Gonarezhou National Park, one of Zimbabwe’s largest and most biodiverse parks, has officially opened its doors to tourists for the 2023 season. After a temporary annual closure during the first months of the year, the park has reopened to visitors, offering a wealth of opportunities to explore its diverse ecosystem.
According to a recent update by the park, the end of the rainy season has led to improved access to remote parts of the park, making it easier for visitors to explore and enjoy the beauty of the park. The northern section of the park, including Chipinda Pools Campsite and Tented Camp, Chivilila Campsite, and Chilojo Campsites 1 and 2, are now available for bookings. In the south, all camps are available for bookings. Visitors are encouraged to contact the park’s reservations team to assist them with their bookings.
While the park is bustling with activity, some visitors staying at Swimuwini rest camp may experience some noise due to upgrades being made to the conference centre. The park has apologised for any inconvenience caused.
In addition to welcoming visitors, the park is also celebrating the return of its seasonal tourism staff. The Mananga ladies, who manage and maintain the camp, have returned to the park’s Mananga Camp in the south and north to rebuild the camp. Their regular annual maintenance of resurfacing and painting the mud walls and smoothing the floors is crucial to the camp’s upkeep.
Furthermore, the park’s scientific services department has moved into its new research centre building and has wasted no time putting the research lab to work. A versatile team of external researchers studying killifish ecology and evolution are in the park carrying out on-site DNA extraction, PCR and sequencing via Nanopore MinION. Their research will run until the end of this week.
As March is Women’s History Month, the park has taken the time to recognise the crucial work that women in various departments such as finance, procurement, human resources, monitoring and evaluation, security and tourism play. Their hard work has contributed significantly to the park’s success and development.
The 2023 tourism season in Gonarezhou National Park promises to be a memorable one, with visitors able to enjoy the park’s unique beauty and diverse wildlife while also supporting the park’s conservation efforts.
