Highlights of Zimbabwe: Victoria Falls & Hwange

This morning you visit Victoria Falls itself, entering the rainforest that clings to the chasm rim on the Zimbabwe side, the bank that offers the most expansive, front-on views of the cataract. With your guide you follow the path from viewpoint to viewpoint, looking directly across the gorge at vast curtains of water thundering into the abyss, feeling the ground tremble and, in high water, being drenched by the drifting spray while rainbows arc through the mist. Your guide explains the geology, history and ecology of this extraordinary place, and there is time to linger, photograph and simply absorb the scale. The afternoon is free to explore the town, browse craft markets, or relax at your hotel. Perhaps end the day watching the sun set over the gorge. Rest well after a day before a world wonder.

Today is yours to enjoy the many pleasures of Victoria Falls at your own pace. You might take an optional adventure, a heart-stopping bungee jump or zipline from the historic bridge, white-water rafting through the churning rapids of the Batoka Gorge, a helicopter or microlight Flight of Angels over the falls, or a guided walk down into the gorge. Alternatively, relax with a visit to a village or the crocodile farm, browse the markets for stone carvings and baskets, or simply unwind by the pool. In the late afternoon, the highlight is a sunset cruise on the broad upper Zambezi, gliding past hippos, crocodiles and drinking elephants as the sky blazes orange and the river turns to molten gold, drink in hand. It is a magical, quintessentially African evening. Rest well, for tomorrow you head into the wild.

After breakfast you travel south into Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest protected area, by light aircraft to a bush airstrip or by scenic road transfer. As you arrive in this vast wilderness of teak forest, open grassland and mineral-rich pans, the change is immediate: the bustle of the falls gives way to the deep silence and wide horizons of the bush. You are welcomed at your safari camp, settle into your tent or chalet, and enjoy lunch and a briefing. In the cool of the late afternoon you head out on your first game drive, the golden light picking out giraffe, zebra, kudu and, very likely, your first elephants ambling to a waterhole. As dusk falls you pause for sundowners in the bush before returning to camp for dinner under a canopy of stars. Rest well, deep in wild Zimbabwe.

Today you immerse yourself fully in Hwange's rhythm, with game drives in the cool of the morning and again in the golden afternoon, and a leisurely brunch and rest through the heat of the day. Hwange is famous above all for its elephants, and in the dry season the waterholes become stages for extraordinary gatherings: family after family emerging from the woodland to drink, bathe, spray dust and jostle, calves splashing at their mothers' feet. You may sit quietly at a hide as the herds stream in, so close you can hear them breathe. Between the pans, huge herds of buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe and antelope move across the grasslands, watched by lion and other predators. Your expert guide reads the bush and finds the action. Return to camp for dinner and the sounds of the African night. Rest well.

Another full day in Hwange lets you go deeper into its wildlife, with the flexibility to follow whatever the bush offers. Morning and afternoon game drives focus on the park's predators: prides of lion resting near the pans, leopard draped in a tree at dawn, and, if you are fortunate, a pack of endangered painted dogs on the hunt, for Hwange is one of their last strongholds. Your guide tracks fresh spoor, listens for alarm calls, and reads the behaviour of the plains game to find them. In private concessions you may enjoy a night drive, sweeping the darkness with a spotlight to reveal nocturnal creatures, genet, civet, spring hare and hunting cats. There may also be a chance for a guided bush walk, learning to read tracks and signs on foot. Return to camp for dinner and stories around the fire. Rest well.

On your final full day in Hwange you savour the wilderness at a relaxed pace, with a full choice of activities. You might take a long, leisurely morning drive to a distant pan, spend time in a waterhole hide watching the endless procession of animals, join a guided walk with your professional guide, or simply relax in camp between drives, watching game come to the camp waterhole. The dry-season concentrations mean there is always something to see, and this is the day to slow down, to notice the smaller wonders, birds, dung beetles, the play of light on the grass, and to let the peace of the bush settle over you. As the sun sets on your last evening, you gather for sundowners and a farewell dinner under the stars, reflecting on the great herds and predators of Hwange. Rest well amid the wild.

After a final early morning game drive or a relaxed breakfast in camp, you bid farewell to Hwange and are transferred by light aircraft or road to Victoria Falls Airport for your onward international departure. You leave having experienced the very best of Zimbabwe in perfect balance: the thunder and expansive views of Victoria Falls from its finest side, a golden sunset cruise on the mighty Zambezi, and days among the great elephant herds, big cats and huge plains-game concentrations of Hwange, all guided by the country's celebrated professionals. The images stay vivid long after you land, the curtains of falling water and drifting rainbows, the elephants crowding the waterholes at dusk, and the deep silence of the bush at night. Zimbabwe offers spectacle, genuine wilderness and warm hospitality in abundance, and you depart already dreaming of a return.