Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east.

We recommend that you enjoy Zimbabwe for at least two to three weeks to really see and get a feel for this magnificent country.

There are no fewer than 5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Zimbabwe - perhaps the best known being Victoria Falls - Zimbabwe's prime attraction and the gateway to the country. The nearby Zambezi National Park - together with Victoria Falls National Park - cover an area of 56,000 hectares.

The northern border of the Park is formed by the great Zambezi River which also forms the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia for much of its length.

View Victoria Falls, ride elephants through the savannah, meet the elephants in Hwange National Park, canoe down the Zambezi and enjoy a walking safari in Mana Pools National Park.

Gaze on the spectacular ruins of Great Zimbabwe, visit colonial Bulawayo and relax and energise your senses amongst the stunning granite kopjes of the Matobo National Park.

Other Word Heritage Sites include Mana Pools National Park on the Zambezi River, Matobo National Park near Bulawayo, and the ruins of Great Zimbabwe and Khami.

Many of Zimbabwe's National Parks such as Victoria Falls, Mana Pools and Hwange are well known, others not so:

THE MATOBO NATONAL PARK

The Matobo Hills are an area of granite kopjes and wooded valleys situated around 22 miles (35 km) south of Bulawayo in southern Zimbabwe.

The Hills were formed over 2,000 million years ago with granite being forced to the surface, then being eroded to produce smooth "whaleback dwalas" and broken kopjes, strewn with boulders and interspersed with thickets of vegetation.

The area is known for San Rock art paintings amongst the ancient shapes and local wildlife includes a healthy population of white and black rhino. Cecil John Rhodes is buried in these hills at a site named World's View.

HWANGE NATIONAL PARK

Hwange National Park is the largest game reserve in Zimbabwe and lies in the west, on the main road between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.

Along the Botswana border the easternmost tongues of the Kalahari sands creep into the country and mix with the teak forests of the interior, so that desert-adapted animals share the same habitat with woodland species. Hwange National Park is home to some of southern Africa's last great elephant, buffalo and sable herds.

Makalolo concession within Hwange is a truly wild area where animals have no restrictions and can migrate back and forth. Large numbers of animals can be seen year round including elephant, buffalo, sable, roan, elland, giraffe, wildebeest, impala and gemsbok.

These are followed by their predators - lion, leopard, wild dog and cheetah, African wildcat, serval, honeybadger, civit and spotted hyena.

Birdlife includes Dickinson's Kestrel, Bradfield's Hornbill and Arnott's Chat.

Painted Dog Conservation has it's visitor centre opposite Hwange National Park airport www.painteddog.org.

ZAMBEZI & VICTORIAL FALLS NATIONAL PARKS

A wide variety of larger mammals can be found within the Zambezi National Park including The Big Five: elephant, lion, buffalo, leopard and white rhinoceros. In addition, herds of sable antelope, eland, zebra, giraffe, kudu, waterbuck and impala as well as many of the smaller species of game can be viewed.

The Zambezi River is home to a large variety of fish and is famous for its bream and fighting tiger fish.

The area is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site and the Falls, known by the local Kololo tribe as Mosi oa Tunya- The Smoke that thunders, is one of the "Seven Wonders of the World" and one of the largest waterfalls on earth.

MANA POOLS NATIONAL PARK

Mana Pools National Park lies at the heart of the Zambezi Valley where the Zambezi River meanders to the Mozambican border and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

With spectacular views of the the broad river, floodplains, riverine woodland and the mountains of the Rift Valley escarpemnt, this stretch of the Zambezi River is famous for its four main pools after which the park is named - 'mana' means 'four' in Shona.

Wildlife viewing is excellent with large concentrations of buffalo and elephant along the river's edges, while predators such as lion, wild dog and leopard are often sighted. Kudu, zebra, impala and waterbuck graze the plains and the river is home to hippo and crocodile.

Birdlife is superb particularly for both woodland and riverine species with numerous local specials such as Black-throated Wattle-eye, Red-necked falcon and Eastern Nicator.