10/04/2015
EYE ON: MATUSADONA NATIONAL PARK
Matusadona National Park is situated on the shores of Lake Kariba but was proclaimed a non-hunting area on November 7, 1958, before the dam was built. It became a game reserve in 1963, and in 1975, in terms of the Parks & Wildlife Act, it became a national park. The park comprises some 1 400 sq km of diverse flora and fauna. Before the lake was built, Matusadona was a vast, rugged wilderness with limited access. With the lake came ecological changes. One in particular, the lakeshore contributed greatly to the increase of large mammal populations in the area, especially elephant and buffalo. The grass found on the shoreline is Panicum repens and is a rejuvinative grass - needing only fluctuating lake levels to replenish its nutrients. With this ready food source, buffalo, waterbuck, zebra, and even impala have thrived and with them the predators. Matusadona is an Intensive Protection Zone (IPZ) and home to several relocated rhinoceros.
Matusadona has three distinct ecological areas. First is the lake and shoreline grassland; second, the Zambezi Valley floor, a mass of thick jesse and mopane woodland, and; third, the Escarpment area of Julbernadia and Brachystegia woodlands. The Jesse/ Mopani area is sparsely grassed, but provides habitat for browsers, most notably the black rhino. Elephants range throughout the Park, seeking the shade of the Jesse in the heat of the day.
Animal species that are found in abundance include elephant and buffalo. Other common species are those of: night ape, honey badger, civet, small spotted genet, slender mongoose, banded mongoose, spotted hyaena, wild cat, lion, leopard, yellow spotted dassie, black rhinoceros, zebra, warthog, common duiker, grysbok, klipspringer, waterbuck, bushbuck, scrub hare, porcupine, vervet monkey, chacma baboon, side-striped jackal, hippopotamus, roan antelope, kudu and bush squirrel. Some of the more elusive species include: clawless otter, white-tailed mongoose, reedbuck, sable antelope, eland, civet, rusty spotted genet, caracal and bush pig. Animals that are present but only sighted on rare occasions include wild dog, cheetah, roan and pangolin.
You can reach Matusadona National Park by air, by boat or by road.
By Air: A small, 800 metre landing strip is available at Tashinga Camp and can take small aircraft. The strip is licensed Category II.
By Boat: Visitors can come in from Bumi Hills located 14 km from Tashinga, or 50 km across the Lake from Kariba town.
By Road: Normally the Park is reached via Karoi, but it can also be accessed from Victoria Falls, via Binga. If traveling from Karoi, 8 km north of Karoi on the Harare-Chirundu Road turn left through the Hurungwe communal land. 115 km from Karoi you cross the Sanyati River. You continue on the Binga Road for a further 62 km and then turn right and continue for 82 km to Tashinga which is the headquarters of the Park. Except for a short distance of narrow tar, when one leaves the Harare-Chirundu Road, the roads are either gravel or dirt. The last 82 km are rough and not suitable for saloon and low clearance vehicles. It is advisable to enquire about the condition of the road before starting your journey.
Game viewing roads are closed during the rainy season.
Source: ‘Exploring Zim’s Matusadona Park’, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority via The Southern Times (2 June 2014)
