Lake Kariba is a huge reservoir on the Zambezi between Zimbabwe and Zambia, and Matusadona National Park runs along its southern shore. Days mix boat trips, fishing for tigerfish and game drives, and the park is in the middle of a recovery that brought back wild dogs and black rhino in 2026.
Lake Kariba formed behind the Kariba Dam and filled between 1958 and 1963. It runs for more than 220 km along the Zambia–Zimbabwe border, covers about 5,580 km², and by volume is the largest man-made reservoir in the world. The town of Kariba sits by the dam at the eastern end.
Matusadona National Park, about 1,470 km², lies on the southern shore between the Ume and Sanyati Rivers, with lakeshore grassland rising to an escarpment. Since 2019 it has been managed by African Parks in partnership with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority under a 20-year agreement.
Elephant and buffalo graze the shoreline grasslands, and the park has lion, leopard, waterbuck, zebra, impala, kudu and plenty of hippos and crocodiles, with nearly 400 bird species. Recent releases have filled some gaps: 74 buffalo, eland and sable in July 2025, twenty wild dogs in February 2026 and black rhino in June 2026.
The lake shapes the days here. You can take sunrise and sunset cruises, fish for tigerfish on a catch-and-release basis, and spend a night on a boat, alongside game drives and guided walks. It is a slower, more scenic stop than the big wildlife parks.
As elsewhere in Zimbabwe, the dry months from about May to October are best for wildlife. October and November are hot. Roads into Matusadona close in the rainy season.
Most visitors fly in by light aircraft. From Bumi Hills airstrip the flights take about 1 hour 40 minutes from Victoria Falls, 1 hour 30 minutes from Harare or Hwange, and 30 minutes from Mana Pools. Boats also link the park with Bumi Hills and Kariba town. Two or three nights is about right.
The lodge we use sits on a private conservancy next to the park, high enough to look over the lake.
African Bush Camps' lodge on a ridge above the lake, with ten suites, a villa for families and groups, and a boat that can be booked for an overnight trip. From September 2026 it also runs rhino activities in Matusadona.
Kariba fits best between Mana Pools, a 30-minute flight away, and Hwange or Victoria Falls. It works as a rest stop on the water in the middle of a longer safari.
Mammals
Birdlife
Fish
Reptiles
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