Road Trip in Zimbabwe

Overlooking Rupurara Mountain in the scenic Nyanga region is the Inn on Rupurara, a beautiful country retreat set on a private farm. With comfortable rooms overlooking either a picturesque, reed-fringed dam or a yawning valley, this is the perfect place for enjoying the area’s stunning landscapes and wildlife: go horse riding and walking, and catch a glimpse of the black eagles for which the region has become famous. Nearby are the pretty Nightingale Falls, while a short drive will take you to the final resting place of colonial juggernaut Cecil Rhodes, atop the spectacular and aptly-named vista, ‘World’s View’.

The next stop on your luxury self drive Zimbabwe adventure is the Musangano Lodge, a homely collection of lodges and chalets in the Highlands’ rolling foothills, surrounded by rich miambo woodland. Accommodation is spacious and cosy, with the large thatched porch offering amazing views of the valleys and mountains beyond. Musangano Lodge offers a range of activities, including on site walking trails which range from casual one hour strolls to more rigorous three hour hikes. Alternatively, explore your beautiful surroundings on mountain bike or horseback, or enjoy cultural tours of the area, viewing plains game at the Chikundu Game Park, or fishing on Osborne Dam.

Leaving Musangano Lodge behind, you’ll journey into the far south-eastern corner of the country to Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe’s second biggest national park: a pristine expanse of rugged wilderness, Gonarezhou is mercifully tucked away from the tourist trail. Your home for 3 nights is Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge, which offers stunning views of the Save River below and the unspoilt expanse of Gonarezhou beyond. Enjoy the beauty of the park and its abundance of wildlife with a sensory guided game walk, go birding on the Tambahata Pan, or experience the way of life of the local Shangaan people with a village to nearby Mehenye Village. Boat cruises are available on the vital life force that is the Save River, while a walk to nearby Chivilila Falls or the iconic and beautiful Chilojo Cliffs is highly recommended.

The next stop on your journey is the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and national monument of such cultural significance that they lent their name to the modern state. Only ruins now remain of a great citadel, built on ivory and gold, which was once the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe but was abandoned in the 15^th century. Marvel at the skill of the builders, ancestors of the Shona people, who constructed the oldest surviving structure in southern Africa without the aid of mortar. You’ll stay at Norma Jeane’s Lake View Resort, a cosy family-run resort set amid granite hills and Msasa woodland which offers delicious home-style cooking and traditional country hospitality.

Your final stop is the stunning Matobo National Park, a wilderness of ancient granite kopjes and wooded valleys. One of the most mysterious places in Zimbabwe, the area's unique landscape of granite rock has been shaped by the elements into bizarre, moon-like shapes over the millennia. The region also bears great historical and cultural significance, and is the resting places of two big figures in Zimbabwe’s history: the Ndebele king Mzilikazi Khumalo and the arch-colonialist Cecil Rhodes. There are also over two thousand sites of San rock art in the area. Of course, there’s the wildlife too – leopard, black and white rhino, and a huge number of birds of prey all roam these strange hills. You’ll enjoy it all from Big Cave Camp, which is positioned atop an enormous granite whaleback and offers amazing views of the park.