Cape Town & Zim holiday diary: Zimbabwe leg

Written by Beth

Cape Town was the ‘soft landing’ for our holiday (and what a beautiful landing it was), but Zimbabwe was the grit of our trip. Zimbabwe can sometimes feel like the Wild West – from the drivers to the businessmen, I think you have to have a little bit of a cowboy spirit to thrive in Zimbabwe. You make your own rules here. And everyone is so genuinely friendly, open-hearted and relaxed that you can’t help feeling like you want a bit of that ‘live for today’ attitude, too.

This article is an overview of the Zimbabwe leg of our Cape Town and Zimbabwe holiday. For a deep dive into the trip as a whole, make sure you read the 20-day Cape Town and Zimbabwe holiday itinerary. It gives info on the flights, logistics, accommodation, transport and more. The maps of the locations are in that post too (very important)!

The Zimbabwe route at a glance

• Harare for 2 nights
  • Suggested sights: Domboshava Hill, Mukuvisi Woodlands, Avondale Flea Market, Harare City Walking Tour, Wild is Life, Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary
  • For detailed info on Harare, see the Harare Travel Guide
• Bulawayo for 2 nights
  • Suggested sights: Hillside Dams, Bulawayo Railway Museum of Zimbabwe, Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, walking tour with Paul Hubbard
  • For more info on Bulawayo, see the Bulawayo Travel Guide
• Hwange National Park for 4 nights
  • This is all about wilderness immersion, game drives and enjoying your local safari lodge, but you can also visit the Painted Dog Conservation Centre, near Main Camp
• Matobo National Park for 2 nights (or Victoria Falls if you haven’t been there)
  • In Matobo, don’t miss Worlds View, visit some ancient rock art, and try to spot some rhino
• Harare for 1 night and then fly home

Planning your own adventure? Grab my Ultimate Trip Planning Kit to organise your holiday with ease!

Highs and lows of Zimbabwe

• The highs: Seeing a herd of over 200 buffalo drink from the water hole in front of our Hwange lodge. The surreal experience of my children swimming in a pool while a family of elephant ambled along in the background. The sight of the red dust kicked into the air by my youngest in a way that reminded me of my own childhood.
• The lows: The roads in many areas of Zimbabwe just weren’t up to scratch. Granted, they’re better than other places in Africa, but this shouldn’t be the benchmark. Am I asking too much for the edges of the roads to look finished, not like a 2-year old has tried to paint a piece of spagetti? On the roads, the ‘Wild West’ mentality is especially apparent in many of the drivers.

Logistics for Zimbabwe

• Transport: If you’re used to driving in Africa, I’d recommend hiring a 4×4 vehicle in Zimbabwe (try: Zimbabwe Car Hire, 360 degree car hire, Fartrans DriveLink, Open Doors Harare, and Impala Car Rental).
  • Also see the article Driving in Zimbabwe.
  • If you don’t want to drive, contact your accommodation to book a shuttle/private driver for you.
  • I’ve also written articles on Shuttle transport in Zimbabwe and Internal flights in Zimbabwe which may be helpful.
  • We borrowed a 4×4 vehicle from family for our time in Zimbabwe. We’d brought our own car seats for the kids as hold luggage on our flight from the UK (and used them in South Africa, too).
• Accommodation: See the invididual holiday diaries of the locations (to follow) or the overview of the Cape Town Zimbabwe Itinerary for accommodation recommendations in each location.
• Cash: See the Money in Zimbabwe section for info on currency and spending.
  • My rule of thumb is to book and pay for as much as possible in advance, such as accommodation. Then budget for things that will need cash, such as visas, National Parks fees, meals out and tips.
• Costs: If you’d like to see a breakdown of the costs from our own holiday, this can be purchased in my Ultimate Trip Planning Kit.
• What to pack for Zimbabwe: I’ve dedicated a whole article to items you might need in Zimbabwe and southern Africa – see What to pack for a Zimbabwe holiday.

In the next post of this holiday diary series, I’ll reveal our favourite spots in Harare.

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