Matusadona National Park, National park on the southern shore of Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe
Matusadona National Park is a protected area along Lake Kariba that blends shoreline habitats with bushland and rolling hills. The landscape shifts from open grasslands to thicker woodland, with the lake forming a natural boundary on one side of the reserve.
The park was established in 1975 following the creation of Lake Kariba through dam construction in the 1950s. The flooding of this region transformed the landscape and prompted the need to protect wildlife in the newly altered environment.
The park's name comes from the Matuzviadonha Hills, whose name locals gave to the whole reserve. In the dry season African buffalo gather in herds of up to 1,000 along the shoreline, and the district's growing population has led to increasing conflict with elephants, though attitudes toward protecting them remain largely positive.
Visitors reach the park by boat from lakeside access points or by small aircraft to airstrips within the reserve. Most lodges and camps are located near the water, providing direct views of wildlife coming to drink and bathe.
Operation Noah, the rescue of around 7,000 animals as Lake Kariba filled, released many of them in this park; it now holds large populations of nearly all mammal species of the Zambezi valley. In the dry season Cape buffalo gather in herds of up to 1,000 along the shoreline.
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