Eminently Eve.
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Click on the subheadings below to jump to their contents:
- Introduction
- Booking & contact details
- Directions, road conditions & best type of vehicle to use
- Arrival & experience with the staff members
- Accommodation, meals & fees
- Activities & fees
- Conclusion
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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
Matobo National Park is one of those places where no matter how often you visit you can just never have enough of it. I’ve been to a number of places in Zimbabwe & I can assure you that there is no other place with that distinct landscape.
The first time I visited, I was in complete awe & could not believe my eyes. We were doing some botanical work along the way so we got there a bit late. Upon arrival, I just bathed & went straight to bed because of being fatigued by the work we had done. Now imagine waking up the following morning, opening the lodge door & being greeted by this insanely remarkable view (shown in the images above). I stood there in stunned silence. It was too surreal for me and guess what… this second time around, it was just the exact same experience. As we drove through the gates I thought I was ready for it so I would be much calmer but boy did I not lie to myself…
Before I get carried away though, let me rewind & start right from the beginning so that this all makes sense :).
Booking & contact details
Ever Since I visited Matobo National Park, I hadn’t stopped talking about it. When my husband told me that he actually hadn’t been, Oh! I knew we had to visit ASAP because everybody has to witness this beauty in person at least once in their lifetime. So we started saving up for that trip & when the coins were looking up I went on to make the booking. There are so many accommodation options in the park including those that are privately owned but we decided to go with the Zimparks ones which are self catering & are the most budget friendly. It is however good that, if you are someone who wants a bit more luxury you are still covered.
I sent a WhatsApp message to Zimparks Matobo National Park on +263774913109 and I chatted with Mrs Tafeni. We opted for the ‘Renovated single lodge which sleeps two people’ and at the time it was 56700RTGS per night for the lodge which was equivalent to around $90USD. Mrs Tafeni was professional and very helpful. At first I felt like she was a bit overwhelmed with work and meetings as it was taking days to fully process our booking. I expressed my concerns though and the booking was finalised within an hour on the same day, which I greatly appreciated. After that we were all set to hit the road and I just could not wait.
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Directions, road conditions & best type of vehicle to use
Matobo National Park is located in Matebeland South, just 36 km from Bulawayo. We prefer to visit several destinations per trip in order to save money on fuel so this time we went from Harare to Kwekwe where we checked out An Eye for the Wild (a wildlife rehabilitation sanctuary). Then Kwekwe to Gweru where we spend some days at Antelope Park (a privately owned game park). [You may click on the names of these parks above to find out more info about them]. This time we were now travelling from Gweru to Matobo National Park via Bulawayo and our drive was pretty smooth.
The easiest route from Bulawayo CBD is to take Robert Mugabe Way, which then later on becomes Matopos Road. From there you just follow Matopos Road which will get you right to the Matobo National Park main entry gate. You will also see some sign posts as you get closer showing you where to turn or alternatively you can just use Google Maps which will make your life easier. The entire road up to the park is tar, as are most of the main roads inside the park. All roads leading off the main roads are dirt so I would recommend a 4 wheel drive for those especially during the wet season. If you are only going to drive on the tarred roads then you may get away with any type of vehicle.
Arrival & experience with the staff members
Upon arrival at the boom gate we were greeted by a Zimparks lady, smartly dressed in her uniform and extremely courteous. Whenever I arrive at a destination, I can’t help but think that these people waiting to welcome us have been doing this probably the entire day. So to see them energised and smiling as if I’m the first client they have seen all day just makes me feel so much respect for them. She asked for information about our booking and she gave us directions to our accommodation which was Rock Lodge No. 15.
The set up at the Zimparks accommodation is one where when you arrive at the lodges, there is another office where you present your information and then get the keys. Unfortunately when we drove in, the lady in the office did not come out to talk to us and the office looked deserted as both the door and windows were closed. So we drove around asking other clients for information on how the check in was done, until eventually we decided to go back and just try our luck with the door. One turn on the handle, the door opened and behind a desk was this bubbly cheerful lady sitting. She welcomed us and she was actually quite friendly lol. I just wish she had come to the door when she heard our vehicle arriving but anyway, the reception we got from that point on was great.
Accommodation, meals & fees
Now that we had our keys, we drove off to the lodge. The first thing that stood out was the rock behind our lodge. I’m a sucker for rocky landscapes hey. Hard to present this as if it’s the gospel but I feel like rocky landscapes are the epitome of nature’s magnificence.
We walked around the lodge headed to the door and I was impressed by the size. Zimparks has always been great with the size of their lodges. I opened the door and as I stepped in my eyeballs were zooming in all directions taking in this modern style renovated lounge/bedroom. I know a renovated lodge is what we had paid for but at the back of my mind I had some reservations, just in case the renovations were not that modern. It was therefore a pleasant surprise to see the lodge in that state and with bright ceramic tiles.
The bed had white clean linen. It seems the linen has seen better days though so it will do with a change. Other than that the bed was pretty comfortable.
Leaning against the wall is a teak headboard and side tables which scream quality and to the left side of the bed a white wardrobe can be seen. Unfortunately the wardrobe is flimsy and the door was broken but loosely attached, as if set up to fall on whoever opens it next. So of course that’s exactly what happened. I had to call my husband to come immediately because it would have just fallen right to the floor had I left it. So he came and screwed it back onto the main body. This wardrobe honestly just looks like it does not belong in this room because the other furniture therein, for example, the gorgeous dining table opposite the bed is also a high quality piece made out of teak. So I don’t know what went wrong with the selection of this wardrobe.
From the dining side of the room, there is an arch which leads into the kitchen. The kitchen is quite spacious with a number of granite countertops which makes it a breeze to work in. There is a four plate stove with a baking oven, a double door upright fridge with freezer and a number of storage cupboards. The kitchen had all the cutlery we needed so that was great. The only thing I didn’t really like about the kitchen is the door that was installed on the arch which is not a suitable design for that arch so it does not open all the way. It would probably have been better to leave that arch open because the door plays no role other than just being an inconvenience.
The bedroom side of the main room leads to the bathroom which has a shower cubicle and toilet. The shower worked perfectly in terms of the nozzle and adjusting the hot and cold water. The lodge has its own geyser which is perfect as you don’t have to worry about other people using up all the hot water before you get a chance to shower. The bathroom floor is tiled and so are the walls. I like the bright colours they chose as they reassure you that all the corners are really clean which they were.
It was unfortunate though that on our second night electricity cut off and it was still off the next morning so the water was lukewarm when we showered. We also couldn’t have a hot breakfast because there was no alternative for cooking such as a gas stove. We saw a gas tank but it did not have a cooker top.
The most painful part is when we were now on our way to explore the park and saw a generator actually being started. It seems like someone decided to sleep a little longer and not switch it on earlier. I don’t see why the generator is not switched on at 5am or at the very least at 6am because when people visit a game park they want to start exploring as early as possible before it gets too hot. So by 8am most nature lovers are already out in the bush which makes turning it on then a bit pointless for the clients.
Another amazing surprise was when the lady at the reception came to our lodge to give us a WiFi password. I was not expecting that at all so huge kudos to Zimparks for moving with time in this department. It is especially a great amenity for a place like Matobo National Park where there is no mobile internet connection. Unfortunately we only managed to use the WiFi the first day after which it stopped working completely. I also don’t know if the WiFi is for all the clients or just those in the renovated lodges so you may want to confirm that when making your booking.
Other accommodation options & fees are shown in the image above which they sent to me. I believe the rate at the time was USD1:630RTGS so you can do the calculation to see roughly how much the different accommodation options cost in USD. Better still you can contact Zimparks Matobo National Park on +263774913109 to get their updated fees.
Activities & fees
1. World’s View tour – $3 per person (allows you entry to Pomongwe Caves)
As with all my trips, my favourite part is exploring the outdoors so I was over the moon when it was time to tour the splendid Matobo National Park. Undoubtedly, we decided to check out World’s view first because honestly that view is just an incredible natural masterpiece. Unfortunately pictures will never do justice to the views, you just have to see them in person to really appreciate how magnificent they are.
Matobo National Park is also a popular destination for historical tourism particularly at the World’s View site. Historical tourism is travelling with the primary purpose of exploring the history of a place. At the World’s View in Matobo National Park is where the remains of Cecil John Rhodes and Leander Starr Jameson lie. These two (under the British South Africa Company) are most infamous for colonising Zimbabwe and Zambia and also for their racially discriminatory views towards the native occupants of the two countries in the early 1890s.
I am not big on historical tourism because I am heavily biassed towards nature and wildlife so I didn’t care about these two men’s graves being there when we were there. However, I do think that it is good that their remains are there as it will serve as a reminder to future generations that we have come from far as a country and what is written in history books is not fictitious but most definitely real.
In addition to these graves, the World’s View also has a memorial wall with the following words inscribed on it, “To brave men.” “To the enduring memory of Allan Wilson and his men whose names are hereon inscribed and who fell in fight against the Matebele on the Shangani River on December the 4th 1893. There was no survivor.” The wall also has depictions of these men on all 4 sides.
While some feel strongly that this wall needs to be taken down because it’s an insult to the Matebele men and black Zimbabweans at large, to me I find the wall to be telling of the kind of men the Matebeles were more than anything in terms of being courageous, strong and victorious. It is inspirational that even though they had to rely mostly on spears and shields while their opponents relied on guns they actually managed to stand their ground during this battle against Allan Wilson and his men and defeated them resoundingly. It does also bring home the reality and trauma of wars and conflict especially to those of us who were born after 1980.
2. Game drive with own vehicle & Maleme Dam visit – no additional charge
The other activity we enjoyed was the game drive, though we were mostly mentally lost in the landscape the entire drive. Maleme Dam is one identifiable part of the landscape that stole my heart upon laying my eyes on. The dam on its own is incredible but add the huge rocks on the other side of the dam wall along the river bed and that combination is mindblowing in person.
The animal species we saw were male and female bushbucks and baboons in abundance. We also came across a tree frog’s nest suspended by grass blades over a pothole filled with water on one of the roads. In these nests are eggs which will drop in water to hatch into tadpoles (young ones of frogs which are fish-like at this larval stage). It is from this point that they then morph into frogs. Unfortunately though, these eggs less likely survived in this pothole for a number of reasons including being crushed by passing vehicles, running out of water due to evaporation, lack of food, among others.
Bushbucks are the smallest antelopes in the category of those which are spiral-horned. Only the males have horns though. In some places they are quite secretive while in other places like Matobo National Park they are chilled and conspicuous. When I was working at a certain game park I would always enjoy observing them in the middle of the night grazing on my lawn even though they are known to be mostly browsers. They feed at night (nocturnal), early morning or late afternoon.
Just as it is with most animal species, once a calf is born, the mother immediately ingest the placenta to prevent predators from picking up and following the scent. Interestingly though, bushbucks tend to hide the calves for the first four months, only visiting them for feeding but also making sure to eat their (the young ones’) dung, again to prevent predators from finding the hidden calf. How incredible is this?!
I love all animals equally but there is something charming about White Rhinos and experiencing them in person that just drives me completely crazy. So whenever I visit a place that has this phenomenal species I cannot leave without seeing it otherwise my heart will not heal from that heartbreak.
I never thought seeing this species would be a problem in Matobo National Park because they had told me that they offer rhino tracking as one of the activities. I was therefore more than willing to spend the $30 on that activity just so we see these beauties without fail. To my dismay, when I enquired about the rhino tracking at the reception the lady was like, “Umm I don’t think that is going to be possible”… WHAT?!…Just like that my world was shattered & the holiday potentially ruined. I don’t know why that was the case for us but I hope that is not the case for all the other visitors.
My husband knew at this point that he had no choice but to come on board with looking for these animals because otherwise the entire trip was going to be hell. So we decided to drive back to the lodge, have lunch and then go out to specifically look for the white rhinos.
On our way to the lodge, out of nowhere, we suddenly see this beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, incredibly remarkable white rhino bull in the middle of the road. OMG! What on Earth… I could not believe my eyes at all but of course this bull was real. The nature gods had just come through for us hey! I felt all kinds of sensations running through my body. The craziest part is that we had actually taken a wrong turn since the initial intent was to go back to the lodge. Oh God I was ecstatic!
We looked at this rhino for almost an hour. I can even feel the excitement I felt then as I type this. That was one of the biggest highlights of that trip for sure and a memory I will forever cherish. The rhino spent some quality time with us before heading for the thick bush where he slowly vanished. I was all smiles that afternoon. Even later when we found out that we had taken the wrong turn, I was just so grateful we did.
Other activities & fees
3. Rhino tracking – $15 per person
4. Pomongwe Caves Tour – $3 per person (allows you entry to World’s View)
5. Balancing Rocks visit – no additional fee
6. Fishing
7. Boating
8. Rock paintings visit – no additional fee
Conclusion
Matobo National Park is one place I can visit over and over again without getting tired or bored. It has so much to offer. I’ve been twice already but I haven’t even managed to explore half of what it has to offer. I had some disappointments here and there as you have read above but nothing bad enough to deter me from visiting again. Every disappointment we encountered can totally be fixed so I do intend to visit again as soon as another opportunity arises and I encourage you to do the same. You will totally love it there.
Remember to have a little intimacy in your life & as always I’m talking about Intimacy With Nature
