Zimbabwe National Parks

CHIMANIMANI NATIONAL PARK 

Chimanimani National Park borders Mozambique in the southernmost area of the Eastern Highlands. It is a mountainous terrain with peak heights of 2,436 metres (7,992 ft) and is the source of many streams and springs enriching the environment of the park with natural falls such as in the Bridal Veil Falls in the Eland Sanctuary.

There are also views of the Pork Pie mountain range and the Bridal Veil Falls, which plunges 50 metres (160 ft) down into a base about 10 m wide. The virgin forest cover is dense of the moist evergreen type.

It is approachable only by trekking along hill tracks. It is 150 kilometres (93 mi) from the Mutare town.

Ideal for viewing: Eland, sable, bushbuck, blue duiker, klipspringer and also spotted leopard, apart from butterflies, birds, snakes and shy cats.

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CHIZARIRA NATIONAL PARK 

Chizarira National Park located in northwestern Zimbabwe covers a virgin forest land of area of 192,000 hectares (470,000 acres); ‘Chizarira’ means “great barrier”. Though it is one of the largest parks, its location is in the remote Zambezi Escarpment and has extensive vistas including of its valleys, gorges, plateaus and floodplains.

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Ideal for viewing: Elephant, lion, leopard and buffalo. Its bird species are the big five birds namely, the African broadbill, Livingstone’s flycatcher, yellow-spotted nicator, emerald cuckoo, apart from Angolan pitta and the Taita Falcon.

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GONAREZHOU NATIONAL PARK 

Gonarezhou National Park, encompassing an area of about 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi), in southeastern Zimbabwe is in a remote region along the Mozambique border and is the second largest such park in the country; the first largest park is the Hwange National Park. ‘Gonarezhou’ in Shona means “elephant’s tusk” (which the herbalists used to store their medicines) and it also means “place of many elephants.”

The park’s habitat consists of baobabs, scrublands and sandstone cliffs in the Lowveld region. The park is very large, in rugged terrain, and hence remains unaffected by human interference. The park is within the ambit of the transboundary part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Gonarezhou with the Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique. Animals move freely between the three sanctuaries.

Ideal for viewing: 500 species of birds, 147 species of mammals, more than 116 species of reptiles, 34 species of frogs and 49 species of fish. The park’s rivers and pools have some unique species of aqua fauna such as the Zambezi shark, freshwater goby, black bream and the turquoise killifish.

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LAKE KARIBA 

Lake Kariba is located on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. It is known for its wonderful sunsets, serene boat trips and idyllic seclusion which makes it a memorable destination.

There is excellent wildlife to see here and the best sightings are usually found along Lake Kariba’s southern shore with boat and canoe safaris being a particularly good way of seeing animals here. The birdwatching is also excellent with high numbers of African fish eagle spotted as well as saddle-billed storks, goliath herons and African skimmers. For those that venture here, it is the remoteness and seclusion that really sets this part of Zimbabwe apart.

The lake is man-made and was created after the construction of the Kariba Dam which was finished in 1958. The lake itself is mightily impressive, especially at the end of the day as the sun sets over the water.

Ideal for Viewing: Nile crocodile, African fish eagle, hippo, saddle-billed stork, waterbuck

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HWANGE NATIONAL PARK

Teeming with wildlife, Hwange is Zimbabwe’s largest national park, home to elephant, buffalo, sable, roan, giraffe, wildebeest, impala and even gemsbok.

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KAZUMA PAN NATIONAL PARK

Kazuma Pan National Park covers an area of 31,300 hectares (77,000 acres) and is located in the northwest corner of Zimbabwe, between Kazungula and Hwange National Parks, and south-west of Victoria Falls. Basically, it was developed as a safe haven for the animals during the hunting season, as it formed an extension of the Matetsi Safari Area.

Ideal for Viewing: It has the largest concentration of about 2,000 buffaloes and also elephants and rhinos. Other species of wildlife seen here are lion, leopard, giraffe, zebra, gemsbok, roan antelope, sable, tsessebe, eland and reedbuck. The oribi, a small antelope, an endemic species, is rarely sighted in the depressions where a large variety of water birds such as storks, crowned cranes, stilts, cormorants, ducks and kingfishers are also seen making it an attractive bird-watching site.

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MANA POOLS NATIONAL PARK

Mana Pools is one of Zimbabwe’s most popular parks: remote, wild and beautiful, with spectacular views of the river and it’s a wide floodplain, particularly at sunset. It is home to a wide range of animals, over 350 bird species and aquatic wildlife.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984, the name ‘Mana’ means four in the local Shona language, and the park is named for the four large pools that lie inland from the Zambezi. Hippopotamus, crocodiles and a wide variety of aquatic birds are associated with the pools, all of which can be seen by canoe.

‘Long Pool’, the largest of the pools, has a large population of hippo and crocodiles and is a favourite for the large herd of elephant that comes out of the thickly vegetated areas in the south to drink. Moving northwards the vegetation changes to Faidherbia albida woodlands on the old river terraces, and the light filtering through the trees gives Mana Pools a distinctive, cathedral-like, atmosphere. It is possible to walk unaccompanied along the old river terraces, through the open woodland – where visibility is good and there is little chance of coming across dangerous animals unexpectedly – a privilege that is unique to Zimbabwe.

Elephant, eland, buffalo, impala, waterbuck, baboons, monkeys, zebra, warthog and hippo are some of the larger herbivores to be seen regularly on the river terraces as they come out to eat the fallen albida fruit. Lions, leopards, spotted hyena and cheetah are present in the area, but their secretive nature makes them more difficult to see. Despite this, it is not often that the visitor leaves Mana Pools without seeing at least one of these large carnivores.

Ideal For Viewing: Cape buffalo, African elephant, lion, Nile crocodile, roan

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MATUSADONA NATIONAL PARK 

Matusadona National Park comprises over 1,400 square kilometres of diverse flora and fauna. Although increasingly rare, black rhino is a speciality here and the birdlife is exceptional.

Matusadona became a game reserve in 1963, and a national park in 1975. The park borders Lake Kariba and attracts more than 400 bird species, including African fish eagle and several species of kingfisher, herons, storks and plovers.

However, before the lake was created, Matsudona was a vast, rugged wilderness with limited access. The lake brought significant ecological changes and helped to greatly increase in the populations of large mammals, particularly elephant and buffalo. Healthy populations of waterbuck, antelope, zebra and even impala; guarantee the presence of predators such as lion, leopard and cheetah, which are all plentiful.

Matusadona National Park, a game reserve in 1963, was declared a national park in 1975 covering an area of 1,400 km2 (540 sq mi). It is bounded on the south by the Omay communal, on the north by Lake Kariba, on the east by the Sanyati River and its gorge, and on the west by the Ume River. It has three ecological zones namely, the lake and shoreline grassland forming the first zone, the Zambezi Valley floor made up of a mass of thick jesse and mopane woodland (with sparse grass cover) as the second zone and; the Escarpment area of Julbernadia and Brachystegia woodlands constituting the third zone.

Ideal For Viewing: Black rhino, elephants and buffalo inhabit the park. Other species include night ape, honey badger, civet, small spotted genet, slender mongoose, banded mongoose, spotted hyena, serval, lion, leopard, yellow-spotted rock hyrax, black rhinoceros, zebra, warthog, common duiker, grysbok, klipspringer, waterbuck, bushbuck, scrub hare, porcupine, vervet monkey, chacma baboon, side-striped jackal, hippopotamus, roan antelope, kudu and bush squirrel, African clawless otter, white-tailed mongoose, reedbuck, sable antelope, eland, civet, rusty spotted genet, caracal and bush pig; sighted on rarely are Cape wild dog, cheetah, roan and pangolin.

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MATOBO NATIONAL PARK

The Matobo National Park is part of the UNESCO Matubo Hills, became a national park covering an area of 44,500 hectares (110,000 acres) which was established in 1953. It has an exclusive “Intensive Protection Zone” to protect the large population of black and white rhinoceros. The name Matobo means “bald heads” and was selected by the Matabeleland king Mzilikazi whose grave lies in the Matobo Hills close to the park.

Matobo Hills includes a range of domes, spires and balancing rock formations created erosion and weathering within a granite plateau. It has diverse species of vegetation, including examples of mopane, Acacia, Brachystegia, Ficus, Azanza, Ziziphus, Strychnos and Terminalia.

Ideal For Viewing: Along with rhinoceros, the park supports also a large number of animal species, including zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, kudu, eland, sable antelope, klipspringer, leopard, hyena, cheetah, hippo, warthog, rock dassies, waterbuck, wildcat, springhare, common duiker, crocodiles, baboons and monkeys. The park is also rich in bird life, including the black eagle, African fish eagle, martial eagle, secretarybird, pied crow, Egyptian goose, francolin, and weavers. Fish species in the park include bass, bottle fish, bream, catfish and Melanochromis robustus. The park has a number of dams such as the Maleme Dam, the Mthselele Dam, the Toghwana Dam, the Mesilume Dam, which are all communal campsites.

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NYANGA NATIONAL PARKThe Nyanga National Park in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe located at about 268 kilometres (167 mi) from Harare (connected by a blacktopped road) is made up of rolling green hills terrain with perennial rivers which spread through the 47,000 hectares (120,000 acres) park. The park lies between 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) and 2,593 metres (8,507 ft) elevation and has salubrious mountain climate. It is rich in flora and fauna.

Ideal For Viewing: Waterbuck, wildebeest, kudu, zebra, impala, sables and eland. The rivers in the park have freshwater fish such as the Nyanga trout.

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VICTORIA FALLS AND ZAMBEZI NATIONAL PARK

The Victoria Falls and Zambezi National Parks, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, are located on the western edge of Zimbabwe; the two together cover an area of 56,000 hectares (140,000 acres) bounded by the Zambezi River, which borders with Zambia.

The Falls and the National Park are on the southern bank of the Zambezi River. The Victoria Falls, one of seven natural wonders of the world, is 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) wide, cascades 70–108 metres (230–354 ft) into the gorge and is formed by five different “falls”, out of which four are in Zimbabwe. The catchment area of the falls is made up of rainforests with rich and unique species of flora and fauna.

One of the great wonders of the world, the spectacular Victoria Falls offers visitors the chance to see the Zambezi tumble over a geological fault in a terrifying torrent and casts asunder anything in its way.

Sunshine on the clouds of spray creates gleaming rainbows above the dripping rainforest and whilst the views are spectacular from both sides of the border, the very best views are undoubtedly from the air. Unlike Livingstone on the Zambian side of the border, the town of Victoria Falls is a short walk from the Falls.

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Ideal For Viewing: The flora consists of a species of fig, mahogany and date palm. An attraction is the large baobab tree near the Falls which is 16 m in diameter and 20 metres (66 ft) tall. The notable wildlife in the parks consists of elephants, lions, buffalos, leopards and white rhinoceros apart from herds of sable antelope, eland, zebra, giraffe, kudu, waterbuck and impala. The Zambezi River is rich in fish fauna such as bream and fighting tigerfish.

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