Preparing a Zimbabwe-Zambia Road Trip

Hi there, This sounds like an amazing adventure! 🙂 I assume you’ll have a 4x4, but will you be camping?

For Gonarezhou, the northern part is the most stunning, especially the Runde River banks. You can camp on the cliffs overlooking it and watch elephants from there.

For Mana Pools, same deal—you’ll want to camp along the Zambezi River. Like in Gonarezhou, you’ll often have the campsite to yourself. I haven’t been to Lower Zambezi, but it’s probably not too different. So, the rest of your route should help you decide.

Hi Voyajou, Thanks for your reply—I just came across it. I haven’t logged in for a while.

Yes, it’ll be a self-drive trip with a rooftop tent, so camping. For Gonarezhou, I’m not sure if there are many public campsites or if it’s mostly campsites (picnic sites) that need to be privatized?

After Gonarezhou, I’d like to visit Matobo and Hwange, which is why I’m hesitating about heading back up to Mana Pools before crossing into Zambia. Lower Zambezi would be a detour on the way to South Luangwa, but I’m torn between these two parks—they must be pretty similar.

For September 2026, the route is already set: Kruger, CKGR, Moremi, and KTP.

Thanks again for the info

Hi Jean Pierre,

In 2024, we did Zimbabwe and Zambia in a 4x4 with a rooftop tent, of course!! Hwange and Mana Pools in Zimbabwe, and South Luangwa and Kafue National Park in Zambia—it was absolutely amazing. Mana Pools along the Zambezi River is magical, especially in the evening. South Luangwa is just as magical, but you need time—the roads are terrible. And Kafue is extremely wild, with campsites where you sometimes feel like you're the only person in the world, surrounded by lions, African wild dogs, and buffalo. Southern Africa is truly a paradise we must protect with all our might! Happy planning

Hi Thierry, and thanks for your reply.

Yeah, I saw that the roads and the length of the trips can be tough. I’m planning to break it up into manageable stages. I’m thinking of going for about 8 weeks. If you don’t mind sharing, could you tell me about your route and recommend any campsites you liked? Between Hwange and Mana Pools, did you take the boat on Lake Kariba? The road seems long. Or did you cross the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia somewhere else? Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Hi Jean Pierre, we arrived via Botswana (Kasane) and spent 3 days in Hwange, then drove to Mana Pools—a long journey through northern Zimbabwe (3 days). We didn’t take the boat; it was a deliberate choice, though many do. 3 days in Mana Pools—it’s very easy to find a spot even without a reservation, but it’s better to book (you’ll find all the campsite info in TRACT 4 AFRICA ZIMBABWE). Watch out for the border crossing between Zimbabwe and Zambia—it’s very long, so make sure you have all the paperwork for customs, especially for the car!! We were stuck for 3 hours because the chassis number didn’t match!! It cost us 100 € in cash, of course—a nice little scam!!! After that, we hit the road for South Luangwa—a very long and rough drive for about a hundred kilometers, but the rest was fine. 3 days in South Luangwa—an amazing, huge, and wild park!! Then we headed to Lusaka for some well-deserved rest. Next up: Kafue NP for 3 days—the wildest and least crowded park, we loved it. That’s our route in a nutshell, of course. I’ll send you our campsites—always useful! Happy planning, Thierry

Hi Thierry, Thanks for the info. Yes, if you know of any good campsites in those parks, I’d love to hear about them. We visited Hwange National Park for 6 days in 2022—such great memories. In September 2026, we’re heading out for 5 to 6 weeks to South Africa and Botswana (Kruger, CKGR, Moremi, KTP), and in 2027, we’d like to explore the parks in Zimbabwe and Zambia. Have a great rest of the day. Jean-Pierre

Botswana!! Honestly, we loved it—it was really amazing!! Savuti camps/Third Bridge/Kwai!! you’re gonna have a truly awesome trip

Hi there, I see you're planning a trip for 2027—that’s great to prepare so far in advance! I hope you’ve made good progress. Your itinerary looks fantastic, especially if you’re comfortable with a 4x4. These countries are stunning, particularly for wildlife, not to mention the warm welcome from the locals. We’re finalizing our plans for October 2026: Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, starting from South Africa. Maybe we’ll hear updates about your final route! To follow our journey: msiafricaroadtrip Best,

JPM

Hi Jean-Pierre,

Here’s a motivating itinerary! 🙂

How long are you going for? Combining Gonarezhou and Zambia in the same trip is ambitious, especially since Zambia’s flagship park, South Luangwa, is way over in the east. Wouldn’t it make more sense to save it for a combo with eastern Zambia + Malawi?

Gonarezhou is best known for its northern section along the Runde River. It’s truly stunning. For camps, there’s a public one: Chipinda, which is really nice by the Runde but I find it a bit far from the main points of interest to use as a base. The park is more famous for its exclusive camps (which need to be booked a year in advance). We loved Bhenji Wear—it’s remote and perched on a bluff with a river below and a watering hole a little farther away. Director and Hlaro let you see the Cliffs. Near the confluence: Chitove, Pokwe, and Mutamagwenzi, which are close to areas with lots of wildlife.

Be aware the park is way down south, so plan for a lot of driving. On the way to Hwange, you’ve got Matopo, which we really enjoyed. We camped at Big Cave, which is close to the park.

In Hwange, we love Masuma Dam (we’ve camped twice in this hide, which you can privatize). Deteema and Mandavu Dam are also great in that area. Otherwise, around Ngwesla is fantastic. There’s no direct watering hole like at Masuma, but you get this amazing "end of the world" vibe. The surroundings are really nice too.

From Gonarezhou to northern Zimbabwe, Great Zimbabwe makes a pleasant stop, and especially Lake Mutirikwi. We stayed at Romelda Retreat—it was amazing.

Zimbabwe is way more enjoyable to drive through than Botswana—there’s more life, villages, lakes, little hills, and granite outcrops. We really love it.

In the north, the concentration of parks is higher. First, there’s Lake Kariba. You can: - Cross it from west to east by ferry—it’s a fantastic experience (22 hours by boat).

- Or take the track that follows the same east-west route. Be careful—some sections are in bad shape. From Hwange, you could plan a stop along the lake (like Maabwe Bay), then head up into the highlands in Chizarira Park (the camps along the cliff are great—we stayed at Mucheni Gorge Camp), even if the wildlife isn’t as concentrated there. You’ll find more animals around Mabola. Next, you can go to Matusadona, a park I adore. There’s a stunning public campsite there: Tashinga. We’ve also stayed in exclusive camps but preferred Tashinga. The track improves every year but is still long. After that, there’s the Gache Gache area, but I haven’t been there. And finally, the jewel: Mana Pools. Like Chobe, everything happens along the water, so there aren’t many tracks, and it gets crowded, but it’s absolutely breathtaking. There’s a public campsite, Nyamepi, but we only passed through—we stayed in exclusive camps far from everything: Nkupe and BBC Camp (which no longer exists). The closest to BBC now is Mucheni. And if you go to Mana Pools, don’t forget to camp at one of the most magical spots in southern Africa: Chitake. It’s completely off the grid, but you’ll be above a wide canyon with a spring. It’s the only water source for 20 or 30 km around, so you’ll likely see elephants down below and buffaloes racing down from the heights to drink, then rushing back up to avoid becoming dinner for the two lion prides fighting for dominance in the area. One of the prides even passed through our camp at night—we could hear them breathing and growling. Our friends in a ground tent didn’t sleep a wink!

That’s it for Zimbabwe.

Across from Mana Pools, on the Zambian side, you’ve got Lower Zambezi. But the view from the Zimbabwean side is more beautiful because you can see the rift, which you don’t get from the other side. Plus, Lower Zambezi doesn’t have camping inside the park, so you end up driving a lot.

On the Zambian side, Bangwelu is nice for spotting the shoebill. Otherwise, there’s Kafue Park—it’s great for a river cruise since the river is so wide. However, the animals were heavily poached for a long time, so they were pretty skittish when we were there. That said, north of Kafue, there’s an area called Busanga Plains—one of the most incredible places I’ve seen in southern Africa.

Booking in these countries isn’t easy, though. We went through a Zimbabwean agency we were really happy with. Keep in mind that very few agencies are willing to handle self-drive campers.

Should I stop here, or do you want me to keep going? [;]

Max, Valentine’s Day is such a sweet declaration of love. 😉

Should I stop here or do you want me to keep writing?

More, please!