Hwange National Park
Book your Hwange National Park Safari Holiday with Where To Africa. Visit Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe on a tailor-made tour or safari holiday. There are a number of accommodation options on a Hwange National Park Safari. Hwange National Park is a haven for over 100 mammal and 400 bird species. The Park protects populations of all of Zimbabwe’s endangered species. Elephants, numbering in excess of 20,000 and what is thought to be one of the largest populations of African Wild Dog in the world. Large prides of lion and buffalo are frequently seen in Hwange National Park. You also have a good chance of spotting leopard as well as cheetah and spotted hyena. Hwange National Park is a fantastic destination for a private safari experience.
Hwange National Park
Hwange is Zimbabwe’s largest National Park. The Park accounts for an area of 14,651km². Hwange is located in the northwest corner of Zimbabwe and about one hour south of the magnificent Victoria Falls. This makes it the perfect safari combination with Victoria Falls.
Formerly occupied by the San Bushmen, the Nhanzwa, and latterly the royal hunting ground for Matabele King, Mzilikazi. The area was finally gazetted for wildlife conservation in 1928 and then called Wankie Game Reserve. The first warden was 22-year-old Ted Davidson. The reserve was created simply because the land was deemed to be unsuitable for agriculture, with its poor soils and scarce water supplies. With neighboring Robins Game sanctuary, it became a National Park under the National Park Act of 1949. Originally Robins Game Sanctuary belonged to HG Robins, a cattle rancher.
Ted Davidson walked across most of Hwange National Park’s immense area during the years 1928-1929. He discovered that wildlife was almost non-existent. The once teeming population of elephants was estimated to be less than 1000, and the black and white rhinoceros had been eliminated. With water being the critical element, Ted Davidson set upon creating over 60 new artificial pans, which helped to boost wildlife numbers now able to access drier parts of the Park. To this day, water remains a critical factor and is vital to the survival of the Park. Thanks to individual organizations such as Friends of Hwange, many of the waterholes are still functioning today.
