All you need to know for your visit to Kavinga

Kavinga is open to guests from the beginning of April to the end of November.

We’re closed from December to March, as the area is often inaccessible during the rainy season when the Rukomechi river starts to flow in front of the camp.

Read more about when to visit Kavinga.

We generally recommend a minimum stay of two to three nights to experience all that the area has to offer.

That said, lots of our returning guests like to visit for longer (some even for five nights or more), as they say that gives them time to properly relax and enjoy the magic of the wild. 

No, we don’t offer day trips to Chitake or the Mana Pools flood plain. However, to enjoy all that Mana Pools National Park has to offer, we recommend staying at Kavinga and another camp, perhaps one near the flood plain

Kavinga is a very wild camp, making it unsuitable for children under the age of ten, unless by special prior arrangement or possibly if a group books the whole camp.

Please note that we don’t offer family rooms and our tents only accommodate 2 twin beds comfortably.

Children under 14 years aren’t able to go on our guided bushwalks.

Yes, Kavinga is situated in a malaria region.

Please speak to your healthcare provider about taking preventative medication. We also recommend you take protective measures, such as using insect repellent, and wearing long sleeves or long pants in the evenings.

All our rooms are equipped with mosquito nets. 

Tsetse flies are present in the Mana Pools region, especially during the hotter months.

Fortunately, they’re infrequently found in the camp. 

Please bring antihistamine tablets, cream or other appropriate medication, particularly if you’re prone to allergic reactions from insect bites. 

You may want to avoid wearing black and dark blue clothing when out on game drives or bush walks, as these colours tend to attract the tsetse flies. You can read about the tsetse fly in our blog.

Our camp is situated in a remote area and communications are very limited.

You can sometimes get coverage from the local Net One and Econet cellular networks in certain spots, but it’s not guaranteed. 

Wi-Fi is available for you to use in our main lounge and dining areas.

We think visiting Kavinga provides a great excuse to have a technology detox while in the wild, but we appreciate that sometimes you may need to contact family and friends outside camp.

The whole camp runs on solar power and all the rooms have electricity and plug points. We use plug type G.

Read more about our ambition to be more sustainable.

No, our rooms are not air conditioned. However, the rooms all have fans, are made from canvas and gauze, and have been designed to allow for maximum airflow during the warmer months. To stay warm during the cooler months the window flaps can be closed and we have plenty of blankets. 

We recommend bringing casual lightweight cotton, khaki or neutral coloured clothes if possible. You may want to bring long-sleeved shirts to protect yourself from the hot African sun, particularly if you’re fair skinned. Long sleeves and long trousers can also be useful in the evenings – either to protect you from potential mosquitos, or to keep you warm if it’s a bit cooler. 

A cap or wide brimmed hat is always a good idea, and don’t forget to pack a swimming costume.

Please also bring a sturdy pair of worn-in walking shoes, and perhaps a comfortable pair of shoes for the evenings. We’d also suggest you bring a fleece, sweater or warm jacket for the cool evenings and early morning game drives. 

Other items we’d recommend bringing on safari include binoculars, torch, camera, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, antihistamine cream for those annoying bites and itches, and enough personal medication for the duration of your trip. 

Don’t forget your extra batteries and SD/CF cards for your cameras.

We offer a daily complimentary laundry service, for clothes worn during your stay.

For cultural reasons we prefer our guests to wash their own delicate items; laundry powder is available in the rooms for this purpose. 

We offer a variety of homemade food and locally available beverages and house wines. 

Breakfast is usually a continental meal of toast, porridge, yoghurt, cereal and fresh fruit if you’re going out early, or a cooked breakfast if you stay in camp. Enjoy a light lunch, followed by tea and cake on the verandah just before your afternoon activity. Don’t worry about going hungry – there’ll be snacks at sundowners, and you’ll come back to camp for a delightful three-course dinner. 

Your stay at Kavinga is all inclusive. All our food is homemade at camp, including the beautiful bread and cakes our chefs surprise us with on occasion. Health is very important to us, so we try our best to use as little unnecessary fats as possible. 

We provide a selection of locally available beverages and house wines. You’re welcome to bring a special bottle of wine or any other preferred drinks with you, which we’ll keep in the bar for you during your stay. 

Yes, we’re able to cater for a range of dietary requirements and special diets (e.g. vegan, gluten free, halaal). If you have any dietary requirements, please let us know when booking as we need to ensure we have the right ingredients at camp when you come and stay. All our food is homemade and prepared freshly every day right in camp.

Our drinking water comes from a borehole in the Rukomechi riverbed and passes through an extensive filtration system. It’s pure, tasty, and safe to drink. 

Cold drinking water, which runs through an additional filter, is also available at the bar. 

To reduce the use of plastic, we provide glass water bottles for you to use during activities. Water jugs will be available in your room, and hot water in flasks for tea and coffee in your room can be provided upon request.

It’s always a good idea to take out travel and health insurance for your holiday. 

Please let us know about any medical conditions you might have, i.e. diabetes, heart disease, recent surgery, etc. and ensure you bring enough personal or prescription medication for your stay.

Our team is trained in first aid, and our guests are covered by HAC Medical for emergency evacuation if needed during their stay.

No, guests aren’t able to stay overnight in the hides.

Our hides simply aren’t set up for overnight stays. They’re also genuinely wild spaces, with no glass separating you from the wildlife, so a guide would need to remain with you for the entire night.

That said, our hides are easily accessible from within camp, so you’re welcome to stay as long as you want during the day and into the evening, especially if you’re hoping to see nighttime visitors.

If you’d like to visit the main hide after dark, you will need to be accompanied by one of our guides.

Our dining, lounge and bar areas all have level access and we have paved paths around camp. Each room/tent is accessed via a flight of stairs, as are our hides. If you would like to visit Kavinga but are concerned about accessibility please get in touch so that we can discuss how we could accommodate you.  

We have a mixture of professional and learner guides at camp, all of whom have in-depth knowledge of the area, fauna and flora.

Zimbabwe has one of Africa’s toughest training programmes for guides. It takes at least four years for a learner guide to become a licensed professional because of the experience required to pass the exams. Zimbabwe guides are not accompanied by scouts or National Parks’ rangers, but carry their own firearms, which are only used for your protection.

Find out more about what it takes to become a guide in Zimbabwe in our blog.

A private concession is an unfenced area within a national park or conservation area, with access limited to just the guests staying at the concession’s private camps.

We don’t offer camping or self-catering at Kavinga.

Our rates are all inclusive and cover accommodation, meals, drinks, activities with a professional guide (game drives, bush walks, night drives, birding, stargazing and more), as well as National Parks fees during your stay – so you can just relax and not have to worry about paying for anything once you arrived.

If you’re happy with your stay and the service you receive while at Kavinga Safari Camp, please feel free to express your thanks by tipping the team. We have general tipping boxes in the main area: one for management and guides, and one for our back of house team. You’re also welcome to tip individuals directly if that’s what you’d prefer to do, or if you feel that certain people have exceeded your expectations. Here is a helpful guide on tipping in Zimbabwe.

You can access our camp by road, or by flying to the airstrip conveniently located on our concession.

Read more about travelling to camp or download our ‘getting here’ instructions.