With an area of 1 225 600 acres, the Gonarezhou National Park is the second largest National Park in Zimbabwe after Hwange National Park. It is situated in the extreme south-east of the country. The name 'Gonarezhou' is said to mean 'the place of the elephant' or 'the horn of the elephant'; the latter is a reference to a ceremonial eland or nyala horn once used in hunting by the Ndau people who occupied the area.
Development in Gonarezhou has so far been minimal except at the two main park headquarters, Chipinda Pools in the north and Mabalabuta in the south. However, it encompasses some of Zimbabwe's finest scenery, holds good populations of most indigenous wildlife and is especially well known for the size of its elephants and for its population of nyala antelopes.
It is divided into three administrative subregions which between them hold a wide range of vegetation types, including mopane, Brachystegia and riverine woodlands and Zimbabwe's only stands of ironwood, Androstachys johnsonii.
The Save subregion, at the northern end of the park, consists mostly of broken granite hills. The Save-Runde junction is one of the most beautiful regions of the park, with extensive riverine woodlands and a dense concentration of nyala. On the Runde, upstream of its confluence with the Save, lie the Chilojo Cliffs. Further upstream, where the Runde is joined by the Nyamasikana River, lies one of the Gonarezhou's best dry-season wildlife areas.
The Runde subregion extends southwards from the Runde across the central part of the park. Much of this area is gently rolling terrain, broken occasionally by mesa-like hills such as Nyamatongwe which rise abruptly from the surrounding mopane scrub and woodland. The region is mainly a rainy-season dispersal area for the park's large mammals.
The southern subregion is named after the Mwenezi River. Buffalo Bend, on the Mwenezi near the Mabalabuta, supports some dense concentrations of wildlife in the dry season. Gonarezhou, pieced together from former hunting areas and tsetse fly corridors, was given National Park status under the Parks and Wild Life Act (1975)
The wildlife and the habitats had suffered severe damage, caused mainly by the methods used to eliminate tsetse fly in the area. By 1970, 55 015 large mammals had been eliminated and stands of riverine woodland and of the rare ironwood species were bulldozed out.
Many of the animals were uncommon species. Some 1 126 hartebeest were shot and there are few, if any, left in the park. Over 450 roan antelopes were killed, and their status is still precarious at around 100 animals. However, although populations of eland, sable and reedbuck are low for a park the size of the Gonarezhou they are growing and buffalo, impala, kudu, giraffe, zebra and hippopotamus are all present in good numbers.
The elephant population in Gonarezhou stands at 7 000 to 8 000 animals. They are culled occasionally to reduce pressures on sensitive habitats (see wildlife management).
The elephant in the Gonarezhou are larger, carry heavier ivory and tend to be more aggressive (because of past harassment) than those in any other Zimbabwean wildlife area. Kabakwe, an elephant bull thought to carry the heaviest ivory of any Zimbabwean elephant, enjoys a unique status; whereas other elephant may legally be shot if they stray into designated hunting areas outside the National Park, Kabakwe has total protection wherever he goes.
Black rhinoceros were reintroduced into the Gonarezhou in the late 1960s and bred to reasonable numbers but they have come under heavy poaching pressure. Poaching has plagued the Gonarezhou for many years.
The park is lightly manned for its size and in earlier times its proximity to the so-called 'Crook's Corner', where three countries meet, enabled poachers such as the legendary 'Bvekenya' Barnard to operate with relative impunity.
Today, much of the poaching originates in Mozambique and concentrates on ivory and rhinoceros horn.
The Gonarezhou may be an historically significant part of Zimbabwe. The Arab traders who occupied the Mozambique coast until their displacement by the Portuguese four hundred years ago may have used the Save as a route for trade with the interior. There are persistent rumours of ancient mooring rings buried in the sands of the Save-Runde junction, and even of 'lost cities' hidden in the vast expanse of bush that covers the region.
The Gonarezhou may soon play a vital role in the economy of south-eastern Zimbabwe in that many surrounding ranches, once used exclusively for cattle ranching, are increasingly being turned over to game ranching. Tourist facilities within the park may also be expanded in future.
At present, there are campsites at Chipinda Pools and along the Runde and lodges and campsites at Mabalabuta. A four-wheel drive vehicle is essential to gain access to the Gonarezhou's main scenic and wildlife areas.