Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe trains its professional guides harder than most countries in the region. The qualification takes years and ends with a rifle test. The practical result is that walking safari, which is restricted or forbidden in much of Southern Africa, is the thing Zimbabwe does best.

The standard route is Victoria Falls, then Hwange for elephants, then Mana Pools on the Zambezi. Add Matobo or Great Zimbabwe if you want history as well as animals, though both need a deliberate detour by road.

The economy has been unstable for two decades and it reaches travellers in small ways: fuel queues, cash shortages, card machines that do not work outside the main tourist places. Lodges and operators function normally. Bring US dollars in clean, small notes and do not plan around an ATM.

When to go

Months	What it is like
Mar-May	The Zambezi is at its highest after the upstream rains and Victoria Falls is at full flow, which means a wall of water you will mostly hear and feel, because the spray hides it. April is the peak. Take a raincoat and expect to be soaked through. Elsewhere the bush is tall and green, and Mana Pools is only just reopening.
Jun-Aug	Dry and cool, and the most comfortable stretch of the year. The falls still have solid flow, the parks are drying out and game is gathering. Mornings are cold enough for a fleece in an open vehicle.
Sep-Nov	Hot and getting hotter. October in the Zambezi valley routinely reaches 40C. Game viewing peaks because water is scarce and everything comes to the pans and the river. The falls drop to low water, showing the rock face and the gorge, and this is the season for rafting below them.
Dec-Feb	The rains. Mana Pools closes or becomes unreachable, Hwange's sand roads get difficult, and many camps shut. The falls are still low in December and rise through January and February, because the water takes months to arrive. Cheap and green, but not the trip most people are after.

Before you go

• Most Western nationalities buy a visa on arrival at the airport or the border. The KAZA UniVisa, when it is being issued, covers Zimbabwe and Zambia together for 30 days and allows day trips into Botswana at Kazungula, which is useful if you want both sides of the falls. It has been suspended and restarted before, so check close to your travel date and have a plan B.
• The Zambezi valley, Hwange and Victoria Falls are malaria areas, with risk highest from November to June. Take prophylaxis. Harare, Bulawayo and the Matobo highveld are much lower risk. Drink bottled or filtered water.
• US dollars are used for almost everything a visitor pays for. Bring small denominations, clean and undamaged, because worn or torn notes are refused. Card machines fail often. Tips are cash.
• Light aircraft and road transfers link the parks, and Victoria Falls has its own international airport. Self-driving the main tarred roads is possible but fuel supply is unpredictable. Mana Pools' access road is rough, needs 4×4, and entry must be booked with the parks authority in advance.