To Chizarira NP

When we left Mana Pools, we drove back to Karoi and wanted to refuel there one last time. A full tank with Jerrycans should bring us to the Namibian border without any problems. Once again, we had no problems at all. We refueled a total of five times and never had problems finding a gas station that supplied us with diesel. Our way now led us on a bad road towards Binga. More or less along Lake Kariba to Chizarira NP, which we wanted to visit on our way to Hwange NP.

We were getting a bit exhausted and a bit ‘wildlife tired’ and wanted to visit the park to enjoy a magnificent view and relax a bit. In fact, that’s what we did. The road along the various Tonga villages was getting worse. We managed the almost 300 km long distance in a little more than 5.5 hours driving time. Chizarira NP is decaying – that is for sure after crossing the better part of the park.

There is a lot of work to do, and we were not ready to stay on the booked campsites. The two campsites Mucheni View and Mucheni Gorges are wonderful places with fantastic views. We enjoyed just standing there for two nights and doing nothing. If you can live with that, you will like the park. Those who expect wildlife and infrastructure will be disappointed. There is a lot to do and the chance of anything happening is low.

Heading to Hwange NP

Heading to Hwange NP we visited Richard and his wife, operators of Maapwe Bay Campsite. They both know Al and Gail well, and they are the same type of people – warm and friendly. We enjoyed a night with them and can highly recommend this campsite. It is located right at Lake Kariba, is equipped with a high standard and if you want you can also book a boat cruise on the lake.

They didn’t have much time for us because they were getting ready to explore Matusadona NP the next morning with a guest (someone from Tracks4Africa) and to get their overview again to be able to give serious information in case of questions from guests. We relaxed, booked a boat trip and enjoyed the campfire in the evening before we left early the next morning to start our last days in a NP with regular game drives.