Matusadona National Park
The mighty Zambezi river flows along the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. After crashing over the Victoria Falls the river winds its way down to Lake Kariba, one of the biggest man-made lakes on earth. The Kariba dam wall was constructed in 1958 at the Kariba gorge as a hydroelectricity scheme which supplies power to Zimbabwe and Zambia. The Zambezi River took 5 years to fill the lake and in 1963 it had reached its peak. Today it gives life to thousands of people and provides a haven for an amazing array of wildlife.
The most famous of the wildlife areas in the Matusadona National Park. Set on the shores of Lake Kariba where large concentrations come to the lake shore to drink the cool waters and feed on the grass plains that surround the lake. The Matusadona mountain range in the background provides a sanctuary for wildlife during the heat of the day. It derived its name from the word ‘Matuzviadonha’ which simply means ‘falling dung’ which is reference to the seeing elephant dung rolling down steep hills in the park. Matusadona has a great combination of floodplains and mountains making the landscape wonderfully scenic and rugged at the same time.
If relaxing while watching spectacular sunsets is your thing, then visiting Lake Kariba is an opportunity not to be missed.