Save Valley Conservancy

The Save Valley Conservancy (SVC) is the largest private wildlife conservancy in Southern Africa, covering 3,400 km² (850,000 acres) of pristine bushveld in southeastern Zimbabwe. Its formation in the early 1990s ranks as one of Africa's great conservation achievements. A consortium of cattle ranchers, faced with declining agricultural viability and increasing wildlife conflicts, made the bold decision to drop their internal fences, remove livestock, and restock the entire area with indigenous wildlife. The result is a vast, unfenced wilderness that today holds some of the healthiest and most diverse wildlife populations in Zimbabwe.

The Save Valley offers a distinctly different hunting experience from the Zambezi Valley. The terrain is rolling bushveld characterised by granite kopjes, bands of riverine woodland along the Save and Runde rivers, mixed deciduous bush, and open grassland flats. Elevations range from 600 to 1,000 metres, providing more moderate temperatures than the scorching lowveld or the Zambezi floor. The landscape is incredibly scenic, with dramatic kopjes rising above the bush and ancient baobab trees dotting the river systems.

For trophy quality, the Save Valley is exceptional. Buffalo herds number in the thousands, and the conservancy produces some of the hardest-bossed bulls in Zimbabwe. Leopard populations are among the densest in Southern Africa, thriving in the rocky kopje country and along the extensive river drainage systems. Plains game is equally impressive: greater kudu with 55 inch horns, mature blue bull eland, quality sable antelope, and abundant zebra, impala, and warthog.

The SVC is an excellent choice for first-time African hunters because it combines world-class trophy quality with comfortable camps, moderate climate, and relatively easy access by charter flight from Harare (one hour) or road transfer from Masvingo (three hours). It is also a superb destination for combination safaris, with most outfitters offering packages that include buffalo alongside three to five plains game species on 10 to 14 day hunts.