Can You Self Drive in Zimbabwe?
- Linda Schlencker
- Jul 24
- 6 min read
Yes, you can! Zimbabwe is calling. It's a fantastic, and often underrated, destination for an adventurous 4x4 adventure. You can certainly drive on your own, but using the expertise of a local guide leading will unlock parts of the adventure you'd miss otherwise, taking you to off-the-beaten-path spots that are a rarity for tourists.
What wildlife might I see in Zimbabwe?
Although our adventure does not just focus on game viewing you will visit Zimbabwe's most famous national Parks - Hwange, Mana Pools and Gonarezhou as well as some lesser known hidden gems... Zimbabwe has the "Big Five" — lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, and buffalo as well as cheetahs, spotted hyenas, African wild dogs (also known as painted dogs), giraffe, zebra, hippos, a variety of antelope and incredible bird life.
What kind of landscapes will I see in Zimbabwe?
Imagine a country where nature's drama unfolds at every turn. Zimbabwe is a land of stunning contrasts, from the thunderous cascade of Victoria Falls—the world's largest sheet of falling water—to the vast, dry savannas of Hwange, home to immense elephant herds. Ancient, granite "whaleback" hills of the Matobo region, to the cool, verdant mountains of the Eastern Highlands, a landscape of rolling hills. Add to this the dramatic red sandstone cliffs of Gonarezhou and the tranquil, lake-dotted shoreline of Kariba, and you have a single country that offers an unforgettable journey through some of Africa's most breath taking and varied scenery.
What will I see on Self Drive Adventure's Zimbabwe Expedition?
Our six-week expedition is a complete tour of Zimbabwe's finest treasures and reveals the true, unspoiled heart of Zimbabwe. From the thundering spectacle of Victoria Falls to the vast, wildlife-rich plains of Hwange National Park and the banks of the Zambezi River in Mana Pools. You'll delve into history at the ancient Great Zimbabwe ruins and the rock art sites, track rhinos on foot in the otherworldly granite landscape of Matobo National Park, and discover the remote wilderness of Gonarezhou with its impressive pink sandstone cliffs. The journey is defined by unique experiences, from a relaxing houseboat cruise and ferry crossing on Lake Kariba to uncovering hidden dinosaur footprints in the Chewore Safari Area, all before exploring the hidden gorges of Chizarira and the lush, historic Eastern Highlands.
We’ve specifically crafted the route to favour remote backroads and 4x4 tracks, ensuring a truly wild and intimate exploration. With minimal tourism in many of the national parks, you'll be treated to secluded campsites and untouched landscapes, giving you the feeling that you have this incredible destination all to yourself.
While the journey is primarily a rugged camping adventure, it also includes nights in luxurious retreats, such as the historic colonial Leopard Rock Hotel, providing the perfect blend of raw exploration and classic comfort. The secret of Zimbabwe's uncrowded wilderness is finally getting out—this is your chance to experience its beauty before the world catches on.
Want to truly understand the scale of this adventure?
We believe the best way to capture the spirit of the trip is to show, not just tell. For a first-hand look at what a self-drive expedition is really like, watch our complete video series from the 2025 adventure.
Episode 1: Summary of the route
Off-roading around Zimbabwe in 42 days. It's an epic challenge and one that few people are ever lucky enough to do. In this first episode our local guide, Gus Le Breton, highlights the route and give you a taster of some of the fun stuff to come! Our group picked up their 4x4s in Johannesburg and travelled north being led by Dave van Graan who has guided our tours since 2014. They crossing the border and visited
Great Zimbabwe – UNESCO world heritage archaeological site, Matopos / Matobo National Park – home to the resting place of Rhodes and here there was some Rhino tracking before heading onto meet Gus just outside of Hwange National Park.
Episode 2: Hwange to Kazuma Pan
Hwange National Park is rightly one of Zimbabwe's most visited and best loved parks. We had a fabulous few days here with great wildlife sightings including lion and the rare African wildcat as well as all the other usual suspects!
The group then found their way along the Botswana border to Kazuma Pan, a real hidden gem in this stunning country. Here we had the whole park to ourselves for a couple of nights, and looks like Botswana – animals are seen here that you won’t see in other parts of Zimbabwe. We had wild dog at the waterhole one night as well as full moon.
Episode 3: Kazuma to Matusadona on Lake Kariba
The roads between Kazuma Pan, Vic Falls, Chizarira and Matusadona are not for the faint-hearted, but they are beautiful and they are wild and they are absolutely worth the effort! From Victoria falls the group’s first stop was at little known Maabwe Bay then visited a hidden gem, Chizarira, a world wonder, a secret gorge and a stunningly beautiful lake-side mountain range then bounced along the roads to Tashinga Campsite on the banks for stunning Lake Kariba in Matusadona National Park.
Episode 4: Matusadona to Chewore South
Although you wouldn't like to meet one in the flesh (it being a voracious carnivore and all), stepping into the footprints of an Allosaurus is a pretty cool thing to do. And that's exactly what happened when out group visited the stunning Chewore South concession on our way to Mavuradona. Bear in mind we'd already had two nights on a houseboat on Lake Kariba and two nights in the stunning Mana Pools (another World Heritage Site), and you can understand why our cups were metaphorically overflowing at that point. As one of our guests remarked, “we have visited so many incredible places and the people have been wonderful, every day is an highlight, but Mana pools, is a place we’ll never forget”.
Episode 5: Chewore to Vumba in the Eastern Highlands
From the camp at the hidden dinosaur footprints in Chewore Safari Area the group travelled through a remote part of the Zambezi Valley, up the escarpment approximately 1,000m up the steep, quiet tar roads and then on to self catering chalets for two nights at Kopje Tops in a local conservancy. Here the group walked to see rock art as well as ancient pots hidden in a cave.
There was one night close to civilisation near Harare in a campsite on our local guides’s family property and lodge then onto the Hidden Rocks campsite just outside of the small town of Juliasdale with one of the most stunning views of the entire trip.
A quick stop at the Trout Beck Inn and then through the remote Nyanga National Park on the only wet day so far of the journey.
Then a two night stay at the historic Leopard Rocks Hotel which has hosted royalty in the past like Queen Elizabeth, the Queen mother and Princess Diana. Our guests enjoyed a holiday from the adventure, eating chocolate cake at the legendary Tony’s cake shop, playing golf on the hotel golf course, touring the botanical gardens, visiting the hotels private game reserve and of course, sundowners at “the castle”. It’s back to camping now folks!
Episode 6: Leopard Rock Hotel to Gonarezhou
You couldn’t find a better way to showcase Zimbabwe's diversity than to drive from Leopard Rock Hotel to Gonarezhou in a few short days. Starting in the lush greenery of the Vumba mountains, traversing the breathtakingly scenic Cashel Valley, Chimanimani and Chipinge highlands and then descending through a forest of baobabs down to the lowest point in the country, where the Runde and the Save rivers meet and flow out into Mozambique. No wonder our guests were blown away! This, sadly, was the end of our odyssey around Zimbabwe. But, like all good things, "we'll be back".
Hear from our Guests...
We think this is one of the world's most epic journeys, but don't just take our word for it—hear from one of our guests - Michael joined us on the 2025 adventure.
And that's a wrap.
Until Next time, hope you can join us to explore this incredible country!
Check out all our self drive adventures world wide here.
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