cooncat2

But that camp looks soooo cool! I thought it would be nice way to pamper myself before the big flights home! In all honestly I haven't done that much research - I didn't realize there were very many camps in Kafue! I'll check it out!

Sharon

cooncat2

I meant Hwange!

Volante

I would try Bushtracks who are based in Livingstone and Vic Falls.
[email protected]
They will do transfers to most places from either place at very reasonable costs....I have used them last year when in Livingstone to go to Matetsi in Zim....I think it was around $40pp each way and a nice vehicle and drive too!

jasher

Sharon,

Here is a website with info on non-Wilderness camps in Zim:

http://www.zambezi.com/african/zimba...abwe_list.html

Cheers,
Julian

jasher

Hi Sharon,

Found a website for The Hide:

http://www.thehidesafaris.com/

I couldn't find a site for Giraffe Springs, though some sites list them as being run by Wilderness.

Malindi Station Lodge's website no longer exists; it's not clear if the lodge has gone the same way. It's also outside the park (but if you do take the train, it will drop you on the doorstep of the lodge).

Elephant Sands apparently caters primarily to a German-speaking clientele, as most of the information I found on it was in German. Maybe Mitch can help out.

Although Wilderness is expensive, one advantage of going with them is knowing that the company is financially stable and can handle all of your logistics with ease. Not to mention that Makalolo looks great. Did you look into trying Little Makalolo, the more rustic 'vingtage' option?

Cheers,
Julian

bwanamitch

Here are my listings for Hwange:
http://www.safari-portal.de/Lodging.....html#HwangeNP

The sections 'HNP: Dete Gate', 'HNP: Inyantue Gate', 'HNP: Main Camp Gate' and 'HNP: Ngamo Gate' lists accommodations outside the park near the corresponding gate.

Giraffe Springs is closed and for sale. Malindi Station Lodge is closed. Don't know if the train option is still available. As far as I know, Elephant Sands is closed.

Mitch

jasher

Thanks Mitch -- should have checked your site!

It does appear that non-WS options in the park itself are somewhat limited. The last rates on the Josivanini site are from 2004 -- are you sure this camp is still running?

Cheers,
Julian

jasher

BTW, I noticed that you still listed Matetsi Safari Camp -- I enquired with CCA about the time-table for re-opening it, and heard back that it's closed until the occupancy at Matetsi picks back up. The Water Lodge is still open.

Cheers,
Julian

bwanamitch

Julian,

Thanks for the info on Matetsi.

I've given up to mark camps in Zim as 'temporarily closed', that changes every week.

I've just checked my listings about Hwange and found a lot of dead links - currently Zim is a nightmare if you're maintaining link lists.

But one positive news: There is a new camp in Hwange end of the year (could be the ex-Giraffe Springs concession):
http://www.africanbushcamps.com/camps/somalisa.htm

Mitch

jasher

Hi Mitch,

Thanks for the news on the new camp. However, I have to admit, the opening and closing of camps in Hwange does argue in favour of booking with WS, especially because we book our trips so far in advance - at least you know the company will still be there a year in the future.

Cheers,
Julian

bwanamitch

Julian,

I would have no problem to go to Zim now, but during these times I certainly wouldn't book Zim accommodations one year in advance, regardless if they are managed by WS or not. There have already been bigger players than WS who gave up or were thrown out.

And I would have a more secure feeling with the new Somalisa camp, because Mr. Beks is Zimbabwean and IMO seems to be the new shooting star on the Zimbabwean tourism scene, than with WS who are just another foreign company.

Mitch

jasher

Hi Mitch,

I was thinking more along the lines that if WS did pull out of Zim, in all likelihood you could still stay at their Bots camps so your trip wouldn't be completely ruined. But I look forward to seeing what happens with the new camp.

Cheers,
Julian

Volante

Now thats odd...some friends of mine cam back from Matetsi last week.......maybe there are two?
its upstream of Vic Falls

jasher

No, it's the same Matetsi -- there are two camps there (Water Lodge and Safari Camp) but only Water Lodge is currently open due to the low volume of visitors to Zimbabwe.

As an aside, I met several Zimbabwean members of staff from Matetsi whilst I was at Londoz in July -- to avoid making them redundant, CCAfrica has offered them jobs at other lodges until Matetsi is back to full capacity. They were wonderful friendly people, and if they are indicative of the staff at Matetsi I'm sure your friends had a great time there.

Cheers,
Julian