Eminently Eve.
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Click on the subheadings below to jump to their contents:
- Introduction
- Booking & contact details & fees
- Directions, road conditions & best type of vehicle to use
- Arrival & experience with the staff members
- Accommodation & meals
- Activities
- Conclusion
NB: It is strongly advised to read all the reviews on this site in their entirety to ensure that the destinations really suit all your needs & preferences.
Introduction
God knows I’ve been wanting to revisit this place so badly and give it a review which I would feature here ever since I created this website. I first visited Enthokozweni Safaris with my sister about a decade ago and it surprised me why it wasn’t that popular. I thought it was really a gem and also perfectly located. So when we were finally planning our trip to the Midlands (Antelope Park, An Eye for the Wild), Bulawayo (Chipangali Wildlife Sanctuary) and Matebeleland South (Matobo National Park), this park was one of the places that I vowed to visit without fail. I vaguely remembered what it looked like though. All I was going by was how it made me feel while I was there and I was yearning for that feeling again. So we went on to put it on our “to-visit” list…
Booking & contact details & fees
Unfortunately, Enthokozweni Safaris is just one of many game parks and destinations in Zimbabwe that do not have a social media presence or much internet footprint. Which is exactly one of the reasons I started this platform, to ensure that as many wildlife & nature themed destinations as possible have an internet presence. We have so many in every corner of this country and one way we can take care of our wildlife is by visiting these incredible wildlife projects in our numbers.
I therefore had to jump through a few hoops to get the contact info and when we finally did we proceeded to make our booking. Enthokozweni Safari’s contact number is +263774347388. The gentleman you will be communicating with is Denis Streak. Please note that this is a personal line so it is important to contact him during normal working hours – 8am to 5pm. Travelling is never a matter of emergency so there is no need to contact any destination at odd hours. Accommodation at Enthokozweni Safaris is $25 per person per night and $10 per day for a cook. A day visit entry fee is $10 per person.
Contact Empowered Travel on +263784887595 for your Travel/Motorist First Aid Kit, $35.
Directions, road conditions & best type of vehicle to use
Enthokozweni Safaris is a privately owned game park located in Matebeleland North, in a town/village called Inyati. Depending on the route one chooses to take, it is located 65 km or 87 km from the CBD of Bulawayo. Unfortunately, the park is not on google maps so you can’t use that application to get to it. The directions for the first and shorter route are as follows: From Bulawayo CBD you take Robert Mugabe Way and drive as if you are going to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport. You continue on that Robert Mugabe Way for about 65 km and the Enthokozweni Safaris Sign post will direct you to your right. Just follow that road until you get to the park. The highway is tar while the roads in the park are dirt. Make sure you do not drive past Inyati, 68 km from Bulawayo CBD and is also on google maps.
The second route is longer and it is the one that we used since after our visit we were going to head straight to Harare and did not want a route that would take us back to Bulawayo. So from Bulawayo CBD we took the Harare road (A5) and drove a few kilometres before coming to the left turn off with the Enthokozweni Safaris sign posts. From there we kind of drove blindly as we did not see any other sign posts. We however just kept on the main road without taking any turns. After about 84 km we eventually got to the sign post and gate which was a huge relief. Most of the road is dirt and a small vehicle can manage during the dry season. The roads in the park are also dirt but well maintained so a small vehicle can manage. You will however have to be careful during the wet season and avoid any suspicious looking roads.
Arrival & experience with the staff members
Given that I had totally forgotten what it really looked like and time had passed including all the economical hurdles that came with it, I was pleasantly surprised to see how beautiful the general garden looked. I was particularly impressed by the greenery considering that the park is located in a dry region which experiences relatively low rainfall and high temperatures. They are clearly doing a great job watering and taking care of the garden. We sat by the swimming pool briefly before Danny Moyo, our tour guide came. He is elderly and was cheerful and so welcoming. I don’t know if it’s just me but there is something sincere and genuine about a welcome from an elderly person. It just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. This experience actually reminded me of the same welcome we got at Mavhuradonha Wilderness Area (Mashonaland Central) from Gertrude.
Accommodation & meals
I have already touched briefly on how gorgeous the garden is but allow me to slip back into it again because it is really heavenly. As you drive in your eyes are immediately greeted by these grand Miombo tree species which are quite magnificent. Then as you head towards the parking slot you see the lodges dotted around the garden whose architectural design screams African Safari.
I really love accommodations in game parks which have a lot of earthy final touches, for example, these ones are thatched and have exterior rock walls. Upon parking we realised yet another spectacular surprise which was that the garden overlooks a dam and a healthy woodland. It was the most relaxing feeling walking on the snazzy rock pavements. Such a well thought out addition as it is not only aesthetically pleasing to the eye but also practical and maintains the lawn in good condition.
UNFORTUNATELY, I can not say the same about the accommodation we walked into. After building up the excitement seeing the exhilarating outdoors, what met our eyes as that lodge door was opened was sadly such an anticlimax. I usually do not write about destinations that I am going to give a negative review. I just write to management however, because this is genuinely an amazing place as far as the general environment and the commendable work they are doing taking care of the wildlife, I feel strongly that they are still worth our support. I will share more about the brilliance of their wildlife efforts below but with regards to the accommodation, as much as it pains me to type this, I still have to be honest with you… I cannot recommend staying at the lodge.
This of course is based on the lodge which was given to us during our visit. We were the only visitors the two days we were there so I imagine they would have given us their best facility though I might be wrong. For lack of a better word, the interior of the specific lodge we were given was just disgusting. The bathtub, chamber, shower had these permanent stains from being too old and there were also spiderwebs and just general dirt everywhere I looked. The bed was so uncomfortable with questionable pink sheets. The pillows felt like they were filled with old clothing. I imagine that is the reason their fees are so low, $25 per person per night. They do have reliable hot water though as they use the Rhodesian boiler system. This was a huge plus because I can not stand cold or lukewarm water at all.
Again, I do not feature destinations I do not believe in on this website and with the negative review on the accommodation I am still featuring this one because accommodation is the only aspect of it that I had a problem with. I know for a fact that I will be revisiting this game park any time I am in Bulawayo because I actually had the most intimacy with nature compared to my experience at many places of similar size. I felt free and liberated as I could just be in the bush without time restrictions. I will be travelling with an air mattress and our own bedding though until the accommodation has been renovated.
For meals we were sorted as they provide a cook. That is an additional $10 per day and he prepares all three meals. You do have to bring your own ingredients. I think the fee was fair and also his food was delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was happy that we did not have to worry about cooking or washing dishes.
Activities
1. Game drive
I haven’t enjoyed a game drive and bush visit as much as I did at Enthokozweni Safaris in the longest. This is mainly because I prefer to drive without a guide so that I can have some personal moments with nature where I’m just sitting in silence and without being timed. At Enthokozweni Safaris you have the option to go with a tour guide or to go alone. You do have to use your own vehicle for the game drive regardless of the option you choose.
One of the things I enjoyed so much was seeing all the plants that were flowering as the rains had just started at the time of our visit. Wildlife flowers are one of the things that never cease to amaze me about nature. It is the thought that went into perfecting each single petal and giving them the final touch of such bright and glamorous colours. To top it off is the fact that the beauty is neither by chance nor to just give the bush a pop of colour but they actually serve a crucial role which is to attract insects for pollination while at the same time providing these insects with food (nectar and pollen).
While driving we also spotted a small field with a few mushrooms. I quite like seeing the different mushrooms in the wild so we stopped to just admire them but interestingly we observed an interesting phenomenon. These mushrooms we spotted were only found in zebra dung… Not any other animal’s dung but only zebras dung. Tell me nature is not smart. I mean how well detailed does Mother Nature has to be for us to realise just how privileged we are to be a part of her and honour and respect her. So it is likely that this mushroom species releases its spores to the grass that zebras graze on. Once the zebras have eaten the grass with the mushroom spores, the spores find their way to the intestines until they are passed out together with the dung and then they utilise the dung to grow. Just how incredible of nature is this though?!
We also came across so many bright, captivating bird species. Amongst them were these awe-inspiring weaver birds and their nests on Acacia trees. Watching them at work is always my “Good gracious God, I have seen beauty before but this is a discovery” moment lol. If you actually stop to think that these tiny birds, using their little beaks are the ones that have built all these nests by picking one grass blade or stick at a time and meticulously knitting them together is mind-blowing. So the males are the ones that make these nests so that they can be picked as the partner to breed with by the females. Therefore, only the males with the best nests are chosen while lazy males that make the least favourable nests never get chosen. I wonder if these unchosen males also resort to calling the females “gold diggers” for choosing the males that can provide up to their satisfaction lol.
Interesting to note also is that some of the nests deemed unsuitable do not go to waste, rather they are kept as a decoy for when predators such as snakes come for the eggs or chicks. They will have many nests to go through before getting to the occupied ones which also gives the birds the chance to notice the snake and fight it by mobbing and pecking it in their numbers until it, hopefully, gives up and flees.
Enthokozweni Safaris will also probably be one of my most memorable destinations because of how we spotted a whole black mamba. Now generally speaking, a black mamba is not a snake I’m too keen to come across but after an entire day of climbing hills trying to find any snake species I was quite excited when finally we saw this black mamba. The initial goal was to find a python because of how rocky the general landscape is. So we climbed a certain hill and we were actually quite hopeful that we were certainly going to come across a python as we had seen its dung all along the way. Unfortunately that did not happen but we kept an eye out for any birds screeching as that usually indicates that there is a predator they are trying to fight. Birds’ predators are mostly snakes and birds of prey.
We drove around for a bit and as expected in an African bush on a sunny day, we did hear that screeching sound from birds. We watched the movements for some time while anticipating a snake but this time it was a bird of prey. Still very exciting because it is not something we are privy to seeing in the big cities. Before we could identify which species it was though, the bird flew away but we did see that it was a huge bird. We opted to follow up with the hope of identifying it.
Walking through this bush was not the easiest but it was pure magic. Eventually, while following the lead from the smaller birds my eyes landed on this impressively stunning Giant Eagle Owl. Oh My! Of course it had to be my favourite bird species.
I love owls so much shame! I rarely ever find them randomly in the bush though so on this day, I was beyond thrilled when after the pursuit we finally got a glimpse of this owl in the wild. They have an incredible eyesight (10 to 100 times better than ours) so it’s interesting that she saw us first before we saw her but she calculated that we were of no threat to her so eventually she allowed us to get close enough and admire her beauty.
From there we continued with the drive, also looking for other mammals and just as we were doing our final round we heard the birds screeching again. We walked closer to the tree and it was not long before we spotted the black mamba in the tree where the birds were taking turns to peck at it. I was not at all expecting to see that but boy was I excited. It was a juvenile black mamba and I know I am not going to be forgetting this sighting any time soon.
The other animal species we saw throughout the day were zebra, giraffe, kudu, impala, eland and sun squirrel.
Other activities
The other activities offered at Enthokozweni Safaris are listed below.
2. Fishing
3. Braaing
4. Swimming
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Conclusion
Even though this park seems to be struggling today, especially with its accommodation, I can see that it is being run by passionate people who especially value the lives of wildlife. It is not a secret that the tourism industry has suffered a lot in the past years and many destinations have had to close which has resulted in the loss of wildlife. It is incredible to see such destinations as Enthokozweni Safaris which are still pushing even though it is proving to be difficult. I hope that we can visit this place in our numbers and support the project so that it rises back to the amazing level it used to be at. You can tell from the infrastructure that it was definitely once an incredible destination. I will definitely be visiting again because I fully enjoyed my visit. It was so fulfilling and my soul was well nourished. A day visit might be a better option though as the accommodation is not in the best state at the present moment.
Remember to always have a little intimacy in your life & as always I’m talking about Intimacy With Nature
