Fly In Fly Out

Now you can arrive in Zimbabwe with nothing more than your personal kit and driver's licence. We provide you with the vehicle and the equipment, including inter-vehicle radio; we buy the food in advance; and we lead you on a tour specially designed to your own needs, timing and preferences! All the choices on this website are available to you, but we provide the vehicle and equipment

Specially designed for visitors from beyond our borders, and also for clients who do not own suitable vehicles, these tours are a 'halfway house' between our owner-driver, self-drive, self-catering tours and the luxurious but costly safari options of 'tented camp' or lodge options.

And - of course - all tours are led by Dick and Sally Pitman. We share our 'key product' with you - our knowledge of the areas we operate in and the routes we use - by inter-vehicle radio commentary, answering your questions as we drive, guiding you to the 'secret places' we know, providing you with our 'interpretive package' and maps, and of course in relaxed and informal 'campfire chats'.

We currently offer a Toyota 'Troopie' Land Cruiser capable of taking up to four people (two couples, or a family) and a Toyota 80 Series Land Cruiser ideally suited to two people.

Although technically self-catering, we buy the food in advance (and resupply when necessary) but you share the cooking duties. We build everything into the tour price, including the vehicles, accommodation, Park entry fees, road tolls, food - you don't have to put your hand in your pocket for anything except 'optional extras' if, say, you feel like a night out in Kariba, or want to buy souvenirs.

We provide everything needed for comfortable camping, including tents, mattresses, bedding, tables, chairs, shower cubicle & bush shower as necessary. Having a vehicle to yourself brings several advantages -

THE EXPERIENCE
This is a very 'participatory' experience - you - and we - drive ourselves, put up tents, share tasks like making braai fires andcooking, drawing water from rivers when necessary, - but we make it as comfortable as possible. Meanwhile we're finding that more and more people are enjoying this kind of holiday, rather then being waited on hand and foot (and at great cost!).

Being 'bush people' ourselves, we try to structure tours that are as wild as possible, which often means being completely self-sufficient, often in remote places.

We also welcome young people, but find that 8 years old is a reasonable minimum age, as they need to be reasonably mature and responsible when in wild surroundings, and able to take part in the various activities involved. The key is to make it fun and enjoyable, which we try hard to do.

WHERE CAN WE GO?
Anywhere within our operating area - Mana Pools, Matusadona, Chizarira, Lake Kariba, Mavuradonha - and we can take you there by some remote routes, if you like. We can guide you on our Best of Both Worlds tour, include special opportunities for fishing and wildlife photography - in fact, anything you see on this website. We discuss it and put it together in consultation with you, quote you the price, and await your arrival!

THE DETAIL
The vehicles we provide - Toyota 'Troopie' and Cruiser 80 - have powerful 4.2ltr diesel engines ideally suited to our conditions. They have long-range fuel tanks, manual gear- and transfer box shifts, and are both rugged and reliable. Equipment includes:

Inter-vehicle Motorola radios, on our own licenced frequency.

Tentage according to your needs and preferences ('OzTrail' dome tents).

One-man and other tents as required by tour participants.

All bedding, including sleeping bags, pillows, sheets, and spare sheets for changing as required.

Vehicle-mounted fridge/freezer for food & drinks, and cooler-box for other supplies.

Luxurious camp chairs and large dining table

Gas cooker, gas bottles, braai grid, and cooking utensils.

Water tank.

Water bottles for driving and day excursions.

'Maglite' torch.

Personal headlamps.

Fire extinguisher &emergency triangles.

Spare wheel(s) as required for the tour.

We carry 'communal' items such as first aid kit, shower cubicle, shower buckets, toilet seats, vehicle spares, spare radio sets, additional water tanks, spare fuel and gas as required, reference library, and other items in our own vehicle.

We are registered with the Zimbabwean Tourism Authority, and are licenced by the Parks Authority to operate within National Parks in our operating area. We also hold appropriate guiding licences, firearms licences, and Inland Shipping licences for commercial operations.

SAFETY
Nothing worth doing is totally safe. But risks can be kept to a minimum by common sense and the application of a few simple rules when, for example, driving or camping in wild country. We guide and instruct you in this respect, if you are not experienced in African bush travel.

We also hold Accident and Emergency Care qualifications, carry suitable medical kits, and are licensed to provide armed protection for camping and walking in wildlife country.