The friendly and knowledgeable guides at Bomani Lodge will take you on walks or drives inside this truly wild and remote region of Hwange National Park, famous for its giants, the elephants, and a plethora of other wildlife. Other activities include all day ‘pump runs’, night drives, the Look Up Hide and school and village visits.
Morning and afternoon game drives
Game drives are conducted by experienced guides in traditional open safari vehicles. On your morning game drives pause to enjoy tea, coffee and biscuits and in the afternoons cool drinks and cooked snacks will be provided. Our land Cruisers seat up to 9 guests and Land Rovers seat up to 7 guests. Our game drives in this remote portion of Hwange National Park seldom see another vehicle and are a spectacular insight into the wildlife and environment unique to this part of the park.
Game walks
Game walks are an exciting option for photography of big game on foot. They are usually undertaken in the mornings and are conducted by a fully licensed and highly experienced armed professional guide. In this remote and wild area every walk provides fascinating insights into Hwange’s circle of life; watch Hwange’s elephants shake acacia trees to loosen and then eat the pods while on a smaller scale dung beetles roll up the elephant dung containing acacia seeds into balls. Dung beetles bury these balls and the acacia seed is now ready to germinate and grow into a new tree!
Night drives
It’s well worth joining one of the shorter night drives through our private concession. Our trackers operate powerful spotlights to seek out some of the less-seen nocturnal creatures. The light’s red filter lessens the disturbance, thus creating a unique opportunity to watch the fascinating behaviour of the nocturnal world. Unusual highlights include ant bears, porcupines, genets, springhares, lesser bushbabies and pennant winged nightjars.
The Look up Game Viewing Hide
For the hard core photographers we have game viewing hides at some of our waterholes ideal for wildlife photography, and our ‘look up game viewing hide’ at Stoffie’s Pan inside the park has been called the best in Hwange.
All day drives and pump runs
Hwange National Park has no major rivers and for the past 70 years during Hwange’s dry seasons wildlife has subsisted here on water originally pumped by windmills, but which were later replaced by diesel engines. In the southern sector of the Park, Imvelo Safari Lodges shoulders the responsibility for 15 pumped waterholes. This means Imvelo is looking after approximately 20- 25% of the waterholes that sustain Hwange’s wildlife – a huge commitment of which we are truly proud!
The engines require diesel, oil and monthly services and the pump attendants who operate them require rations and pay. A popular activity is to take an all day trip into the Park visiting the waterholes to drop off fuel and oil for the motors as well as rations and supplies for the pump attendants.
A picnic lunch is then enjoyed near one of the waterholes followed by a leisurely game drive back to the lodge in the afternoon. Our Pump run usually ends with sundowners at one of the waterholes close to camp. Please note this activity only happens in the dry season when the water is pumped (usually between June – October).
In the green season an all-day game drive can be enjoyed roaming across a huge section of the park stopping for a picnic lunch and siesta under a cool tree near a lily-covered pan.
Village visits and school tours
Imvelo Safari Lodges is deeply committed to bringing together local rural communities and our safari guests, for their mutual benefit. Twenty minutes drive from the lodge our guests have the opportunity to enjoy an actual and un-orchestrated look at village life in rural Matabeleland.
Hosted by one of Imvelo’s local guides, it is a fascinating tour of a variety of typical daily village activities. It is followed by a visit to one of the nearby schools, hosted by the Headmaster, where guests are given the opportunity to hear traditional songs sung by the children and enjoy a ‘class interaction’.
This great opportunity is encouraged by our teachers as it is a wonderful way for the school kids to meet people from all over the world and learn about different cultures and countries. For both the children and our guests it is always a heart-warming and inspirational morning.
School tours cannot be conducted during school holidays
Daily Horse Safari Rides
The open grasslands and forest groves of the Ngamo Plains around Camelthorn and Bomani Lodges are among the most scenic areas of Hwange, as well as being home to a variety of wildlife, big and small. The landscape changes dramatically between the cooler dry winters and warm humid summers.
This special scenery is ideal for horse-riding and several activity options have been designed for riders of different experience levels. We have a weight restriction of 90kgs and do not allow children under 16 years of age (children 7 years and above are permitted on the Beginner Bush Experience).
All rides are led by our experienced, qualified guides and trackers. The pace is determined by safety and terrain and is mostly fast walking and trotting. Where possible in open areas we will canter and gallop. We look at our riders’ experience and tailor the pace accordingly.
Typically between 2 and 4 guests can join an activity; breaks with refreshments are carefully planned to rest both horse and rider. We offer 1 ride for beginners and 4 rides for intermediate to advanced riders:-
Beginner Bush experience: 1 hour excursion for beginners and novice riders (Children 7 years and above allowed)
Hippo Sunrise: 3 hour excursion for experienced riders
Cultural immersion ride: 5 ½ hour excursion for intermediate riders to a local village to meet the people and experience their daily life
Sundowner ride: 2 hour excursion for intermediate riders
Full day safari ride: 8 hour excursion for experienced riders
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