Gonarezhou National Park, located in the southeastern corner of Zimbabwe, derives its name from the Shona language, meaning “the place of elephants”. This park is home to one of the densest populations of elephants in Africa, numbering well over 11,000 individuals. It forms part of the massive Pan-African Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, including the Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Gaza National Park in Mozambique. This enormous conservation area was established to encourage elephants to re-establish ancient elephant migration corridors to reduce elephant/human conflict and in-breeding. The park is visually beautiful, boasting an extraordinary landscape characterized by the towering Chilojo sandstone cliffs – the most photographed feature of the park.
“The park is visually beautiful, boasting an extraordinary landscape characterized by the towering Chilojo sandstone cliffs – the most photographed feature of the park.”
It is also largely undiscovered and “wild”, offering intrepid visitors a unique safari experience among its plains that are dotted with thousands of baobab trees. While elephants are by far the most dominant animal species in the park, you can also anticipate seeing many other species of animals including hyenas, buffalo, lions, wild dogs, and a massive 400+ species of birds. During the dry winter months (June to September) the animals are forced to gather near the permanent water holes, making game viewing most rewarding. However, birding is at its best in summer when the resident species of birds are joined by thousands of international migrants.
