Matusadona National Park - Zimbabwe

Matusadona National Park ... is situated on the shores of Lake Kariba. This was one of the last wild sanctuaries of the endangered Black Rhino and was also considered to have the highest natural population density of lions in Africa although this is no longer true due to increasing populations elsewhere. 

Matusadona is ideal walking safari territory and is worth visiting year round. Small seasonal bush camps in the traditional style are erected for mobile safaris but there are also two good lodges situated on islands just off shore. For a truly traditional safari experience, the best of these is Musango Safari Camp. 

Quite a number of Matusadona's camps have been "put in mothballs" during the past few years but there is no doubt Zimbabwe's home grown professional safari guides and camps will once again appear when there is enough demand to do so.  The Matusadona shoreline on Lake Kariba invites water based activities, usually from game viewing boats or pontoons and is one of several protected wildlife areas with shorelines on Lake Kariba.  Open woodlands on the plateau behind the escarpment are dominated by Julbernardia globiflora. The mountain acacia, Brachystegia glaucescens, is also common on the slopes and ridges of the escarpment.

From the plateau the park falls abruptly to a flat, low-lying area covered mainly with Mopane scrub and woodland and with dense patches of Jesse bush. The entire northern boundary of the park is created by the lakeshore itself. This shoreline, which is subjected to irregular variations in water level caused by fluctuations in annual rainfall, is still in a state of rapid ecological change and development.  Along much of it are "drowned forests", up to several kilometres wide, containing dead trees standing more than 29 years after the filling of the lake. Many of the animals rescued during "'Operation Noah" when the lake was filling were released into Matusadona, which now holds strong populations of most mammals occurring in the Zambezi Valley.

To book your Safari Getaway in or around Zimbabwe please contact

Namibia Reservations at:

info@namibiareservations.com