Antelope Park

Occupying an area of African wilderness roughly the size of the UK's Scilly Isles, Antelope Park is a destination more than a place to stay: arrange numerous encounters with the park’s non-human residents, in the company of expert guides. If you’ve never sat in a saddle before, fear not: there are horseback safari rides for all ages and abilities available too, going cross country to see giraffes and antelopes. Prefer to do things on foot? Book a walk with the elephants: the park's resident herd was rescued from almost certain death during a drought in the 1990s and its members now spend their days peacefully grazing. If the elephants have worn you out, sit back and be driven, in a mule cart or by more modern means, to visit the lions feeding or settling down at sunset. It’s an hour and 45 minutes’ drive to Bulawayo, a pleasant city of tree-lined boulevards and colonial buildings, worth visiting for its railway museum and museum of natural history; from there, the ancient ruins of Khami and the prehistoric rock art of Matobo National Park are under an hour’s journey out of the city. If you’re heading onwards, Victoria Falls are six and a half hours away by car, or you can take the sleeper train for an unforgettably vintage ride.