National Parks of Zimbabwe

Buffalo Zimbabwe.
Picture Gallery
By Nick Greaves

Raw, untamed and baking wilderness (40ºC+ in summer). Network of game-viewing roads but most require 4x4. The 4-5 day trails probe real Africa. Main camp with thatched chalets. Camp sites, some primitive, along the rivers. Several private lodges operate around the park.

Hwange

Once the hunting preserve of Matabele Kings, this 14,650km2 park was proclaimed in 1949. Said to contain Zimbabwe's widest variety and greatest density of wildlife.

Sits on the fringes of deep, heat-blistered Kalahari sands. Fossil dunes and rivers confirm that the area was once a desert. Granite kopjes in the north. Pans are watered from boreholes. 1100 plant species, including 260 types of trees and shrubs - notably acacia, mopane and teak.

107 mammal species; Big Five, 25 different predators and 16 types of antelope. 20-30,000 elephant migrate between here and Chobe NP in Botswana. Over 430 bird species. 500km of roads and several waterhole viewing platforms and hides. Companies and individuals operate game drives, mobile safaris and 2-8 day walking trips.

Three camps provide lodges, cottages, chalets, camp sites, a restaurant, shop and bar. Four more exclusive bush camps accessible by 4x4. A hotel and various private lodges, most upmarket, operate from nearby estates and concessions.

Kazuma

A 331,300ha reserve first proclaimed in 1949; deproclaimed 1964; reinstated mid-'70s. Lies north-west of Hwange on the Botswana border. Kazuma's heart is a large, open, grassy, natural pan. It and other local pans are flooded in the rains. Kalahari sands dominate the terrain.

Most Hwange wildlife types found here, in sparser numbers. Home to Zimbabwe's only naturally occurring gemsbok and oribi. Lion and cheetah, in good numbers. A wide variety of waterfowl visit the pans. Remote, quiet and with good vistas, the park provides excellent game viewing away from crowds. Two primitive camp sites. One company runs 2-4 day camping trips. The closest accommodation is at Matetsi or near Victoria Falls.


Buffalo Zimbabwe.
Page: 1
Zimbabwe's Game Reserves were initially founded as a means of using unproductive land. Little regard was given to modern conservation values, but once these evolved, the country became a world leader in wildlife management. ...

Elephant Zimbabwe.
Page: 2
Communal areas harbouring significant wildlife resources or bordering National Parks were given Rural Council status and as a result CAMPFIRE (Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources) was born. CAMPFIRE has developed into an import ...

Leopard Zimbabwe.
Page: 3 Chimanimani
17,100ha in Zimbabwe's Eastern Highlands. The 1.6 billion-year-old quartzite mountains are 'squeezedtogether' (Chimanimani in Ndawu) in three distinct, close ridges that rise to 2440m. Cut by deep gorges with perennial streams and waterfalls ...

Kariba Dam, Zimbabwe
Page: 5 Mana Pools
Achieved NP status 1975. Situated below Lake Kariba: 2200km2 with 70km of Zambezi frontage. The meandering Zambezi forms rich alluvial flood plains and terraces. Inland pools, open grasslands and mixed woodlands cover the valley floor. Unique ecosystem ...

Page: 6 Nyanga
47,000ha of Zimbabwe's Eastern Highlands. Takes its name from Mount Inyangani ('the shaman's horn'), its highest peak (2593m). Rolling granite mountains - birthplace to several big rivers which form spectacular cascades, notably the 24 ...