Skip to main content

The Hide – Hwange National Park

25th Anniversary

A lot can happen in 25 years… Dreams are built, friendships are formed, adventures are taken and discoveries made. Before you know it, a quarter of a century has passed. Over this time, our guests from all over the world have embarked on their own life-changing journeys here, embraced their wild side and even explored beyond their limits. Nothing is impossible in the wilds of Hwange at one of its most iconic camps, The Hide…

Since The Hide first unzipped its tent flaps to excited guests in 1992, it has continued to delight with a level of guiding and hospitality that would have made its founder, Tom Preston, puff up with pride. Along with his wife, Lorraine, Tom believed that the success of a safari was all in the experience. That one time that makes you catch your breath or simply stop you in your tracks. Some people spend their whole lives looking for it. Guests at The Hide are guaranteed to come away with it.

Celebrating 25 years of Exceptional Journeys with The Hide

When Tom and Lorraine Preston first stood on the site that would later become one of Zimbabwe’s most awarded safari camps, they looked down across the golden-grassed vlei line and saw a herd of elephants approaching, their heaving shapes dark against the setting sun. Perhaps, one day, Tom thought, those same elephants – and generations more – would make their way towards the natural waterhole just in front of his dream, The Hide Safari Camp. A place, right here in this beautiful acacia woodland, where animals and people could convene in harmony, and where his family would grow and share the incredible wilderness of Hwange with fellow adventurers.

And so, it was in 1992, that The Hide Safari Camp immediately established itself as a premium wildlife experience wrapped in warm, welcoming Zimbabwean hospitality. Because it is situated in a private concession on the eastern boundary of Hwange National Park, The Hide offers activities that allow a little more freedom to guests, including night drives and guided bush walks. The wildly romantic Dove’s Nest, a sleep-out option away from the main camp, also gives even the most audacious souls a little thrill from its perch on high.

Read More Here

25 Years in Pictures

Click image to enlarge.

Our First Trip Advisor Review

Reviews Preview

“Loved The Hide”

Reviewed September 1, 2005

We spent 3 days and 2 nights in Hwange, staying at The Hide. This was quite possibly the most incredible visit of our lives. The Hide is an all-inclusive resort, and it is an extraordinary balance between rustic and luxury. All of the guides are extremely talented, and they do a terrific job of finding animals, from big game to the smallest creatures. The food and drink are great, and the service was fantastic from top to bottom. With a watering hole just out the back door, there is a virtual non-stop flow of animals to view – elephants, lions, buffalo, wildebeest, sable, kudu – the list goes on and on. To put it bluntly, The Hide is the first place I have ever stayed where I can honestly say that there is absolutely nothing that could be improved. While it is a long trek from the United States to Hwange National Park, each and every mile was worth it. I look forward to the day when we can return, and have a longer stay at The Hide!

The Hide - Memories with Guests over 25 Years

My Story Into Zimbabwe

By 25th Anniversary
My story. Into Zimbabwe ... Most would plan a trip like this for a while, as it was a trip of a lifetime.  However, we learned rather last minute that our daughter, and other students at Penn State University, would be traveling to Zambia in June 2015 as part of a long-term...
Read More

Delayed By A Bull Elephant

By 25th Anniversary
I was there with my sister Heather and her friend from 11 to 13 June 2015. We were delayed by a bull elephant in the National Park on the way to the Hide and were very fortunate the next morning to see a wild dog and then Cecil running across...
Read More

Memorable Cat Sightings!

By 25th Anniversary

I came to Hwange and The Hide hoping to see my favorite animal, the lion. Unfortunately, Cecil had just been killed and all the lionesses and cubs were in hiding. But I did not come up empty of big cat sightings. When we first arrived we saw this mother cheetah…

Read More