Matusadona: A Wilderness Returning

On the southern shores of Lake Kariba, one of Zimbabwe’s great wilderness landscapes is coming back to life – for wildlife, for the communities that live alongside it and for those fortunate enough to experience it. There are places where conservation is largely invisible. It happens quietly in the background, measured in data, patrol hours, research and plans whose results may take years to see. And then there are the moments when all that work suddenly becomes wonderfully tangible. In Matusadona National Park, 2026 has brought two of them. In February, 20 African wild dogs were brought back into a landscape from which they had disappeared for decades. And just four months later, 17 critically endangered black rhino arrived on the shores of Lake Kariba, returning a species that had been absent from Matusadona for more than ten years. Two extraordinary homecomings and perhaps the clearest signs yet of what has been happening quietly, determinedly and largely behind the scenes in this beautiful part of Zimbabwe.

A Wild Place Finding its Feet Again

Stretching across 1,470 square kilometres between Lake Kariba and the rugged Matusadona hills and flanked by the perennial Ume and Sanyati rivers, Matusadona is a landscape of remarkable contrasts. Drive through it and the scenery can change surprisingly quickly. Woodland gives way to river systems and springs, escarpment to open grassland and, eventually, it all comes down to that vast, shimmering lakeshore. It is this diversity that makes Matusadona not only an important ecosystem, but an intriguing place to explore. In 2019, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority entered into a 20-year partnership with African Parks to restore Matusadona.

It became African Parks’ first mandate in Zimbabwe and today the park is managed jointly through the Matusadona Conservation Trust (MCT). The work extends beyond the national park itself into the adjacent Lake Kariba Recreational Park and wider Nyaminyami landscape, nearly 6,000km² in total. Wildlife, after all, takes no notice of boundaries drawn on maps. The ambition is equally extensive – healthy habitats and wildlife populations, stronger protection, opportunities for neighbouring communities and, ultimately, a landscape in which people and nature can thrive together. Almost seven years on, you can increasingly see what that means on the ground.

The Dogs Are Back

Few animals announce the return of a functioning wild landscape quite like African wild dogs. Once part of Matusadona’s predator guild, they had been locally extinct from the park for decades. Then, in February 2026, two established packs – one of 14 dogs, the other six – were released. Their return matters far beyond the thrill of seeing these charismatic animals racing through the bush once more. As endangered apex predators, wild dogs play their part in the complex relationships that keep an ecosystem functioning. Today the packs are being closely monitored as they settle into their new surroundings, with researchers following their movements, social dynamics and adaptation to the park ecology.

In July 2025, 74 buffalo, eland and sable were introduced, building on earlier translocations designed to restore wildlife populations. Pangolin are being researched, rescued and monitored in partnership with the Tikki Hywood Foundation, while collared elephants, buffalo and sable are providing conservationists with important data about how animals are moving through the wider landscape. Encouragingly, historic wildlife corridors beyond Matusadona are still being used. The story, increasingly, is not just about restoring a national park, but reconnecting a much larger wild landscape across the entire Sebungwe region.

And Then Came the Rhino

For all these milestones, one return carries particular emotional weight. Matusadona was once one of Zimbabwe’s great black rhino strongholds. During the devastating poaching crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, surviving rhino were moved into more secure areas and Intensive Protection Zones established around the country. For a while, Matusadona’s population recovered, reaching approximately 45 animals by 2000. But renewed pressure came and the park’s last confirmed black rhino was recorded on a camera trap in 2016. For the first time in millennia, there were no rhino left in Matusadona. So when 17 black rhinos arrived in June 2026, this was a homecoming decades in the making. Bringing them back was never going to be as simple as transporting rhino into a park, though. Matusadona itself first had to be ready. Roads, bridges, communications and staff housing were improved. Park ranger numbers grew from just 27 to 110, supported by a further 25 community scouts operating around the park perimeter. Ecological assessments confirmed that the habitat was still exceptionally well suited to rhino, with abundant browse and more than 70 perennial springs.

Today, each animal carries a tracking device and is closely monitored by dedicated research and field teams. Together, they represent the first phase of a founder population that, it is hoped, will ultimately contribute to Zimbabwe’s wider black rhino metapopulation. A further 25 black rhinos are due to be reintroduced in 2027, bringing the founder population to its intended total of 42. There are statistics that tell a conservation story. And then there is the sight of a black rhino walking through Matusadona again. For John Stevens, safari guide and former Warden of Matusadona National Park, coming across rhino tracks in the sand once again was emotional enough. Following them, and then watching from a respectful distance as a black rhino mother and calf quietly went about their day, was something else altogether. After so many years without them, it was an unforgettable moment and a deeply personal reminder of just how much their return means.

Meet the New Recruits

Of course, bringing wildlife back is only half the story. Keeping it safe is the other. Matusadona’s law enforcement teams operate across formidable terrain, from mountains and woodland to rivers and a considerable aquatic boundary on Lake Kariba. Many rangers are recruited from neighbouring communities and undergo continued training to meet the demands of protecting this enormous landscape. Recently, the team gained two rather energetic new recruits. Vega and Kuda are Belgian Malinois and the founding members of Matusadona’s new K9 Unit, established in partnership with Dogs4Wildlife. Working alongside six dedicated handlers, the dogs have been learning to track across Matusadona’s rugged terrain and will be stationed within the Intensive Protection Zone, adding speed, scent and 2 x 4 very capable legs to the park’s anti-poaching efforts. They will soon be joined by another unlikely trio – three rescue dogs from the Friends Animal Foundation, being trained in specialised cold-scent tracking.

A second chance for the dogs themselves and a new line of defence for the wildlife they will help protect. Elsewhere, the results of protection can sometimes appear in unexpected ways. A Forward Operating Base established by MCT in the Sanyati Gorge helped secure the park’s vulnerable eastern boundary. One consequence is worth highlighting – tigerfish were able to spawn in the gorge, unhindered by illegal nets, for the first time in more than 25 years. Out on Lake Kariba, expanded patrols now cover more than 30% of the lake’s area and illegal fishing incidents have fallen by more than a third in two years. But enforcement alone is not the answer. Alongside it has come another equally important question – how can conservation also work for the people who live in and depend on this landscape?

Beyond the Park Boundary

The future of Matusadona will never be secured by what happens inside the national park alone. Since 2020, MCT has worked alongside Nyaminyami Rural District Council, traditional leaders and neighbouring communities on initiatives ranging from education and human-wildlife conflict to land-use planning and livelihoods. Some interventions are pleasingly practical. Community monitors help respond to human-wildlife conflict. Electric-fenced nutrition gardens help keep elephants out of people’s crops, while solar-powered boreholes provide greater resilience in times of drought. Schools receive literacy resources and bursary support, while wildlife clubs, environmental education programmes and visits to the park are helping children discover the value and excitement of the natural heritage on their doorstep. There are honey, sewing and chicken-production projects, too.

And on Lake Kariba, an interesting model is emerging around sustainable fishing. Legal fishing camps give communities access to protected commercial fishing grounds, while stronger enforcement means less competition from illegal operators. In 2025 alone, 86 permitted fishers at Kings and Msampa Camps harvested more than 300,000 kgs of fish, generating over US$515,000 in combined income. Aquaculture at Msampa is now providing another source of food and income while reducing pressure on wild fish stocks, while solar-powered cold storage at Kings Camp means fishers can preserve their catch for longer and achieve better prices for it. These may not be the conservation stories that make thrilling headlines. But they are certainly the ones on which long-term conservation depends.

Want to See What Restoration Looks Like?

Perhaps one of the best ways to understand what is happening
in Matusadona is simply to come and see it all for yourself. The
park has always had the ingredients of an exceptional safari in the rugged mountains rising above an enormous lake, the dry river beds, floodplains and forests, elephant, lion, leopard and buffalo, almost 400 recorded bird species and the unusual experience of combining days exploring on land with boating and fishing activities. What is exciting, now, is the opportunity to experience all of it and even to get behind the scenes of the conservation story. At Tashinga, set on a scenic peninsula overlooking the lake, visitors can stay at traditional, well serviced campsites, in Matusadona’s tented camp or in self-catering cottages, with wildlife moving freely through the unfenced surroundings.

Days can be spent exploring by vehicle, heading out onto the lake, fishing or birdwatching, while those looking for something more active can embark on a physically rewarding multi-day hiking expedition through the park’s rugged escarpment. There’s also the chance to join a “conservation insights” experience, shaped around whatever is happening in the park at the time. This might mean meeting members of the research team, looking through recent camera-trap images, visiting the rhino and wild dog bomas, or sitting with conservationists as they watch live thermal aerial tracking feeds and follow the newly reintroduced rhino from afar. For those who prefer their wilderness with even fewer neighbours, there are also eight remote wilderness campsites. And then there is Jenje.

Into the Wild at Jenje

From May to October, Jenje Bush Camp is set inland at the confluence of the Jenje and Biriwiri rivers, beneath the shady canopy of a great Natal mahogany. There are just five en-suite tents here, solar-powered lighting and deliberately no Wi-Fi or cellular signal. In front of camp, a dry riverbed and nearby spring draw wildlife through the landscape. Elephants are regular visitors. So, too, is the resident Jenje lion pride, often seeking refuge in the dense bush.

It is intimate, simple and unapologetically wild and is designed for exclusive use – upon entering the camp under a beautifully arched fallen tree, you understand that it’s less about being removed from the landscape than simply feeling a part of it all. There is an important distinction when it comes to tourism in Matusadona. The Tashinga and Jenje camps are operated directly by the park. Staying here, therefore, does more than offer access to Matusadona’s wilderness, as all revenue stays in the park and directly funds conservation, employment and community programmes that are securing its future.

A Wilderness Returning

Perhaps the most exciting thing about Matusadona today is that there is no tidy ending to this story. It is all unfolding right now, right before our very eyes, in its own inimitable way. Wildlife populations are rebuilding. Researchers are discovering more about the movements of elephants, predators, pangolin and other species through the wider ecosystem. Rangers are securing landscapes and waterways. Technology is informing anti-poaching methodology and enhancing security.

Communities are finding new ways to benefit from conservation. Visitor numbers are increasing, too.And, somewhere in this very special part of Zimbabwe, black rhino are roaming once again. Wild dogs are hunting here again, too. The park is finding its balance. For visitors, that makes Matusadona more than simply another extraordinary safari destination. It is a chance to experience a wilderness in the process of becoming whole again – and, simply by coming here to see it all for yourself, you can become part of this incredible story.

From Destination Issue 27