For those who really want to get off the beaten track and focus on tranquillity, wildlife, birds and the wilderness as a whole, Gonarezhou National Park is the area to visit. Located in Zimbabwe’s south eastern sector, sharing borders with South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park, Gonarezhou is now part of a wilderness region known as the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. Gonarezhou translates as “place of many elephants”, and has been named aptly! The national park is quite tricky to get to as it is well off the beaten track, therefore, it remains a pristine and wild wilderness area, great for the seasoned safari-goer who is after something a bit different and is not put off by the fact that the reserve does not hold the ‘Big Five’.

Gonarezhou is diverse in its topography from open plains, mighty rivers, cliffs and gorges and is abundant in natural beauty. The stunning Chilojo Cliffs have been carved from centuries of erosion of the red sandstone rock face. The park has three rivers: Save, Runde and Mwenezi, making birding prolific in the area, as well as wildlife in general as the game is drawn to the water. Big cats, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and other antelope species may be found in the reserve, in addition to nyala and suni.