14 July 2025
Visit ReportsName: Inzila Mobile Safaris
Destination: Zimbabwe
Region: Hwange
Co-Ordinates: Moves around Hwange with three operational sites and more under exploration.
Ownership: Private: owner managed.
Rooms: 4. Twin: 4.
Category: $$ ‘Mobile’
Dates Open: April - October
Children: 12+
Date of Visit: September 2024
Number of Nights: 6 (two sites)
Attention to Safety: Very Good. Mobile camps offer some of the most exposed in-the-wild experiences, making attention to safety even more critical. In this regard Inzila are spot on.
01.Overview
Established in 2024 by professional guide Adam Jones, Inzila is a small, bucolic, personal, mobile camp operating – at least initially – across three sites in Hwange. The tents are basic but spacious and with remarkably large ‘windows’ which give wonderful views and light. Camp beds are … camp beds … there’s no four-poster luxury here; but that said Inzila have done some clever things to add comfort to the beds – and warmth in the cold season. Bucket showers, basic toilets, and minimalistic ‘main area’ add to the pragmatic simplicity of this operation.
Inzila is not for everybody. Some might find its basic facilities off-putting, others might find the close proximity to wildlife (eg an elephant outside your tent) unsettling. But… for anyone out there who might have an appetite for an immersive experience in the African wild, with unparalleled game-viewing hosted by one of the Africa’s most exceptional guides… well… read on!
02.Location & Access
Access to camp sites varies depending on where they are. Most people would arrive either from within Hwange itself (having stayed at another camp), or from the Falls or Bulawayo, in which case arrival could be via road and the Main Camp, Sinamatella or Robins camps, or by air to an appropriate airstrip. Whatever way, you’ll be met on entering the park by Adam, and then driven to the camp site which will already have been prepared.
Three locations are currently in use:
MOPANI CAMP.
North West Simamatella end of the park. Set on elevated land overlooking Mandavu Dam – the largest body of water in the park. This stunning location offers much through the day and night – starting with spectacular sunrises. Mammal and bird life is plentiful – drawn to the water, and the day and night are filled with sounds of the wild – from the call of the Fish Eagle to the roar of the lion to the laughter of jackals
CROTON CAMP.
North West Sinamatella end of the park. Set above the Lukosi River bed this picturesque site has an isolated charm to it. All of the big 5 can be – and sometimes are – seen in the river bed itself, and the surrounding area offers varied exploration opportunities on foot and in the vehicle. A beautiful site for those who prefer the somewhat more rugged end of the park.
ACACIA CAMP.
Southern Main Camp end of the park. Set in Acacia Camelthorn woodland (which elephants have a very particular fondness for) this beautiful spot offers an exclusivity which is rare at the busier end of the park. Game viewing is exceptional, and on full day excursions Adam can access areas of the park which – probably – less than 1 in a thousand visitors would ever get to experience.
For stays of six days or longer, two or more camp sites are used. This entails a ‘moving day’ when the entire camp is taken down, packed, moved, unpacked and put up again. Whilst this is in progress game drives and / or walks are undertaken; and the transfer drive one site to the other is entirely within the park and a game drive in its own right.
03.Rooms
Inzila’s tents are an innovation in Zimbabwe: a real paradigm shift. A challenge of mobile and fly camps can be that tents can feel dark, rather confined and stuffy – and get very hot in the day. These tents are built on square frames – giving good standing head room throughout – and have enormous gauze windows – making them breezy and with views which could well come to be the highlight of a safari.
Karen Blixen said “you know you are truly alive when you’re living among lions.”
Well, alive is what you feel in Inzila – and it’s not just the lions… imagine elephants walking with a few meters of your tent, glossy starlings splashing the water bowl just outside your door, or hearing the call of a nearby leopard.
The tents have one fully opaque wall, behind which the bathroom section is located. This includes a bucket shower – which can be filled on request. Although water in the bucket is not plentiful, it is adequate, the water is heated, and the shower heads work well. The toilets attached to the rooms are hole-in-ground short-drop style and are very basic. However, a proper-pan flushing toilet is provided centrally in both the Croton and Acacia camps – and this can be a comfort of those more significant visits to the loo. The Mopani Camp faces challenges with rock hard earth which make digging for the full flush option difficult and that is a clear draw-back on that site (although visits to nearby picnic sites with excellent toilet facilities can provide welcome relief on this front).
The camp beds in the rooms are as comfortable as one could reasonably expect in a mobile camp, and have a fleece option as an underlayer to add warmth on winter nights which can get very cold. Hot water bottles are also provided in cold weather (the lowest temperature ever recorded in Zimbabwe was actually in Hwange in the dry winter months).
The tents also have some cleverly designed hanging canvas ‘shelves’ on which one can store books, photo equipment etc.
04.Main Area
Inzila doesn’t ‘do’ off-site bush dinners – there’s no need to as every dinner with this camp is a bush dinner. And that goes for the lunches and breakfasts too.
The ‘main area’ is a clear space with chairs, a camp fire, a table, and, when needed, an open-sided gazebo style tent which is helpful in keeping the sun off during the day.
The bar operates out of the 4WD vehicle.
Inzila is as much about what it lacks as what it offers, and spas, gyms, swimming pools and the like are clearly not on the agenda. Neither is wifi – something Inzila actually boast about with their ‘going where the wifi is weak’ tagline. Generally it’s not ‘weak’ – it’s non-existent, although some very occasional chances to connect might present themselves when passing through one of the more established properties (eg Main Camp) when on drives. For some people the lack of wifi might be a material frustration – and that’s entirely understandable. But if you really do need internet access for whatever reason, then Inzila isn’t a good choice – this camp really does offer a ‘get away from it all’ thoroughly off-grid experience.
05.F&B
Given the very basic nature of Inzila – the camp, the rooms, the showers, the toilets, and the dining set up (either in the open or beneath a small gazebo style tent) – one might have expected the food to be rather basic. This was absolutely not the case. Simple perhaps – but utterly delicious. The most basic of kitchens produces terrific meals!
No doubt the outdoors experience of Inzila sharpens the tastes buds, but the food in this camp was as varied and as tasty as one might expect from a premier safari camp. Inzila’s philosophy is to use ingredients sourced locally – and we had a range of chicken, beef, pork and vegetarian dishes all with a local touch (a vegetarian amongst us was especially complementary). We gather that Zambezi bream is to be added to the offerings.
Beverages are requested in advance to allow the mobile camp to avoid carrying unwanted (and heavy) drinks. We asked for whisky, gin and wine on the alcoholic side of things, and a range of soft drinks. All were excellent – and the beer was kept wonderfully cold.
06.Staff (excluding guides)
A small, highly motivated, welcoming team. Great people: full stop.
07.Guides
Adam is the guide – assisted at time by one of his colleagues who tracks. In many respects Inzila is Adam Jones – and vice versa. In this mobile camp you are in the hands of an extremely capable guide – with an especially detailed knowledge of and passion for Hwange.
08.Activities
Drives in the 4WD and walks (at times drives stopping along the way for walks). Park regulations prohibit night drives. Flexibility is great – activities can be crafted according to what guests prefer and / or adapted as they proceed depending on what wildlife emerges. All day off site drives – and even very long walks – are options.
The sundowner setup was… uniquely Inzila. What more can one say ?
09.Wildlife
Hwange is one of Africa’s great game reserves – and in general offers excellent wildlife viewing – especially as the land gets drier from June onwards.
The Mopani (Mandavu) and Croton (Lukosi) camps in the north east of the park do make one work a bit harder to find the mammals, especially the predators – but if there is an animal out there then few are more adept at finding it than Adam. Meanwhile, the Acacia camp in the southern end of the park is in more open and game rich country where one can often be rather spoiled for choice.
You’d be unlucky not to see lion on an Inzila visit, and the likes of elephant, buffalo, giraffe, hippo, kudu, waterbuck, warthog, impala, jackal, zebra and – in the southern end – wildebeest, are highly likely to be seen.
On our trip – across 6 days at the Mopani and Acacia sites, we also had magnificent sightings of sable, roan, hyena and leopard, as well as bat-eared fox and eland. For antelope fans, a terrific selection of the smaller species was also on offer – grysbok, klipspringer, duiker and steenbok all seen. Last but not least – and important for Mongoose Safaris – we saw three species of mongooses: banded, dwarf and slender! Wild dogs eluded us on this trip – but they were around – as were cheetah. Incredibly, on a trip just before ours, an Inzila outing had actually successfully tracked a pangolin.
Bird-spotting was rich, and offered some magical photographic opportunities. From eagles to owls; starlings to bee-eaters; kingfishers to vultures; hornbills to hoopoes; the range was immense. One of our party – a keen twitcher – lost count at over 200 species. Along the way, there was also time to reflect on and discuss other matters great and small – from mopane trees to hammock spiders; baobabs to termites.
10.Final Notes / Comments / Recommendations
Inzila offers a stunning, intimate experience in its own right – and could be a superb component in a wider safari, mixed in with other camps which might offer more creature comforts. If wildlife is your thing – or simply being in the wild and breathing in the scenery, sounds, smells, spirit and aura of the surroundings – this camp offers a unique experience, and at excellent value.