The drive from Victoria Falls to Hwange Main Camp covers approximately 196 kilometres along the A8 “highway”, yet it took us a surprisingly long 5.5 hours. The road was in reasonable condition at first, but then we encountered countless deep, unexpected potholes that forced us to slow down significantly. Progress became even slower around Hwange town due to heavy traffic from coal trucks, while the surrounding industrial landscape was dusty and far from scenic. We paid an 8 USD toll fee at the toll gate near Hwange, no idea for what, since the road was horrible.
The final 35 kilometres after leaving the A8 were by far the worst part of the journey. What was once a single-lane tarred road has deteriorated so badly that we spent much of the drive on the dirt tracks beside the pavement to avoid the damaged sections. The thick dust made driving particularly unpleasant, especially when overtaking heavy trucks or being passed at high speed by reckless bus drivers.
