High Class Travel and Tours: travel information: Zimbabwe tours and travel

Climate: Zimbabwe has a subtropical climate with temeratures varying according to altitude. Summer runs from October to April, the rainy season runs from November to March, (although the Eastern Highlands experience rain throughout most of the year). Winter runs from May to September.

Best time to visit: Zimbabwe is an all year round destination but for special interest group: High adventure enthusiasts, white water rafting is most exciting when the Zambezi waters are low which is generally from August to December. Best botanical months to visit the famous Vumba Botanical Gardens are Dec - May when the vegetation is lush and green, also when most plants are in flower.

Currency: The official currency is the Zimbabwe dollar (ZWD). Foreign currency, especially US dollars, is accepted in most places and often preferred. Many prices are given in US dollars.

The Zimbabwe flag: The flag was adopted 18 April 1980. Green, yellow, red and black are the official colors of the ZANU PF, and Pan-Africanism. The white triangle represents peace, and its black edge the country's new leaders.

ZIMBABWE
Interactive map

Zimbabwe is a Shona word meaning "zimba ramabwe" (big house of stone) usually royal, hence The Great Zimbabwe monument remains a dominant reminder of such structures. Zimbabwe is situated on a high plateau in South Central Of Africa collectively known as Southern Africa, between Limpopo and Zambezi rivers. Zimbabwe lies wholly to the north of the Tropic Of Capricorn.

Zimbabwe is roughly the size of California or one and a half times the size of Great Britain. Zimbabwe's northern border with Zambia is the life giving Zambezi River, it's western border with Botswana the Kalahari Desert, the eastern border with Mozambique a magnificent mountain range, and it's southern border with South Africa is formed by the lazy Limpopo River.

Most of Zimbabwe is rolling plateau, with over 75% of it lying between 610m (2000 ft) and 1,525m (5,000 ft) above sea level, and almost all of it over 305m (1,000 ft), hence one of the most agreeable climates within Africa. The area of high plateau, know as the high Veld, is some 400 miles long by 50 miles wide, and stretches northeast to southwest at 1,220m (4,000 ft) to 1,676m (5,500ft) This culminates in the northeast in the Udizi and Inyanga mountains, reaching the country's highest point at Mt. Inyangani at 2,596m (8,517 ft). The middle veld is a plateau ranging from 610m (2,000 ft) to 1,220 m (4,000 ft) high. Below 610m (2,000ft) are areas making up the Low Veld, wide and sandy plains in the basins of the Zambezi and the Limpopo.

The steep mountain ranges cut Zimbabwe off from the eastern plains that border the India Ocean. The High Veld is a central ridge forming the country's watershed, with stream flowing southeast to the Limpopo and Sabi rivers and northwest into the Zambezi. Deep river valleys cut the Middle Veld. Only the larger of the many rivers have an all-year-round flow of water. Most of rivers have falls and rapids.

Zimbabwe offers the greatest variety of methods to view wildlife in Africa! Day and night game drives in open vehicles, boat game cruises, canoeing, walking, kayaking, white water rafting, horseback safaris, elephant back safaris, houseboats and overland safaris are all available.

The Matusadona National Park is situated on the shores of Lake Kariba, between the Ume and the Sanyati rivers. The Park covers an area of 1407 km of which only one third is provided with roads for visitors, the other two thirds consists of very wild, rugged and inaccessible country.

Open woodlands on the plateau behind the escarpment are dominated by Julbernardia globiflora and have suffered considerable damage from an overpopulation of elephant. The mountain acacia, Brachystegia glaucescens, is also common on the slopes and ridges of the escarpment.

From the plateau the park falls abruptly to a flat, low-lying area covered mainly with mopane scrub and woodland and with dense patches of jesse bush. The entire northern boundary of the park is created by the lakeshore itself. This shoreline, which is subjected to irregular variations in water level caused by fluctuations in annual rainfall, is still in a state of rapid ecological change and development.

The Matusadona National Park is most easily accessible by boat from the town of Kariba, some 12.4 miles north. Several commercial tourist camps are located around the borders of the park. It is also possible to enter the Matusadona from the gravel Karoi-Kamativi road south of the escarpment.

Visitors are allowed to get out of their cars and view game on foot, but this is done at their own risk. Wild animals are dangerous and unpredictable. Elephant, buffalo, impala, kudu, and waterbuck are plentiful, whilst rhino, lion, sable, eland and zebra are frequently seen. Escorted walks with a Game Scout are possible, subject to availability of staff at the time.

Culture: There are a huge percentage of artists in Zimbabwe. Many Zimbabweans make a living out of traditional arts, such as pottery, basketry, textiles, jewellery and carving. The work is brilliant and Zimbabwe has some of the best sculptors in the world.