CSC-Zimbabwe - ZIMBABWE'S RICH DRY SEASON - Comfort

Overlooking a waterhole regularly frequented by wildlife, Little Makalolo Camp sits in a teak forest in the eastern region of Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. It's a small, traditional-style camp in a remote and private concession area, making the game viewing relatively exclusive.

Little Makalolo has just six tented chalets all recently renovated and connected to the main area by slightly raised wooden walkways. Each chalet is a very airy, timber-framed structure with mesh windows that allow a breeze to flow through during the day, and roll-down canvas flaps that shield against the cold, wind and rain when necessary.

The chalets are simple but tastefully decorated with a variety of authentic wood and brass fittings adorning the walls and tables. Concrete flooring helps to regulate the temperature during the day while a good spread of rugs adds warmth at night. Large double-doors at the front of each chalet open onto a veranda, shaded by a wooden slotted-frame ceiling beneath a canvas roof. Two metal chairs give good views through a clearing towards the waterhole, and a tree stump serves as a novel table.

Inside, each chalet is dominated by a large double or twin beds, but you will also find a fan, and a writing table that looks out onto the surrounding bush. The en-suite bathroom is separated from the bedroom by a brick partition wall enlivened by black-and-white prints of Hwange’s wildlife. The bathroom itself is complete with indoor and outdoor showers, his and hers copper washbasins and a flush toilet set in an adjoining cubicle with canvas walls.

Behind the scenes, solar power plays an important role at Little Makalolo. Each of the chalets has a modern solar unit, which combines thermal rods for heating water with photovoltaic cells for charging the chalet's electricity storage cells. Apart from the environmental benefits that this brings, it also helps to enhance the aesthetic value of the camp, as it minimises the need for a noisy generator.

The lounge area is furnished with comfortable seating and chairs, and a small library complete with magazines, books and board games. In the adjacent open-sided dining area, with its large communal table, guests can help themselves to tea and coffee throughout the day.

An outdoor firepit surrounded by chairs proved a popular gathering place for guests to warm themselves with a hot drink around the fire first thing in the morning, or perhaps with something stronger before or after dinner. Little Makalolo also has a small plunge pool with some deck chairs that provides a great place to cool off during the hot afternoon.

Safari activities from Little Makalolo Camp centre around 4WD game drives and walking safaris with top professional guides. Game drives take place in the morning, beginning early, stopping for coffee mid-morning and returning in time for brunch. Guests on a morning walk depart around sunrise, normally being driven out of camp for about 15 minutes before a two–three-hour walk, and returning in time for brunch. On a previous stay during a fascinating walk with our guide, we were excited to find black rhino tracks early on and although we didn't spot the rhino itself, the tracking was great fun. We also managed to get within 100m of a loan male sable antelope before it noticed us and dashed off into thicker bush. Evening 4WD safaris begin in the late afternoon and stop for sundowners before using a spotlight on the return to camp. 

There are also many hides and waterholes in the Makalolo area, including a “tree-house” hide above a waterhole at the front of Makalolo Plains Camp, and a “'log-pile” hide beside the waterhole in front of Little Makalolo. This can seat up to four people (including your guide) and allows you to get very close to wildlife (particularly elephants) at the waterhole. On one visit to Little Makalolo, we were sprayed with mud by an elephant that was only a few metres away – very exciting!

About 90 minutes' drive from Little Makalolo, just outside the national park, is the small town of Ngamo where there are two community-run schools. The owners of Little Makalolo are heavily involved in community projects to try and improve the lives of children in this area, illustrating the positive impact that tourist dollars are having on the people of Zimbabwe. Guests at Little Makalolo can visit the town and see some of these projects, which include a borehole to provide children and teachers with fresh drinking water, the re-thatching of school buildings, and the provision of basic first-aid kits and health care. Such visits are of course completely optional and are usually run in place of usual wildlife watching activites, but may provide an interesting change of scenery for those who would normally see only the wildlife of Hwange, and little of the local people.

CONSERVATION: Wilderness Safaris [who own the camp and run the concession area], is the most dynamic and forward-thinking eco-tourism lodge operator in Africa, they have struck up solid partnerships with the Zimbabwe Parks, Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) and other conservation entities as well as the local community in order to protect the wildlife and support the people in surrounding villages. They are funding and maintaining waterholes, funding an anti-poaching team called the Scorpions, supporting the local school and community in numerous ways. https://www.conservationsafaricompany.com/post/take-a-walk-with-the-scorpions-of-hwange

Conservation Safari Company recommends Little Makalolo as one of our favourite camps in Hwange, beautifully designed and run by amazing staff. Excellent game viewing over vast areas, wonderful elephants and the hide at camp make it a wonderful overall experience. You are making a real contribution to conservation in Hwange by staying here!

Rates are fully inclusive of all safari activities, meals, locally supplied drinks and village tours.

Refurbished in 2016, the smart Ruckomechi Camp spans nearly a kilometre of riverfront in a private concession just beside the north-west corner of Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park, where the vast Zambezi River flows against a backdrop of the Zambezi escarpment. This scenic location, coupled with a high concentration of large game such as elephant and buffalo, has made Ruckomechi a classic name in safaris for many years.

Ruckomechi Camp stands in its own private concession, a short distance upstream from its newer sister property Little Ruckomechi. Covering a little under 40km2, the concession is bisected by the Ruckomechi River, with the eastern half within Mana Pools National Park, and the western side in Hurungwe Safari Area. It's an area of varied habitat, from mopane woodland and scrubland to open grassland, attracting high concentrations of wildlife. This private concession not only allows for greater flexibility of activities than is possible within the national park itself, but also helps to provide a more exclusive game-viewing experience.

Ruckomechi Camp underwent an extensive refurbishment in 2016, upgrading their rooms, main area and vehicles. While this turned the camp into one of the more luxurious properties in the Mana Pools area, the connection with the river and surrounding bush hasn’t been lost.

The camp has ten large tented chalets, two designated as honeymoon suites, and a third forming a family chalet, with an extra bedroom and toilet. All are set along the riverfront, with one long side having views of the surrounding bush and river, and a wooden veranda where you'll find a couple of comfortable fold-up chairs.

Flaps of canvas and mesh open from the veranda directly into the rooms, whose walls and tables are tastefully decorated with local art and decorative features. The beds are covered in crisp white linen, with natural wood headboards, reflecting Ruckomechi's use of local materials. Each chalet also has a writing table, a very comfortable leather chair, a free-standing fan, and bedside lamps using low-energy LED light bulbs. Insect-mesh windows allow a breeze through, and canvas flaps can be rolled down to keep heat in and rain out. Power for electricy and hot water comes from individual solar-power units.

A canvas wall divides the bedroom from the open-plan, en-suite bathroom, which has a wet-room-style walk-in shower, a separate flush toilet, and a long wood-framed mirror set above two contemporary ceramic washbasins. Large mesh windows take up most of the wall at the front, providing further views of the Zambezi River and any wildlife that may happen to be wandering around camp.

The main area at Ruckomechi is constructed from canvas and local materials. A big, open-sided tent provides an airy lounge, with plenty of comfy furniture in neutral colours, as well as a small library and well-stocked bar. Extending from the tent is an extensive wooden platform, where meals are taken beneath the open sky. Somewhat separated from this deck is a small infinity pool surrounded by sunloungers.

Safari activities at Ruckomechi include boating, walking and driving, almost all outside the park itself. While the concession offers excellent game viewing, it is important to note that normal game drives do not go into the main, central area of the national park, which is famous for its long pools, forests and high densities of wildlife.

Guests may, in theory, request to explore beyond Ruckomechi's concession by arranging to hire a private vehicle from the camp (at a cost of around US$400, plus park fees), but we recommend that this is arranged with us in advance; previous travellers have found it impossible to organise once on the ground.

A bonus of Ruckomechi's location on the edge of the park is that it is the only Zimbabwean camp along this stretch of the Zambezi offering river trips (at extra cost) in motorised pontoons and motorboats. These craft are not permitted within the park boundaries, but here come into their own for river-based game viewing, sundowner cruises and catch-and-release fishing trips.

Other options from the camp are half-day canoeing trips in Canadian-style canoes, along with walking safaris and short nature walks led by fully qualified walking guides.

For something a little different Ruckomechi has a romantic sleep-out deck. A little way from camp, this raised platform completed with double bed shrouded in a mosquito net allows guests to sleep under the stars surrounded by the sounds and smells of the bush.

Conservation Safari Company highly recommends Ruckomechi as a wonderful camp with a superb location, warm Zimbabwean hospitality and excellent game viewing from a variety of vehicles; game drives, motor boats and kayaks.

Rates are fully inclusive of safari activities, meals and locally supplied drinks.