Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

We spent our first 3 nights and 2 days of our safari at Kashawe Camp in Hwange National Park.

We immediately settled into our tent.

Oops! Wrong tent pic.

Our ‘tent’ turned out to be a 400-square-foot oasis—with hot and cold running water, a toilet, and a shower—basically, everything you’d expect in a boutique hotel, just with better views and more baboons.

We quickly got into the rhythm of the safari.

6:30 AM Breakfast

7:00 – 11:00 AM Game Drive

Our safari squad is fifteen strong, so we split into two groups and hop into open-air jeeps driven by expert guides. We bounce into the bush in search of wildlife, with a civilized coffee/tea and snack break halfway through, because even adventurers need their caffeine.

12:00 PM Lunch back at camp. We’re not talking about a soup-and-sandwich combo. This is a full-on safari buffet extravaganza.

3:00 PM High Tea—because nothing says ‘wilderness adventure’ like delicate pastries, fresh fruit, and enough desserts to make you forget you’re technically in the middle of a national park.

4:00 PM Afternoon game drive, which wraps up with a ‘sundowner’: wine and appetizers served in the bush, where the only thing more impressive than the sunset is how quickly you forget there are lions nearby.