Reviews of Gonarezhou (From 8 Acclaimed Safari Experts)

Expert

Paul Murray –

UK

Visited: Multiple times

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

9 people found this review helpful.

Home of the Grey Ghosts

Overall rating

3/5

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Gonarezhou is a huge park, the second largest in the country, and in recent years it has reaped the fruits of a long and concerted conservation initiative. Many years ago, poaching devastated the wildlife here and earned the park the unfortunate reputation of being a park where big game is thin on the ground. Elephants were so seldom seen they were called the ‘grey ghosts’, though happily, no longer. On my most recent visit the change has been dramatic as I saw more species in my first 20 minutes than I’ve seen in any other park. Particularly gratifying is the way the elephants have become far more trusting of humans. Gonarezhou is dominated by two vast rivers. These are the Save, which runs along the northeastern boundary, and the tributary Runde, which courses through the park to a confluence at its most easterly tip. Between them, these rivers provide an excellent habitat for wildlife and birds, including the rather odd-looking antelope, the nyala, which is rare in Zimbabwe. There’s plenty of plains game in the vast interior making a wonderful pantry for the big predators, which include a healthily growing population of wild dogs, and at the confluence of the two rivers there is an excellent lodge that has extremely knowledgeable guides to take you to the best viewing spots. Don’t miss the splendidly golden burnished Chilojo Cliffs as the sun goes down, which is when the animals come to drink when the Runde is flowing. The excellent Chilo Gorge Lodge caters for those who seek comfort while camping, and 4x4 enthusiasts will be in their element here with plenty of ‘undeveloped’ camping spots along the Runde River.

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Expert

Stephen Cunliffe –

ZA

Visited: July and September

Stephen is a travel writer and avid conservationist whose work appears in prestigious magazines such as Africa Geographic and Travel Africa.

6 people found this review helpful.

A Wild Wilderness on the Rebound

Overall rating

4/5

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Chilojo, Chipinda, Chinguli, Chitove, Chamuluvati, Chamachinzu… The alliterative place names of Gonarezhou National Park roll off the tongue, dripping with the promise of exotic safari adventure. Gonarezhou – meaning ‘the place of elephants’ – is just that: an untamed 4,941km² wilderness that is home to an estimated 11,500 cantankerous pachyderms and the iconic sandstone Chilojo Cliffs that tower above the Runde River.

Gonarezhou’s location and limited infrastructure have ensured that Zimbabwe’s second-largest national park has remained off the radar. I have only visited this truly wild area twice, but my first visit in the mid-’90s made such an indelible impression on me that I longed to return. On my most recent visit, I was very encouraged to see the impressive progress made by the Frankfurt Zoological Society in rebuilding the park and its shattered infrastructure. Animal numbers are steadily increasing and the wildlife is becoming more tolerant of tourist vehicles. Endless herds of elephant and extremely vocal lions and spotted hyena dominated our excellent weeklong safari in Gonarezhou.

This is a national park worth watching closely, because I have little doubt that this rebounding wilderness will very soon feature on the safari itineraries of more than just nature lovers and 4x4 adventurers.

6 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Expert

Emma Gregg –

UK

Visited: April

Emma is an award-winning travel writer for Rough Guides, National Geographic Traveller, Travel Africa magazine and The Independent.

6 people found this review helpful.

Remote Park on the Edge of a Vast Wilderness

Overall rating

4/5

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Tucked away in the far southeastern corner of the country, Gonarezhou National Park is Zimbabwe’s contribution to the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that also includes South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park. Vast though it is, Gonarezhou is dwarfed by the other two. If plans to expand the Transfrontier Park even further go ahead, it will become part of a protected area measuring almost 100,000 square kilometres.

The wildlife species that will benefit from the opening of ancient migration routes in this rugged, baobab-dotted region include wild dogs, elands, nyalas and large numbers of elephants. I was rather nervous of the elephants during my visit, having heard that they can be aggressive, but nothing untoward occurred and we had some excellent sightings of large, mobile herds. Facilities are mostly simple, and walking safaris are possible, making this a rewarding destination for wilderness seekers.

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Expert

Lizzie Williams –

ZA

Visited: February

Lizzie is a reputed guidebook writer and author of the Footprint guides to South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

5 people found this review helpful.

An Exceptionally Scenic Park of Rugged Landscapes and Slow-Moving Rivers Supporting a Rich Variety of Wildlife

Overall rating

4/5

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In my opinion Gonarezhou is Zimbabwe’s ‘best’ little-known secret; it’s isolated, wild and most certainly big on scenery. Although our game drives were challenging on the rough tracks, and the animals were a little skittish, we saw a variety of species. These included waterbuck, kudu and impala, and I was delighted to see two of the park’s rarer small antelope, suni and nyala. We were lucky to watch a reasonably sized herd of elephant before they moved on trumpeting loudly at an astonishingly fast pace (the Gonarezhou elephants are well-known for their dislike of vehicles). Bird-watching was good too, and specials included bateleur and martial eagles, and peregrine falcon. The untamed landscape of sludgy meandering rivers and scrubland dotted with stubby baobab trees is outstanding. Without doubt, the sandstone Chilojo Cliffs bathed in beautiful coloured light at sunset is one of the best views I’ve seen in Zimbabwe.

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Expert

Sue Watt –

UK

Visited: June

Sue is an award-winning writer who specializes in African travel and conservation. She writes for national newspapers, magazines, Rough Guides and Lonely Planet.

3 people found this review helpful.

Gonarezhou: Wild & Wonderful

Overall rating

5/5

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Gonarezhou is a special place, exuding a sense of true, wild Africa. I’d been meaning to visit for years and when at last I did, I was kicking myself for not having gone sooner. I spent a week there but still wasn’t ready to leave. Our camp was the new mananga at Massasanya Dam, made of mud bricks and thatch, and built by local women in the style of their own homes. We had views over the dam and a stellar cast of wildlife coming to drink, including huge herds of elephants for which the park is famous. The women were our camp attendants and were a joy to spend time with. Then we headed north to the brilliant Chilo Gorge Lodge, with its striking views over Chilo Gorge and long history of working with the local Mahenya community.

The wildlife was good and varied, albeit a bit skittish at times. The elephants weren’t as moody as I’d been led to believe, however, and there were plenty of them. There were plenty of antelopes too – including a hermaphrodite nyala! One thing we didn’t see was other tourists – just one vehicle in seven days.

The Gonarezhou Conservation Trust, which formed in 2017, is doing a brilliant job engaging with local people and building on the huge conservation successes of the Frankfurt Zoological Society. The reintroduction of black rhinos in 2021 means the park is now also a Big Five destination. This will undoubtedly attract more visitors, but careful planning is afoot to make sure Gonarezhou doesn’t sacrifice its special wilderness vibe.

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Expert

Philip Briggs –

ZA

Visited: Multiple times

Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.

2 people found this review helpful.

Zimbabwe’s Great Forgotten Wilderness

Overall rating

4/5

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Gonarezhou is Zimbabwe’s most underrated safari destination. Despite being home to all the Big Five, this Zimbabwean component of the 100,000km² Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (which also incorporates South Africa’s Kruger National Park) is included on very few safari itineraries. This is largely for historical reasons, as Gonarezhou experienced high levels of human-wildlife conflict and poaching during Zimbabwe’s independence struggle and the Mozambican civil war. Today, however, the park is enjoying a remarkable revival under the guidance of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, which partnered with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority in 2017 to form the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust.

Gonarezhou’s most iconic scenic landmark is Chilojo Cliff, a 15km-long wall of golden sandstone that towers 200m above the Runde River. For wildlife viewing, the most impressive part of the park is the northeast, where an extensive floodplain close to the Save-Runde confluence is studded with palm groves, giant baobabs and lily-covered pans. Here I was treated to some superb sightings of elephants, which is unsurprising given that Gonarezhou has possibly the world’s densest pachydermal population, estimated at around 11,500 individuals in an area of 5,000km². Other wildlife seen here included a 500-strong herd of buffalo, and plenty of zebra, wildebeest, hippo, impala, nyala, bushbuck, greater kudu and eland. I also enjoyed some excellent birding: highlights included Allen’s gallinule, palm-nut vulture, southern banded snake eagle, Böhm’s spinetail and collared palm-thrush.

Gonarezhou is emphatically not a mass-tourism destination. We saw very few other cars here, and did a lot of our game viewing on foot in the company of a professional guide. It is ideally suited to adventurous and self-sufficient self-drivers, who can choose between a network of isolated exclusive bush campsites and self-catering camps, many of which are run with local community involvement. No upmarket safari lodges lie within the boundaries of Gonarezhou, but fly-in safaris can be hosted at Mahove or Chilojo Bush Camps, a pair of tented camps that are usually booked out as a unit by professional guides and outfitters offering an individualized wilderness experience. The park is also serviced by the luxurious Chilo Gorge Lodge, which stands in a bordering community conservation area and has a superb clifftop location overlooking a busy elephant crossing point on the Save River.

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Expert

Ariadne van Zandbergen –

ZA

Visited: May

Ariadne is a renowned African wildlife photographer whose work is featured in many well-known guidebooks and magazines.

2 people found this review helpful.

Zimbabwe’s Best-kept Secret

Overall rating

4/5

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Gonarezhou National Park exceeded all my expectations.

As this was our first visit to the park, we had set aside a week to explore every corner of this underrated wilderness area. On the first day, we entered the park in the south and traversed all the way to the Chipinda Pools area in the north. The long 7-hour drive didn’t leave a lot of time for stops, so I put away my camera and just enjoyed the journey. At the end of that drive, Gonarezhou had already captured a very special place in my heart, and I knew I would reflect on it as my favourite place in Zimbabwe.

Gonarezhou protects a tract of untamed Africa featuring baobab-studded hills, dry riverbeds, wetlands and deep gorges. The scenery is spectacular throughout the park, but the absolute scenic highlight is the view of the Runde River from the top of the Chilojo Cliffs. Stunning as that is, seeing the cliffs reflected in the river at sunrise (this time approached from the bottom) is as memorable.

Grand landscapes aside, the wildlife viewing didn’t disappoint either. We enjoyed some encounters with relaxed big tuskers, but we also had some hair-raising moments with nervous females and their young. We saw lots of general game such as zebras, wildebeest, impala, waterbuck and an incredible number of greater kudu bulls carrying massive horns. Of special interest were the elegant nyalas, which seem to be able to disappear into the thickets within a blink of an eye. Highlights on one of our walks were watching a 500-strong herd of buffalo kicking up dust and sneaking up to several giraffes blissfully unaware of our presence.

What made all this extra special was the lack of tourists. We might have seen two other vehicles during the week we spent in the park. The one negative side of this is that predators haven’t had a chance to habituate yet, with the result that sightings are hit-and-miss. For me it’s good enough to know it’s all out there…. We saw lions from a distance on several occasions and we heard hyenas every night. My favourite, though, was locking eyes with a leopard while sitting at the dinner table when our guide put his spotlight on a cheeky female watching us.

2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

Expert

Harriet Nimmo –

ZA

Visited: September

Harriet is a zoologist with more than 20 years’ experience. She has the privilege of working with the world’s top wildlife photographers and photo-guides.

Wild Zimbabwe

Overall rating

4/5

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Zimbabwe’s second-largest national park, Gonarezhou’s name means ’place of elephants’.

It is a wild, wonderful reserve, and surprisingly little visited, which adds to its appeal. There are a couple of lodges and national parks campsites, some of which are developed, with ablution blocks, and some are wilderness campsites, which just have a long-drop toilet.

The star attraction of Gonarezhou is the spectacular sandstone Chilojo Cliffs, above a bend in the Runde River. These glow pink as the sun goes down.

After decades of poaching and hunting, Gonarezhou is now bouncing back with new investment and the wildlife is recovering. You will see elephants … lots, and there is a wide variety of other plains game, including rarities such as sable. Carnivores include lion, leopard and wild dog, although you’ll be lucky to see predators. Birding is also great, with specials such as Pel’s fishing-owl, racket-tailed roller and Verreaux’s eagle.

Don’t come to Gonarezhou expecting to tick off the Big 5 – instead come for the wild, untouristy landscapes and anything else you see is a bonus.

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