country is a fairly high plateau with an average altitude of around 3,000 feet.
  3. The summer temperatures (September to October) on the plateau hover around the mid-twenties (centigrade) and rarely go above 30 ºC in the Zambezi Valley.
  4.  Night temperatures in the winter can fall below freezing point. The rainy season lasts from November to March. The best months to visit are April to May and August to September.

Currency:  Zimbabwean Dollar

Things to carry:

  1. Medium weight clothing for the daytime and warmer clothing for the evenings and cold winter nights is essential.
  2. If planning to visit the Victoria Falls (as any visitor to Zimbabwe most certainly should), do remember to take a light raincoat with you – it is impossible not to get wet when watching them.
  3. Certain restaurants will only allow semi-formal dress; so pack long trousers if planning a posh evening meal. Long sleeved shirts are essential for protection against mosquito bites.
  4. Also bring any prescription medication you are taking.

How to get there:

Air:

  1. The cheapest flights between Europe and Harare are allegedly through Sofia, but you can find reasonably good deals from London.
  2. There are also connections from Sydney and Perth, Australia, to Harare once a week. Travellers from North America will be best off flying through Jo’burg.
  3. From southern Africa, frequent services operate between Johannesburg, South Africa, and Harare and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe