Rengwe, a welcome stop between Victoria Falls and Kariba

Overlanders travelling to Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe would do well to note the name of Rengwe Conservancy Campsite. It’s been freshly revamped to cater for self-drive travellers. By Karin Theron

In July 2024, we did a long-awaited six-week trip to Botswana and Zimbabwe. Departing Victoria Falls and driving through the backwoods on the shores of Lake Kariba was a highlight of our trip. This is rural Zimbabwe at its best! What’s more, we discovered a welcome addition to the scarce camping facilities at the newly renovated Rengwe Conservancy Campsite.

Before that, Maabwe Bay on the shore of Lake Kariba came highly recommended and we found it a delightful first stop. However, we needed another stopover before we would reach Kariba town. Initially, we planned on camping at the Chifudze transit camp. However, while travelling we realised that we could reach the Sanyati Community Camp. This would shorten our final day’s drive to Kariba, so we pushed on. 

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Sanyati makes way for Rengwe

We were pleasantly surprised to find that the local community was putting in a huge effort to revive the old Sanyati Lodge and Campsite. Now going by the name of Rengwe Conservancy Campsite, it features campsites as well as self-catering chalets. We were welcomed by the cheerful manager, Richard Jojo, who was very pleased to show us around. 

They had just started building new ablutions with flush toilets and showers next to the existing pit toilets. The reception building was nearing completion and the renovation of the self-catering chalets was almost finished. They were planning to drill a borehole by the end of 2024 to ensure sufficient water. 

Look out for this sign.
Manager Richard Jojo (left) and Melek showing off one of the unfinished chalets in July 2024.

 

As this camp is conveniently situated just a few hundred metres off the road, it is a very popular stop for overlanders en-route between Victoria Falls and Kariba. The campsite was full, but work was underway to clear space for more than five vehicles/tents. 

Three chalets were renovated and opened in August 2024. The chalets are meant to resemble community living, so each unit has a twin chalet that serves as a private kitchen, making them fully self-catering. The kitchens are fitted with gas stoves and have all the utensils needed. Guests share ablutions with the campers. 

A chalet with its next-door kitchen.
The new ablution block (left) next to the existing (non-smelling) pit toilets.
The completed reception with shop. Solar power runs the fridges and freezer.

Rengwe has a little shop at reception that sells drinking water, cold drinks, meat and snacks. Free Wi-Fi is available.

This is a lovely stop close to the Sanyati River and it’s good to support the truly commendable efforts of the local community. 

Karin’s travel tips

As a tourist, you shouldn’t worry about police harassment for bribes. There are regular roadblocks in Zimbabwe, but they only enquire after your well-being and request your TIP and driver’s licence. 

Apart from the enormous wealth of information available for planning on the various Track4Africa’s platforms, I also found Facebook Groups to be a big help, particularly the Drive Groups. There are different groups for all the popular countries in Southern Africa: DriveZim, DriveBots, DriveNam, DriveZam and DriveMoz. After you have joined the group, you can ask any question and get valuable information/opinions from experienced travellers. The overlanding community is one that cares and shares. 

For this trip, I made use of the new Tracks4Africa online Trip Planner on the website and found it easier to use than Basecamp or MapSource. It is extremely user-friendly. It is great that your trip is stored on the website, which you can then share with your friends via a link generated by the website. You can also export it as a GPX or KML file to use on your GPS. For me, the magic of the Trip Planner is that my trip automatically shows up on my Tracks4Africa Guide App when I log in, as Tracks4Africa links my account over the different platforms. This way I have the same trip loaded on my GPS and tablet, giving me great peace of mind on the road. 

Planning a trip to Zimbabwe? Get the Tracks4Africa Zimbabwe Traveller’s Paper Map – great for macro planning thanks to the accurate distance and time indicators. This detailed map also shows places of interest and national parks, along with the services overlanders need. 

 

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