Zimbabwe

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Quick Facts

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Capital

Harare

Government

Parliamentary Democracy

Nationality

Zimbabwean

Population

12,577,000

Languages

English, Shona, Ndebele

Religions

Christianity, Indigenous Beliefs

Currency

Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWD)

Calling Code

+263

Time Zone

UTC+2

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Introduction

Rainbow over Victoria Falls (Zimbabwean side)

© All Rights Reserved julesfsmit

Fantastic safaris, stunning scenery, a proudly African culture: Zimbabwe has all the stereotypical African attractions, plus a handful more. Victoria Falls, on the Zambezi river along the Zambian coast, is a magnificent, extraordinarily powerful sight. The falls and surrounding river afford some great adventure activities, like white water rafting (might wanna avoid the falls though), parachuting, microlighting, and bungee jumping (the world's tallest bungee jump, that is). Great Zimbabwe, in southeastern Zimbabwe, was once a thriving medieval city: now, it is a historical marvel, indicating the height of African civilization.

Unfortunately, now is not an ideal time to visit Zimbabwe. Political tension and claims of corruption appear set to bubble over into widespread civil war. We recommend holding back for the time being and waiting till tensions subside.

Brief History

Geography

Regions/Provinces

Zimbabwe is divided into eight provinces and two cities with provincial status.

• Bulawayo (city)
• Harare (city)
• Manicaland
• Mashonaland Central
• Mashonaland East
• Mashonaland West
• Masvingo
• Matabeleland North
• Matabeleland South
• Midlands

Cities

• Harare - The nation's capital
• Gweru
• Bulawayo
• Victoria Falls
• Beitbridge
• Masvingo
• Mutare
• Kadoma

Sights and Activities

While Zimbabwe might not be the safest country to enjoy a safari, most parts of the country are safe enough and potential danger is mostly in the bigger cities of Harare and Bulawayo, where protests occur more often and can get worse than elsewhere. And the best national parks to be visited, are located far from the main cities and are probably as safe as counterparts in countries lik Zambia, South Africa and Botswana.

Hwange National Park

Hwange NP 1

© All Rights Reserved tanjaradet

Hwange National Park is located in the northwest of the country, between Victoria Falls and the border with Botswana, just west of the road between Victoria Falls and Bulawayo. It is the largest national park in Zimbabwe with an area of almost 15,000 square kilometers. It is a semi arid region with large plains of grass and savannah land where many species of mammal roam freely. Almost all of Zimbabwe's wildlife can be seen here and some species like the African wild dog are quite special, as it is one of the larger herds anywhere in Africa, along with the herds in Selous and Ruaha National Parks in Tanzania. Access to the park is easy and the Main Camp is close to the Main gate and can be reached partly by tarred road. There are two other camps as well, one of which is very remote and requires you to be fully epuiped with fuel and water in case something happens along the way.

Mana Pools National Park

This great park is the counterpart of the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia and is best reached from Zambia as roads from Harare and Victoria Falls are not always in good shape and fuel shortages are common in Zimbabwe as well. The flood plains along the Zambezi River form series of lakes where wildlife finds water and food, mainly in the dry season when water else is scarce. It is one of the best parks in Africa to enjoy a walking safari and the only one where you can actually walk just by yourself, because of the almost flat landscape where you have very good views of spotting wildlife and thus are able to prevent and eye to eye contact with a lion within a too short distance. Although it is not as well developed as many other national parks it has large herds of hippos, elephants and buffalos and trips can be arranged both in Zambia as in Zimbabwe.

Victoria Falls

Vic Falls

© All Rights Reserved Luis M

At a height of over 100 meters and a width of about 1700 meters, the Victoria Falls are the largest sheet of water falling in the world. Located within the boundaries of Mosi-oa-Tunya NP in Zambia and Victoria Falls NP in Zimbabwe, the falls are one of the most impressive landmarks of Africa and travellers from around the world are highly attracted by the opportunities near the falls. Hiking, wildlife viewing, bungeejumping, cruising, whit water rafting the Zambezi river and a helicopter ride to have a bird's eye view of the falls, all are very popular. As the falls are mainly located in Zambia, the best panoramic view is from Zimbabwe, viewing the falls head on. Even better would be the view from the air. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Events and Festivals

Weather

Zimbabwe has a warm and fairly dry climate, but still with a distict rainy season. Because of its elevation, large parts are not overly hot. Also, it is fairly south in Africa, thus having some colder winters.
The lower parts of the country have a rather dry climate with an unreliable rainfall of between 400 mm 600 mm. In the eastern highlands annual rainfall is as much as 1500 mm/ 2000 mm. Over most of the country annual rainfall is between 750 mm 1000 mm. Most of the rain falls during the period November to March when it is summer in Zimbabwe. Winter is dry, warm and sunny in most of the country.
Except in the lower regions, temperatures are warm but rarely hot around the year. Bulawayo and Harare for example are between 1200 and 1500 meters above sea level. Here, summers are close to 30 degrees Celcius during the day, around 15 or 16 degrees at night. Winters (June - September) are above 20 degrees during the day, dropping to a rather chilly 7 degrees at night. Most rain falls between December and February, close to 200 mm a month in some places. June to September is almost completely dry.
The eastern lowlands along the border with Mozambique are warmer but equally wet. Temperatures average between 28 and 34 degrees Celcius year round, but warmer from October to January, averaging over 35 degrees in some parts, over 40 degrees is possible somtimes. Also, nights are not that cold, slightly below 15 degrees during the cooler June to September period. The dry season seems to last longer, from April to October.

Getting There

By Plane

Air Zimbabwe is the national airline of the country and is based at Harare International Airport (HRE) near the capital Harare. International flights include those to and from Beijing, Blantyre, Dar es Salaam, Dubai, Guangzhou, Johannesburg, Lilongwe, London, Lubumbashi, Lusaka, Nairobi and Singapore. Several other airlines from neighbouring countries fly to and from Harare. Victoria Falls Airport (VFA) is located close to the famous waterfalls on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe and might be of convenience for travellers. Destinations include Johannesburg, Windhoek and Maun (Botswana).

By Train

Since 2006, there is a thrice a week train between Francistown in Botswana and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. The train leaves Francistown on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays around 9am and arrives approximately 6 hours later in Bulawayo. In the other direction, the train leaves Bulawayo at 9.30am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, taking 5 and a half hours.

By Car

Roads lead into Zimbabwe from all neighbouring countries and most border crossings are open between 6 am and 6 pm. The crossings at Beitbridge (South Africa) and Victoria Falls (Zambia) are open longer. Note that driving on some routes may be difficult, especially after heavy rains and that petrol availability is very limited outside the bigger cities and Victoria Falls, so take some more petrol cans with you at all times.

By Bus

Buses travel between Zimbabwe and all of its neighbouring countries. From Harare and Bulawayo there are connections to and from Johannesburg in South Africa. Buses to and from Bulawayo from Johannesburg travel further north to Lusaka. There are also buses between the capital Harare and the city of Blantyre in Malawi, travelling through the nortern tip of Mozambique (Tete), but a visa is not necessary when travelling all the way to Blantyre. From Bulawayo there are buses to Francistown in Botswana as well.
From Victoria Falls in the north, buses travel all the way to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. The stop on the way in Katima Mulilo in the eastern Caprivi of Namibia. Buses travel through Botswana, but you are not allowed to get out of the bus in Kasane in the northeast of Botswana. Instead, minibuses travel between Kasana and Victoria Falls, mostly organised by lodges and hostels.

By Boat

Although Zimbabwe shares (parts of) the border with Zambia along rivers, there are no options of entering Zimbabwe directly by boat.

Getting Around

By Plane

Air Zimbabwe flies between Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.

By Train

There are trains between Bulawayo, Chiredzi, Harare, Labatse, Mutare, Plumtree, Triangle and Victoria Falls run by the National Railways of Zimbabwe, but is not well maintained and service is poor.

By Car

Although it is possible to rent a car at airports and bigger hotels, and the main routes are actually of a decent quality, it is not recommended, mainly due to the petrol shortages which are common since years outside the main urban centers and Victoria Falls.
Traffic drives on the left and you need a national or international driver's licence writting in English.

By Bus

The main bus connection are between Harare and Bulawayo (5-6 hours) and Bulawayo and Victoria Falls (4-5 hours). Several buses travel between Victoria Falls and Harare as well, some of them stopping in Bulawayo on their way. Blue Arrow Luxury Coaches provides bus services to major destinations like the route Harare-Bulawayo.

By Boat

Ferries run on Lake Kariba from Kariba to Binga and Mlibizi.

Red Tape

Nationals of the following countries do not need a visa to enter Zimbabwe:

Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, Canada, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Fiji, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, Namibia, Nauru, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland, Sweden, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu and Zambia.

Nationals of the following countries are given a visa for a fee (except Ghana and South Africa, for whom a visa is free) upon arrival:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Cook Islands, Denmark, Dominica Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Palau, Palestinia, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Seychelles, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, USA, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vatican City and the US Virgin Islands.

All other nationals need to apply for a visa before entering the country.

Money

See also Money Matters

Work

Study

Language

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

See also Travel Health

Safety

See also Travel Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

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