Gonarezhou National Park

Infobox_protected_area | name = Gonarezhou National Park
iucn_category = II

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caption = Buffalo Bend on the Mwenezi River, Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe
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location = Chiredzi (District), Zimbabwe.
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area = 5,053 km²
established = 1975
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Gonarezhou National Park is a game reserve in south-eastern Zimbabwe. It is situated in a relatively remote corner of Masvingo Province, south of Chimanimani along the Mozambique border. The park is a lowveldt region of baobabs, scrublands and sandstone cliffs.

At 5,053 km² Gonarezhou is the country’s second largest game reserve after Hwange National Park. Gonarezhou is a Shona name meaning "place of elephants."

The park is divided into two regions: the Save/Runde area in the north-east and Mwenezi in the south-west.

It forms part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Gonarezhou with the Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique. Animals can move freely between the three sanctuaries.

History

The Gonarezhou National Park was formed in 1975, by uniting former hunting areas and
tsetse fly control corridors.

The park was closed to the public during the Rhodesian War and again during much of the Mozambique civil war but was re-opened in 1994.

Accommodation

* Swimuwini Rest Camp - managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Authority, this is self-catering accommodation on the Mwenezi River
* Mahenye Safari Lodge - a group of Shangaan-style thatched lodges in a riverine forest on an island in the Save River.
* Senuko Safari Lodge - meaning "the place where animals drink" in Shangaan
* Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge