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The Hide
The Hide
The Hide
The Hide
The Hide
The Hide
The Hide
The Hide
The Hide

Reviews of The Hide

Wildlife sightings and reviews

34 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited The Hide and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Sep-2018, 9 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at The Hide.
Lion

100% success

Leopard

43% success

Cheetah

50% success

Wild dog

43% success

Elephant

100% success

Giraffe

100% success

Sable antelope

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Hippo

89% success

Wildebeest

88% success

Roan antelope

83% success

Buffalo

78% success

Spotted Hyena

20% success

Aardvark

0% success

Black Rhino

0% success

Brown Hyena

0% success

Eland

0% success

Oryx

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Showing 1-10 of 34
Duration
Arrival date
Mark
Switzerland

"The Hide review"

3 nights Arrived 8 Jan 2024
"Perfect food
Walk with lions nearby, quite a thrill" See all these reviews: 9n in Zimbabwe; 2n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Buffalo

1 sighting

Hippo

1 sighting

Lion

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr & Mrs H
Lincs

"The Hide review"

3 nights Arrived 12 Nov 2023
"Lovely camp with outstanding accommodation. The Hide and upstairs viewing deck are amazing. The lounge and dining area are comfortable with excellent views of the camp pan including Gloria the resident male Hippo. The highlight of the game drives was spending time with the 2 resident lion prides, the bigger one consisting of a male 2 females and 3 cubs, and the smaller one featuring a female and 3 delightful month old cubs. Truly special. Our last night was spent in the Dove's Nest, a tree house situated approx. 2k from the Hide. It was a magical experience sipping G&T's watching the sun set from the deck with side striped jackals running through the vlei underneath. If you go to the Hide you must do this. You so won't regret it!" See all these reviews: 9n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

6 sightings

Hippo

6 sightings

Lion

10 sightings

Roan antelope

4 sightings

Sable antelope

6 sightings

Wildebeest

1 sighting

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr + Mrs M
Oxford

"The Hide review"

4 nights Arrived 8 Sep 2022
"This was a wonderful place in all aspects: the staff, the accommodation, guides, location and wildlife.

The staff went well above and beyond to ensure our stay was successful, including arranging a private dinner without needing to request it once they realised we were friends with other holiday makers.
(We had booked independently so this was unexpected!)" See all these reviews: 6n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Cheetah

1 sighting

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Roan antelope

Multiple sightings

Sable antelope

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr and Mrs U.
UK

"The Hide review"

4 nights Arrived 12 Aug 2022
"If we could go back now, we would! The staff were amazing, so friendly, helpful and knowledgable. The setting is fantastic, it feels very isolated, with wonderful views of the water hole. We were in the private Hide area, with two tented lodges and a large decked tent with pool, comfy sofas, dining table and fire pit. It was absolute luxury. The food was the best we'd had, how they conjure that up in the middle of the bush is extraordinary. Our own fully equipped drinks cabinet had all we could wish for and somehow we seemed to have a personal waiter who made us fantastic sunset cocktails when we weren't doing sundowners on a game drive.

The lodges were great, big comfy beds and piles of duvets and blankets (we needed them!), a bath looking over the bush outside and an outdoor shower with hot water. It was the perfect combination of comfort and living in the wild.

The game drives were great, starting at 6.30am after porridge, cereal and pancakes around the fire. Bundled into the Hide's ponchos for warmth we would head off to see everything we could hope for (apart from leopard and cheetah, but who cares about them?!), learning much along the way before stopping for hot chocolate and use of the facilities (bush!). Our guide was truly amazing, with years of experience as a park ranger and now a pro guide. He was patient and enthusiastic, funny and hugely knowledgeable, and did a great job at finding lots of game, including three lions playing the courting game, an amazing opportunity to experience animal behaviour first hand. Those over 16 did a walking safari with him and loved it, going slowly to talk about all the little things you don't see from a safari vehicle. His large gun was reassuring!

The main lodge was beautiful, complete with bushbabies hiding in the rafters and the hide was a brilliant idea. The elephant would arrive around dusk, processing past our lodges to the water hole, at which point we would bury down into the hide to watch from as close as possible, drink in hand. It was a privilege. Going back to our lodge after dark required an escort, just in case we bumped into something we wouldn't want to. An excellent reminder that we were in their territory...

I had been a little concerned about this place when I heard that you can hear the train....I did hear it, most nights, but the same can't be said for the whole family! What our kids in the next door tent did hear was the elephant, sometimes trumpeting, sometimes growl-roaring like lions and all sorts of other night time snuffling and squawks. Knowing that there is so much wildlife just outside the tent door makes the train in the distance utterly irrelevant!

We couldn't recommend the Hide enough, the staff went way above and beyond and it really was a wonderful experience." See all these reviews: 11n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Roan antelope

Multiple sightings

Wild dog

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Carmine Bee-eaters
UK

"The Hide review"

4 nights Arrived 15 May 2022
"A beautiful lodge with luxurious rooms and attentive staff. The food was excellent and catered well for guests with particular dietary requirements. We had a freelance guide who was excellent with a breadth of knowledge that really impressed, for example how giraffes control their blood flow so they don't die when bending their heads to drink.

Highlights were seeing three lion prides including one with a kill very close to camp, a large group of giraffes near Hwange's palm trees, and a forest walk in the midst of elephants.

The eponymous camp hide is exceptional, allowing you to be feet away from drinking elephants, one of whom walked right up to investigate us with its trunk.

The only slight disappointment was our sleep out at The Dove's Nest. This is an very well three story treehouse but we felt drop off at 9pm and pick up at 6am meant we didn't get enough time to truly appreciate the experience." See all these reviews: 9n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

1 sighting

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

4 sightings

Hippo

1 sighting

Lion

4 sightings

Sable antelope

2 sightings

Wildebeest

5 sightings

Zebra

6 sightings

Mr & Mrs W
Georgia US

"Fabulous Safari at The Hide"

4 nights Arrived 11 May 2019
"Our first African safari could not have been better. We stayed at The Hide for four nights and felt like we had become family during that time. The staff was so welcoming and accommodating.

We dined quite well each day, beginning with delivery of coffee and tea to our tent at 5:15 each morning, then a good breakfast before heading out for our morning game drive, a mid-morning coffee break, lunch back at camp, afternoon tea before the afternoon game drive, stopping for sundowners, then a wonderful evening meal where all the guests could discuss their day. One of us being a vegetarian presented no problems whatsoever!

We loved that we had our same guide for our whole time at The Hide, from picking us up at Main Camp on arrival, all our game drives, and returning us to Main Camp when it was time to say goodbye. Innocent was absolutely wonderful!

The camp facilities were all very nice. Spending time down in the hide is a must. Our tent was comfortable and had everything we needed. Su, the manager, did a fabulous job with everything.

We definitely recommend a stay at The Hide!" See all these reviews: 9n in Zimbabwe; 3n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Cheetah

2 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Lion

3 sightings

Sable antelope

2 sightings

Wildebeest

6 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Ms M & Mr M
Calgary

"Comfortable. lots of animals excellen guides "

3 nights Arrived 1 Nov 2018
"This is a very comfortable & well-run lodge. The staff are helpful & the guides excellent. Dining is generally as a group although private dinners are readily provided. The huts are heavy duty tents with thatched roofs but seems like a regular room as there is concrete floor & interior toilet & shower as well as outdoor shower & bath.

The feature is the actual "hides" - underground viewing areas very close to the waterhole - the main one connected by short tunnel to the lodge. Here you are within a couple of meters of elephants when they come to drink & bathe & also attracts many other animals (zebra, giraffe, baboons, wildebeest etc).

Game drives were frequent, ell run with plenty of animal sightings." See all these reviews: 4n in Botswana; 4n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Good
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

1 sighting

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

1 sighting

Sable antelope

1 sighting

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr & Mrs K from
Wales

"Good"

3 nights Arrived 1 Nov 2018
"We had a very good stay at The Hide, but none of it was what I would call exceptional.

The rooms were good, the staff excellent, the food was not much better than average, and the guide was good but, again, not exceptional.

Overall a very nice stay, but I would not return." See all these reviews: 7n in Zimbabwe; 6n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Cheetah

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Roan antelope

1 sighting

Sable antelope

1 sighting

Wild dog

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr & Mrs R
Glos

"The Hide review "

3 nights Arrived 10 Sep 2018
"A fabulous lodge. Great staff, food and facilities.

We chose it for the hides and were not disappointed- amazingly close to elephants and game at the waterhole. We were extremely fortunate to see wild dogs bring down a kudu in the vlei directly in front of camp during breakfast one day. An amazing experience, and the opportunity to see all the other animals and birds that came to clean up the carcass (vultures, spotted hyena etc).

We also hugely enjoyed the night drives, the only lodge on this trip that offered them.

Many thanks to Nicholas our terrific guide, Nick, Lindsay and Kim." See all these reviews: 10n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

1 sighting

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

1 sighting

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

4 sightings

Roan antelope

4 sightings

Sable antelope

4 sightings

Spotted Hyena

2 sightings

Wild dog

2 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Peter & Olga
France

"Wild dogs at The Hide"

3 nights Arrived 3 Nov 2017
"This was our first visit to The Hide and we were very impressed. It is located on a private concession just outside the Hwange National Park - so one has the benefit of easy access to the park but also the possibility of night drives in the concession. We liked the option of a night drive after dinner. We found the activities very well organised and flexible - and in particular enjoyed the possibility to stay out longer on a drive and not be rushed back to camp too early.

We had an excellent guide (Sean Hind). One morning in the middle of breakfast (my birthday in fact) a pack of dogs appeared on the opposite side of the water hole and Sean said "let's jump in the vehicle and go after them". So we were off and followed them for a while before returning to finish our breakfast. I like that sort of spontaneity and flexibility which is missing in many camps.

The Hide goes on our list of places to return to again." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia; 8n in Zimbabwe; 1n in Botswana
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Showing 1-10 of 34
95%
34 reviews of The Hide by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
27
6
0
1
0
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