Humani Ranch

If you are looking for a true African Adventure - you have come to the right place. Humani Ranch is situated in the South Eastern Lowveld of Zimbabwe and is part of the Save Conservancy.

Roger and Ann Whittall own Humani Ranch. They have four children, Deborah, Jenny, Sarah and Guy who have all been or are currently involved in the running of this incredible establishment. The Whittall children are all grown up and have children of their own.

Jimmy Whittall, Roger's father first pioneered this beautiful land in the early 1920's and with foresight and determination he transformed the land into a cattle ranch.

Roger then masterminded a concept over 40 years ago - to turn Humani from a cattle ranch into a spectacular game reserve. A further step was taken and in 1991, 23 ranchers decided to put all their skills and knowledge into one basket, tearing down the dividing fences and boundaries and concentrating solely on conservancy.

Humani now extends to 3,200 kilometres of Save Valley Reserve which makes it the largest privately owned nature reserve in the world! It has a wildlife preserve of over 1 million acres..

Humani is situated in the centre of the conservancy and the Save river flows for three-quarters of its route to the sea through Whittall land. The results of this supoort a wide variety of game in all seasons. Nowhere else in the world can you hunt under the Albida Trees. These cathedral-like trees have pods which are the elephants favourite food.

The Big Five hang around Humani and call it home - Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, Lion, and Black Rhino along with Wild Dog, Hippo and a host of other plains game animals.

It was a priviledge for my husband and I to return to Humani on December 30th 2007. It was our daughters, Kristy and Nicola's first visit to this unique part of Zimbabwe and we were thrilled to be able to bring along our adorable nieces, Jessica, Ashleigh and Cari. It goes without saying that they had the time of their lives and we owe this to our friends Roger and Ann Whittall and Debbie (nee Whittall) and Aiden Bruk-Jackson.

There were no rules or regulations, just the bush, wild animals, camp fires, torches, gas lights and endless laughter and chatter into the night. Kristy and Nicola, only nine and seven at the time, could not comprehend the freedom and space this beautiful ranch offers.

The Lions could be heard every evening roaring their mating calls to the classy females. The elephants trumpeted their existance and all the while, this created an unforgettable memory for our daughters.

Obviously conserving wildlife and the environment is first and foremost for Roger and Ann. The hunting safaris Roger Whittall offers is all part of the culling process and this is imperative in order to balance the African wildlife chain.

All camps have an en suite and a unique loo experience is at your beck and call as you view the Turgwe river below.

There were thirty children and sixteen adults on our trip and we were treated to a game drive nearly every morning and evening. What a sight! Giraffe, warthog, buffalo, elephant and zebra to name a few.

During the day, the children had a few swims in the Turgwe river while the Dads were on croc watch!

If you are considering visiting Africa and would like to take part in an experience that you can only imagine, then this is certainly the place for you.