Article: Joanna Craig
Nestled along the southern shores of Lake Kariba in northern Zimbabwe, Matusadona National Park is a place of rugged, untamed beauty that beckons the adventurous traveller. Once a renowned stronghold for iconic African wildlife like black rhino and elephant, Matusadona had fallen on hard times in recent decades, ravaged by poaching and insufficient management resources. But today, a remarkable turnaround is underway.
In Novmeber 2019, African Parks, a conservation non-profit with a track record of reviving Africa’s most troubled wildernesses, partnered with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to together assume the co-management of Matusadona. Since then, this 1,470 square kilometre expanse has been on a steady path to reclaiming its rightful place as one of Zimbabwe’s premier wildlife destinations.
A Landscape of Contrasts
Matusadona’s landscape is one of stark contrasts – from the famous “drowned forest,” a kilometre-wide swath of skeletal tree trunks rising from the ever-changing, sometimes deep azure, sometimes dark steel-grey lake to the game-dotted, rolling, nutrient-rich floodplains, to the dramatic, forested Zambezi Escarpment that rises up in the park’s north with a kaleidoscope of bushveld, woodland, and grassland habitats found in-between – the park is multi-faceted, undulating, and wild.
This mosaic of ecosystems supports a diverse array of wildlife. Ground hornbills patrol for frogs and other reptiles amongst herds of elephant, buffalo, and zebra that graze the open floodplains, while caracals and leopards (the park is believed to have the greatest density in the county) lurk in the thickets. Pods of hippopotamus wallow in the shallows of the lake and rivers, sharing space with crocodiles and a number of indigenous aquatic species including the celebrated African tiger fish and the African clawless otter. Lions keep a lazily watchful eye of all. And tucked away in the rugged hills, a small but growing population of the elusive sable, roan and eland are making a comeback.
After decades of decline, the wildlife populations in Matusadona are starting to bounce back under the watchful protection of the park’s rangers. In 2021, 223 zebra were translocated to the park to help revitalise the populations of large herbivores, with further translocation of sable, eland, roan, reedbuck and buffalo planned for 2025. Meanwhile, the parks’ elephants, once hard hit by poaching, are now being meticulously studied through a collaring project to better understand their movements and habitat use in the park and in the neighbouring Nyaminyami Rural District. All the while, the park is preparing to reintroduce black rhino in the coming years.
Reconnecting People and Wildlife
The Matusadona Conservation Trust, the result of the co-management agreement between African Parks and Zimparks, has made community engagement a top priority. They’ve recruited and trained 70% of staff directly from the neighbouring chiefdoms, ensuring the park’s people have a deep understanding of the local context. They’ve also actively sought input from community members on the park’s management plans, incorporating the needs of both people and wildlife.
The Trust works hand-in-hand with communities to improve food security and grow livelihood opportunities, mitigating Human Wildlife Conflict through a number of strategies, from building predator-proof livestock enclosures to supporting the formal recognition of community-owned wildlife conservancies to name just a few, it works alongside communities, finding solutions so both people and wildlife can thrive. Similarly, the trust is working to support sustainable livelihoods such as clustered nutrition gardens, chilli fences and wildlife corridors. Significant commercial and subsistence fishing activities occur on Lake Kariba and the rivers bordering Matusadona, and the trust is helping local fishermen adopt more responsible practices. As a result, fish stocks that had been declining due to overfishing are now rebounding, with some fishing communities reporting a 1,500% increase in their catches since the advent of the Trust.
A Revitalised Icon
The changes underway in Matusadona are palpable. Where once poaching and habitat loss threatened to extinguish the park’s wildlife, there is now a sense of hope and renewal. Equally exciting is the carefully managed tourism profile of the park.
For those willing to venture beyond the usual wildlife hotspots of Hwange and Mana Pools, Matusadona offers a truly unique and immersive safari experience. The park’s remoteness and rugged terrain mean it sees far fewer visitors than other Zimbabwean national parks, allowing for a greater sense of discovery and adventure. The park is also set on welcoming locals, determinedly keeping the newly built cottages on Tashinga’s peninsula – a favourite of the resident elephant bulls and bush buck communities – and the wild, exclusive and very comfortably appointed Matusadona Bush Camps at a price accessible to Zimbabweans. The wilderness campsites and Tashinga campsite remain as reasonable as ever.
Here, in this untamed corner of Zimbabwe, the ways in which you can feel a true connection to the land and its wildlife are numerous. Matusadona is a park where you can be on foot, led by a professional guide following one of the twenty-two pristine rivers that rise in the park, enjoy a game drive hosted by a local Tonga guide, cast a rod (the park’s pontoon boats come with rods equipped for both bream and tiger fish) or simply kick back and enjoy the sights and sounds of the wilderness all around you – the grunts of hippos, the whooping calls of hyenas, and in the green season (the park is open year round) the distant rumble of thunder and its impressive accompanying lightshow. All Matusadona National Park camps can be booked fully catered or self-catered with the option of a cook. For the purists among us, there are the Matusadona Hiking Trails, a guided multi-day adventure into the park’s foot hills where you’ll carry all your gear and sleep under the stars.
Those fond of road trips can enter the park from the Magunje road, descending down the indigenous forest-lined escarpment road (which takes around nine hours, give or take, from Harare to Tashinga), or drive into Kariba (six to seven hours from Harare) and cross either by boat or ferry. All of which can be arranged through Matusadona’s reservations team. For those who want to maximise on time and cut out the drive, as of June 2025, there will be a daily, competitivity priced flight operated by Mac Air into the park.
A Promising Future
As Matusadona continues its rejuvenation under the stewardship of the Matusadona Conservation Trust, the future looks bright for this national park. The Trust’s efforts to engage local communities, and restore wildlife populations are yielding tangible results. And with plans underway to reintroduce species like black rhino, the park’s ecological balance is steadily being re-established.
There is a palpable sense of optimism in Matusadona – a belief that with sustained commitment and collaboration, this unique wilderness can not only be preserved, but allowed to thrive once more. For the adventurous traveller willing to venture off the beaten path, Matusadona offers the chance to witness – and support – this transformation first-hand and to explore a landscape in re-emergence.
In a world where so many of our natural wonders are under threat, Matusadona National Park stands as a beacon of hope – a testament to the power of conservation, of community, and of sheer determination to protect the wild. It is a place that deserves to be celebrated, explored, and cherished for generations to come.