Game Drive In Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe

Day Trip For A Game Drive In Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe

On our Rovos Rail Luxury train trip, one day we did a day trip for a game drive in Hwange National Park as we transited through Zimbabwe.  Our first day trip took us to Matobo National Park and we were sad we saw no large African wildlife.  But we had high hopes for our day trip visit to the Hwange National Park and we were not disappointed. 

Hwange National Park was the largest park in Zimbabwe, covering about 14,650 sq km.  It was home to a huge selection of mammals and birds.  This park was known for the tusker elephants that roamed there.  But while we saw several groups of elephants, we never saw the massive tusks we watched for.

Our visit to the Hwange National Park was a great introduction to game drives and the animals we found on our great African adventure.

Lions In Hwange National Park

While travelling by train from Pretoria to Victoria Falls, on the third day our Rovos Rail luxury train stopped in the early afternoon.  On the previous day, to visit Matobo National Park we drove almost an hour to start our excursion.  But for this day trip, the jeeps came right up to the train and we met our guide for the afternoon.  

Our jeep travelled counterclockwise to the rest of the group.  It meant we had no other jeeps around us when we stopped.  But it also meant there was nobody scouting ahead of us to give us a heads up when there were animals to see.

In several spots we saw lions relatively close to our jeep.  It was mid-day and the lions were often found snoozing in the shade.  We saw the fur of a male lion under a tree and what looked like a lone foot held up.  As we watched we quickly realized it was in fact a male and a female lion engaged in a brief sexual encounter.  But we smiled when we even heard the purring when they finished!

As we continued into the park, we found a single male lion lazing in the shade.  As we watched, we were delighted when he strolled out to the sun.  Even if it was for a call of nature.   

Our final lion sighting was off in the distance.  Beyond some other stopped jeeps we saw some lions at the watering hole.

This first lion encounter on our game drive in Hwange National Park got us excited.  Little did we know that we would have much closer lion sightings later on our game drives at Sabi Sabi Earth in South Africa. 

Wildlife Running Playing In The Fields

Our jeep headed first for the big open watering hole.  And found it empty of animals in mid-day.  We heard that others who travelled in the other direction arrived as more wildlife headed for the water.  

Close to the watering hole we found a herd of ostriches off in the distance.  With the long necks down and the wings fluttering, they were initially mistaken for elephants.  But the zoom lenses ultimately confirmed they were ostriches.  We got our first glimpse of the massive termite hills we found all over this site.

Also close to the watering hole we found a large troop of baboons.  A few larger ones were settled under a tree.  But the smaller ones ran around the fields as we approached.  This was the first baboon experience on this trip.  But we got many more close encounters when we found baboons all over our game resort in Zambia.

The jeep had no tracker so everyone kept an eye out for animals as we drove.  The driver focused on driving in the deep sand ruts.  Occasionally we caught sight of other animals as they skittered quickly by or far back in the fields.  The warthog was elusive as they ran at the first sight of the jeep.  We saw a few zebras in the trees and debated the pronunciation of the “z” in “zebra” with other guests.  We saw a few small groups of antelope.  

While birds flew overhead as we drove along, a few times we even caught sight of brightly coloured birds that seemed posed for us. We checked with our ornithologist daughter to discover we saw a Asian Green Bee Eater (Merops Orientalis) and a Lilac Breasted Roller (Coracias Caudatus).

We were happy we saw a variety of wildlife species on our game drive in Hwange National Park.

Animal Skulls Along The Way

Several times the jeep stopped when an animal skull was close to the path.  We were quite amazed when our guide found a buffalo skull in near perfect shape.  He brought the skull over and provided some great education about the head of this large animal.  Then he made us all laugh when he put the skull up like a mask. He then moved the skull back from the road

The second skull our guide found was an elephant skull in pieces.  But there was still enough remaining for our guide to provide some educational information.  And to contrast this skull with the buffalo skull.

Finding large animal skulls on our game drive in Hwange National Park was a reminder of the rough life that even large animals lived in the wild.

We Finally Found The Elephants On Our Game Drive In Hwange National Park

On our previous visit to Africa, we saw lots of large elephant groups at a close distance.  So we were excited when we learned this game park was known for elephants.  As the sun started to sink, we finally found the elephants.  One lone elephant was back in the trees.  The setting sun made the elephant glow with colour.

But as we rounded the corner, we found a large group of elephants.  Sadly it was late in the day and we really did not stop for long to watch this marvellous sight.  

Our game drive in Hwange National Park was a wonderful teaser to the amazing elephant encounters we had when we stayed at the Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge in South Africa.

A Great Sundowner Experience

A “sundowner” was a lovely African tradition we discovered.  It was considered a happy hour done at sunset with a refreshing beverage and amazing views of nature.  We had our first sundowner on our day trip to Matobo National Park but we really did not get the sunset we expected.  

We joined the rest of the jeeps for a sundowner around fire pits.  The train staff brought drinks and some appetizers.  And we watched the sky change to a brilliant colour after the sunset.

This sundowner experience was the perfect way to finish our game drive in Hwange National Park.

Good Experience On Our Game Drive In Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe

From the sundowner location, it was a short drive back to the train to continue our train trip from Pretoria to Victoria Falls.  We were excited about our first wildlife experience in Zimbabwe on this African adventure.  

It was great to see a variety of African wildlife on our game drive in Hwange National Park.  We loved this sundowner experience and the stunning African sunset. But we knew it was just the start for us.  

Have you done a game drive in the Hwange National Park?  Did you see a wider range of animals?

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