The Elephant Express will launch a new operating schedule in 2027.

The Elephant Express will have a brand-new schedule in 2027. It will now be offering guests a 2/2.5-hour trip from Ngamo, focussing on the southern plains and their plentiful wildlife. It will offer Imvelo guests a chance to ride the tracks, spot wildlife from this unique perspective, whilst enjoying a sundowner. This unique railcar runs along the railway track that forms one of the boundaries of Hwange National Park - the same track that is part of the Cape to Cairo line and remains in use today. In 2015, Imvelo launched the Elephant Express ingeniously designed and built to offer an unforgettable activity. It offers guests a unique perspective and experience with open sides, a loo, a bar, and a guide on board stops the railcar when wildlife is seen, often because the wildlife is on the line.

The Elephant Express is designed to travel both forwards or backwards with an independent engine and a gearbox at each end. Our drivers have over 30 years of experience of driving on the rail line next to Hwange National Park, there is 25km of visibility in either direction and the drivers are in constant contact with traffic control with sidings every 10km to allow any traffic to pass.

Our ‘rail transfer’ was originally launched as an alternative to driving to our Southern Camps of Bomani and Camelthorn but soon became an attraction in itself. Today very few of our guests arrive by road, preferring to fly into the airstrips close to the lodges. In order to continue to offer this beloved experience, we have changed the way it works and guests will now enjoy it as an activity from our Camps in the South.

For any guests that are keen to undertake the full journey from Dete station to Ngamo or vice versa, it will be available as a transfer at a minimum 6 guest charge.