Chizarira National Park

Impressive Views of the Zambezi Valley but a Challenging Destination With Limited Game-Viewing

South of Matusadona National Park, Chizarira is rarely visited and for good reason: it’s remote, wild and very difficult to access (in the rainy season virtually impossible). On my visit, we encountered only forbidding barely-there rutted and rocky tracks. But we did make it to the very basic Mabula campsite four kilometres from the park gate and located right on the edge of the Zambezi Escarpment. Here we were rewarded with a spectacular view of high ridges of hills cut by near-sheer gorges and Lake Kariba beyond. While most game species are present in Chizarira, it doesn’t have the large and visible concentrations of animals for which other parks like Mana Pools are famous. However, for the well-equipped 4x4 adventurer, its strong points are the varied scenery and that elusive attribute known as 'wilderness quality'.