​Overview – Gonarezhou NP

Philip Briggs
Expert
By Philip Briggs

Philip has traveled through Zimbabwe several times and is the author of more than 20 guidebooks to various African destinations.

Philip is the Zimbabwe expert for SafariBookings and author of more than 20 guidebooks to Africa.

Philip is our Zimbabwe expert and author of more than 20 guidebooks to Africa.

This huge park borders Mozambique's Limpopo National Park and South Africa's Kruger National Park to make up a vast wilderness area: The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. Due to heavy poaching, wildlife densities have historically been very low, but there has been a marked increase in populations over the last few years.

Best Time To Go June to October (During the Dry season)
High Season June to August (The park is rarely busy)
Size 5,000km² / 1,931mi²
Altitude 165-530m / 541-1,739ft

Pros & Cons

  • Huge, untamed wilderness area
  • Great wildlife diversity
  • Excellent birding destination
  • Few visitors, and it never gets busy
  • Walking safaris are available
  • Wildlife densities are low
  • Limited accommodation options

Gonarezhou NP Safari Reviews

  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding

Wildlife

Theoretically, all of the Big Five are present, but rhino might well be locally extinct. Animals tend to be quite skittish, and densities are still recovering from years of poaching. You might see large herds of elephant and buffalo, as well as a good variety of antelope – including the less common nyala, roan and sable antelope. Wild dogs are sometimes spotted, as well.

Scenery

Gonarezhou is Zimbabwe's second largest national park after Hwange. Parts of the park are endless tracts of combretum and mopane woodland, protecting beautiful spreads of mahoganies, ironwoods and tall acacia albida trees. The Runde River valley is overlooked by the red sandstone Chilojo cliffs.

Weather & Climate

The weather at Gonarezhou is sunny and bright throughout the Dry season (April to October), though you need warm clothing to deal with the chill of early-morning game drives. The Wet season (November to March) sees the temperature rise and storm clouds spread across the sky most afternoons.

Best Time To Visit

Wildlife viewing is most rewarding when the rains have ended and the vegetation has thinned out in the Dry season (April to October). You can visit Gonarezhou in the humid Wet season too (November to March), but you’ll find that animals are hard to find. A lot of lodges shut their doors for most of the wet months.

Want To Visit Gonarezhou NP?

Gonarezhou NP Safari Reviews

  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding
Most Helpful Expert Review
Expert
Paul Murray  –  
United Kingdom UK

Paul is a travel writer, author of the Bradt guidebook to Zimbabwe and is closely involved in promoting tourism to Zimbabwe.

Home of the Grey Ghosts
3/5

Gonarezhou is a huge park, the second largest in the country that in recent years has reaped the fruits of a long and concerted conservation initiative. Many years ago, poaching devastated the wildlife here and earned the park the...

Full Review

Latest User Review
Owen  –  
Kenya KE
Reviewed: Nov 16, 2016
A Wild and Unknown Gem
5/5

I recently stayed for a week in Gonuarezhou National Park. I stayed for one week at Gonarezhou Bush Camp where I was guided by Ant Kaschuala who is without a doubt one of the finest guides in Africa. I thought that the bush vibe,and scenery...

Full Review