People from all over the world like to visit Zimbabwe for a great African safari and witness an array of animals that we can only afford to see in pictures and movies.
If you are interested in wildlife, then you should never miss visiting this amazing country. It has a number of national parks, and wildlife has been preserved with great care. Let us discuss in this post, briefly about a few of the iconic Zimbabwe National Parks.
Chimanimani National Park
Chimanimani National Park lies on the Mozambican border. The park’s main draw is the Chimanimani Mountain range, a rare spot in this country where you can enjoy a solo walk. It is best for Walkers & Hikers.
The water bodies at the park have rendered smooth kid-friendly swimming spots, savanna valleys and towering sandstone peaks the scenery that you will find is really diverse.
There are an extensive array of plant species, making this the perfect picnic spot for a practicing botanist. From orchids, hibiscus, lobelia, heather aloes to a multitude of meadow wildflowers, the park is a visual treat for visitors.
Chizarira National Park
Chizarira National Park rests on the Zambezi Escarpment, which eminently makes it one of Zimbabwe’s most spectacular parks. You can witness towering water-dropping gorges and stunning views of mountains to high plateaus.
The park is covered with bushveld thickets like Marula to vital tall Mopane wood-runners & not forgetting Busi floodplain.
The park is considered a “big wetland in the desert,” so despite being isolated and difficult to get to, it accommodates several antelope species, along with some elephants—although there are not many left—and leopards and lions, warthogs as well as most other large mammals.
There are few services, and visitors must take their own food, fuel and spare parts as well as camping gear.
Gonarezhou National Park
Located in southeastern Zimbabwe and extending into South Africa’s Kruger National Park, Gonarezhou National Park covers 5 million hectares.
This park has breathtaking scenery, especially around the Runde, Save, and Mwanezi rivers, where most of the animals can be seen.
The park gets it’s name from the Shona language which translates to “abode of elephants.” The elephant population, which was formerly home to some of Africa’s greatest tuskers, has suffered from poaching and drought, though recovery is happening bit by bit. Notably, because of their difficult past, the elephants here are known to be hostile.
Hwange National Park
Papping up to Botswana in the west, Zimbabwe’s biggest park Hwange National Park is around 14,500 square kilometers wide. Renowned as the prime location for wildlife viewing in the country and yet still virtually tourist-free.
The park is teeming with wildlife like elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, hyena, lions, leopard, cheetah and a plethora of antelope species including sable kudu impala.
You can see huge herds of elephants gathering around water holes in September and October due to dry season during these months.
In contrast, animals are scattered around the vast park during the rainy season, which is from December to March, making it difficult to spot the wildlife during these months.