Matusadona National Park is a national park in northern

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

situated on the southern shore of

Lake Kariba Lake Kariba is the world's largest artificial lake and reservoir by volume. It lies upstream from the Indian Ocean, along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba was filled between 1958 and 1963 following the completion of the Karib ...

. The park takes its name from the local Matuzviadonha Hills.

History

Matusadona was proclaimed a non-hunting area on 7 November 1958 before being declared as a Game Reserve in 1963, and then in 1975 it became a

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

, under the Parks & Wildlife Act of

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

. Matusadona National Park covers of flat plains and rugged mountains protecting a diverse flora and fauna. Its area encompasses a combination of pristine and rugged wilderness, which before the Kariba Dam was built and Lake Kariba created, was very inaccessible. The creation of the lake caused profound ecological changes. In particular, the availability of grazing on the lakeshore has contributed to an increase in the populations of large mammals large mammal in the park, especially those of

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

and Cape buffalo. The species of grass growing on the shoreline is ''

Panicum repens ''Panicum repens'' is a species of grass known by many common names, including torpedograss, creeping panic, panic rampant, couch panicum, wainaku grass, quack grass, dog-tooth grass, and bullet grass. Its exact native range is obscure. Sources ...

'' which grows as long as the lake levels fluctuate bringing nutrients to the shore. This source of grazing has allowed populations of large grazers such as Cape buffalo,

waterbuck The waterbuck (''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus '' Kobus'' of the family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1833. Its 13 subspecies ar ...

, common zebra, and

impala The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'') is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'' and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to European audiences by Germa ...

to thrive, attracting the associated predators. Matusadona National Park is an Intensive Protection Zone (IPZ) and home to several relocated rhinoceros.

Ecology and management

Matusadona National Park includes three distinct ecological areas. The first is Lake Kariba and its shoreline grasslands, the second is the floor of the Zambezi Valley, with its thick jesse, ''

Combretum celastroides ''Combretum celastroides'' is a species of flowering plant in the bushwillow genus ''Combretum'', family Combretaceae. It is found in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in ...

'', thickets and

mopane ''Colophospermum mopane'', commonly called mopane, mopani, balsam tree, butterfly tree, or turpentine tree, is a tree in the legume family (Fabaceae), that grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, in elevation, in the far northern parts of southern A ...

woodland, and; third, the Escarpment area of ''

Julbernardia ''Julbernardia'' is a genus of plants in the family Fabaceae. There are eight species found in tropical Africa. They are medium-sized trees. Species accepted by the Plants of the World Online as of February 2021: *''Julbernardia baumii'' *''Ju ...

'' and ''

Brachystegia ''Brachystegia'' is a genus of tree of the subfamily Detarioideae that is native to tropical Africa. Trees of the genus are commonly known as miombo, and are dominant in the miombo woodlands of central and southern tropical Africa. The Zambezian ...

'' woodlands. The woodlands do not have much grass but provide habitat for browsers, most notably the

black rhinoceros The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis'') is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania ...

. Elephants can be found throughout the Park, seeking shade under the canopy of jesse during the heat of the day. From the floor of the Zambezi valley the escarpment rises some and is extremely rugged. Elephant browsing and fire depredations have, in recent years, caused the once substantial woodlands to decrease allowing grassland to develop. This led to the park managers deciding that it was necessary to take control measures to reduce the elephant population and to carry out early burning programmes in the upper escarpment, to reduce the risk of later, hotter fires from causing serious damage to the trees. These programmes have been effective as demonstrated by regrowth apparent in the Escarpment area. Within a area there was +100 lions feeding on a bounty of Cape buffalo. The buffalo began to disappear after losing vital grazing areas to a rise in the level of Lake Kariba upon which the park is set on. This in turn saw the lions begin to decline. By 2004 a study estimated a mere 28 lions remained in the area but no research was available on their viability and/or any other threats the population may be facing. The population is still remaining at a low density and is therefore susceptible to a variety of environmental and human induced pressures. Other mammals found include

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly cons ...

greater kudu The greater kudu (''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'') is a woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas due to declining habitat, deforestation, ...

and

bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus'') is a common and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.Wronski T, Moodley Y. (2009)Bushbuck, harnessed antelope or both? ''Gnusletter'', 28(1):18-19. Bushbuck are found in a wide ra ...

African Parks

In November 2019 management of Matusadona National Park was assumed by

African Parks African Parks is a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on conservation, established in 2000 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was founded as the African Parks Management and Finance Company, a private company, then under ...

, in partnership with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, because of the deteriorated condition of the park due to rampant poaching.

Facilities

The following campsites are within the Matusadona National Park: Tashinga Camp, Sanyati Camp and Changachirere Camp, as well as undeveloped bush camps at Jenje and Kanjedza for up to a maximum of 10 persons per camp. There are also what are termed exclusive campsites at Ume, Muuyu, Mbalabala, Maronga, and Kautsiga.

Access

There is a small, landing strip is available at Tashinga Camp which can take small aircraft. Many visitors access the park by boat either from

Bumi Hills Bumi Hills is the name of a group of hills and a luxury safari lodge in Mashonaland West province Zimbabwe. Bumi Hills Safari Lodge is situated on the hilly ground overlooking the southern shore of Lake Kariba Lake Kariba is the world's largest ...

or Kariba town. It has relatively poor accessibility by road and an extremely harsh internal network of roads keep the crowds and traffic low. The roads are closed in the rainy season.

References

{{authority control National parks of Zimbabwe 1975 establishments in Rhodesia Protected areas established in 1975 Geography of Mashonaland West Province Tourist attractions in Mashonaland West Province Protected areas established in 1958 1963 establishments in Southern Rhodesia Protected areas established in 1963 Zambezian and mopane woodlands