A wildlife area of 12 000 acres on the north bank contains many large mammals, 12 species of which have been reintroduced. They include nyala, giraffe, tsessebe and a population of white rhinoceros. Most of the wildlife area is covered by Brachystegia woodlands and grasslands but Acacia species are encroaching on some areas of red loam soils in the north.
Lying 19.8 miles east of Masvingo, on the Masvingo-Birchenough Bridge road, the wildlife area provides camping and caravanning sites and lodges for visitors and offers horseback and foot safaris. Proclaimed a Game Reserve in 1961, Kyle Recreational Park achieved its present status under the Parks and Wild Life Act (1975).