Luxury Zimbabwe: The Ultimate Fly-in Safari

This morning you visit Victoria Falls, walking the rainforest rim on the Zimbabwe side, the bank with the most expansive, front-on views, with a private guide. You move from viewpoint to viewpoint, gazing across the chasm at vast curtains of water thundering into the gorge, feeling the ground tremble and, in high water, being drenched by drifting spray as rainbows shimmer in the mist. Your guide brings the geology, history and ecology vividly to life. The afternoon is free to relax, enjoy a spa treatment, or take an optional adventure. As the day softens, you enjoy a private sunset cruise on the broad upper Zambezi, gliding past hippos and drinking elephants as the sky blazes orange and the river turns to gold, glass of bubbles in hand, in one of Africa's most magical settings. Rest well, ready to fly into the wild tomorrow.

Today is yours to enjoy the pleasures of Victoria Falls in exclusive style. You might take the ultimate aerial adventure, a private Flight of Angels by helicopter over the mile-wide falls and zigzag gorges, a sight of overwhelming beauty, or a gentle canoe on a quiet upstream stretch of the Zambezi. Alternatively, indulge in a spa day, a long lazy breakfast, a private guided tour of the Zambezi National Park to look for game, or shopping for fine stone sculpture and crafts. Your guide arranges everything seamlessly. As evening falls, enjoy a superb dinner, perhaps at the historic hotel with its view of the bridge, savouring the last of the falls before the safari begins. Rest well in comfort, for tomorrow you fly to an exclusive luxury camp in wild Hwange, the first of the country's finest wilderness lodges on this journey.

After breakfast you take a private light-aircraft flight south to Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest wilderness, gliding over vast landscapes to land at a bush airstrip. You are met and transferred to your exclusive luxury camp, an elegant suite with a private deck and plunge pool, perhaps overlooking a busy waterhole. After lunch and time to settle in, you head out on your first game drive in the cool of the late afternoon, the golden light picking out giraffe, zebra, kudu and great herds of elephant ambling to drink. As dusk falls, you pause for sundowners in the bush before returning to camp for a gourmet dinner under the stars, the calls of the African night all around. Some camps offer a sunken photographic hide for eye-level views of the elephants at the waterhole. Rest well, cosseted in luxury deep in the wild.

Today you immerse yourself in Hwange, with game drives in the cool morning and golden afternoon and leisurely comfort through the heat of the day. Hwange holds one of Africa's greatest elephant populations, and in the dry season the waterholes become stages for extraordinary gatherings you can watch from a private or sunken hide at eye level, an unforgettable, intimate spectacle. Between the pans, huge herds of buffalo, zebra, giraffe and antelope move across the grasslands, watched by lion, leopard and the endangered painted dog, which your expert guide tracks with skill, on a private vehicle if you wish. Back in camp, savour gourmet cuisine, fine wines, your plunge pool and impeccable service. As the sun sets, enjoy sundowners and dinner under the stars. Rest well in exclusive comfort, deep in wild Zimbabwe, ready for more tomorrow.

Another day in Hwange lets you go deeper into its wildlife in exclusive style. Morning and afternoon game drives follow whatever the bush offers, and in the private concessions you may enjoy a night drive, sweeping the darkness with a spotlight to reveal nocturnal creatures and hunting cats, or a guided walk with your professional guide. You might spend a magical stretch in a photographic hide as the elephants stream in, capturing frame after frame at eye level. This is also a day to savour the luxury of your camp, gourmet dining, spa touches, your private deck and pool, and the deep peace of the wilderness. As the sun sets on your last Hwange evening, enjoy sundowners and a fine dinner under the stars, reflecting on the great herds and predators you have seen. Rest well, for tomorrow you fly to beautiful Mana Pools.

After a final morning drive or a lazy breakfast, you take a private light-aircraft flight to Mana Pools National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage wilderness on the banks of the Zambezi and one of Africa's most beautiful places. Landing at a bush strip, you are transferred to your exclusive luxury camp beneath the towering albida trees, with the great river and blue escarpment beyond. After lunch and time to settle in, you set out for your first experience of this magical place, a guided walk or game drive through the cathedral-like forest, where the dappled golden light and the game gathered along the river are extraordinary. You may witness the park's legendary elephants rising onto their hind legs to reach the acacia pods. As the sun sets over the Zambezi, enjoy sundowners on the bank before a gourmet dinner. Rest well in one of Africa's most beautiful, exclusive wildernesses.

Today you experience the signature of Mana Pools, exploring this pristine wilderness on foot and by water in exclusive style. With an expert armed guide you walk through the golden floodplain forest, tracking elephant, buffalo and, with luck, lion, and approaching game on foot with skill, feeling the profound thrill of sharing the wild at ground level. By canoe you glide silently down the mighty Zambezi past pods of hippos, basking crocodiles and elephants crossing between islands, with a wealth of birds all around, pausing on a sandbank for a gourmet picnic. You may again see the legendary standing elephants reaching into the trees. The intimacy and beauty are extraordinary, and after each activity you return to the comfort of your exceptional camp. As the sun sets on your last wilderness evening, enjoy a fine dinner under the stars. Rest well in beautiful Mana Pools.

This morning you bid farewell to Mana Pools and fly southwest, via Bulawayo, to the mystical Matobo Hills, one of Africa's most spellbinding landscapes and the cultural jewel of this journey. Arriving in the Matobo, a vast, ancient jumble of smooth granite whalebacks and impossibly balanced boulders glowing gold in the light, you are transferred to your luxury lodge amid the hills. After lunch and time to settle in, you begin to explore this UNESCO World Heritage landscape, drinking in its powerful, mystical atmosphere and sweeping views. You might visit World's View, the high, wind-swept kopje where Cecil Rhodes is buried, his grave set into the living rock amid an amphitheatre of boulders, as your guide explains the complex, contested history. As the granite glows orange at sunset, savour sundowners with a view. This evening, enjoy a fine dinner at your lodge. Rest well in the sacred hills.

Today you experience the two great treasures of the Matobo: its rhino and its ancient art. In the cool of the morning you set out on foot with an expert guide and armed scout to track endangered rhino, learning to read tracks and signs and following them quietly through the boulder-strewn bush until you come upon these magnificent, ancient-looking creatures, approaching at a respectful distance to watch them in near silence, hearts pounding. Your guide explains the fight against poaching and the conservation your visit supports. Later you visit some of Africa's finest San rock art, in caves among the boulders, gazing at delicate ochre paintings of animals and figures thousands of years old while your guide interprets their meaning. Between these, drink in the beauty of the hills and their wildlife and birds. As the sun sets on your final evening, enjoy a farewell dinner. Rest well after a profound day in the Matobo.

After a final breakfast, and perhaps a last drive or walk in the beautiful Matobo Hills, you are transferred to Bulawayo airport for your flight and onward international departure. You leave having experienced the ultimate Zimbabwe safari, spectacle, wilderness, culture and luxury in perfect union: the thunder and expansive views of Victoria Falls, the great herds and predators of Hwange, the pristine floodplain beauty of Mana Pools explored on foot and by canoe, and the mystical granite, rhino and ancient art of the Matobo Hills, all in the finest camps and lodges, flown between destinations and guided by the best in Africa. The images stay vivid long after you land, the falling water and rainbows, the elephants at the waterholes and reaching into the trees, the granite glowing at dusk, and the rhino among the boulders. Zimbabwe has given you the very best of Africa, and you depart already dreaming of a return.