Camping
Camping in Matusadona
Camping here is run by the park itself, through the Matusadona Conservation Trust, not by ZimParks. There is one serviced campsite at Tashinga, a private site beside it, and eight wilderness sites across the park with nothing at all.
If you only want the answer
Tashinga Campsite at park headquarters is the only serviced campsite: seven pitches with lake views, hot showers, flush toilets and drinking water, with tents to hire. The eight wilderness campsites have no facilities and you must be fully self-sufficient. No 2026 camping rates are published; the last schedule (2023) charged foreign visitors $10 per person per night at Tashinga and $20 at a wilderness site. Book with the trust at reservations.matusadona@africanparks.org.
Tashinga Campsite
Tashinga is the park's headquarters on a peninsula at the Ume estuary, and its campsite is, in the park's words, currently the only serviced campsite in Matusadona. There are seven pitches with lake views, a shared ablution block with hot showers and flush toilets, reverse-osmosis drinking water and a wash bay, but no laundry service. Tents with beds and linen can be hired, and firewood and ice are sold at reception.
It is unfenced. Elephants are resident, a leopard is known to use the campsite and hyaenas and monkeys will take what you leave out, so bring everything in at night and seal your food. Tracks4Africa's advice is worth repeating: do not walk to the ablutions alone after dark; drive instead.
Next to it is Fig Tree Campsite, a private site within Tashinga. The park describes it with a kitchen and central tented living area, but a Kariba agent reported in December 2025 that the kitchen and gazebo were to be pulled down on 1 January 2026. Ask the trust what is standing before you book it.
The wilderness campsites
Eight wilderness sites spread across the park, each with no infrastructure at all. You bring everything and take everything out. The park sends an Avenza map with directions when you book. Its information pack said basic ablutions were planned at the start of 2026; we could not confirm whether they have been built.
The park names the sites as Jenje Wilderness Platform, Hogwe River, View Point on the edge of the 600 m escarpment, Bonde in the north with lake views, Maronga at the Ume mouth, Shenga Wilderness, Mhukadzapera and Matandare, the southernmost, near the entrance. They welcome all ages, but the park is blunt that Matusadona is predator-dense and children must be supervised at all times.
What it costs
No official 2026 price for camping, tent hire or the wilderness sites is published anywhere we could reach. The figures below are the trust's 2023 schedule, shown so you know the order of magnitude, not as a quote. Tracks4Africa reported somewhat higher figures in January 2024.
| Item | Foreign visitor | Africa and Zimbabwe residents |
|---|---|---|
| Tashinga Campsite, adult, per night | $10 (2023) | $5 (2023) |
| Tashinga Campsite, child 6 to 12 | $5 (2023) | $2.50 (2023) |
| Equipped safari tent hire, per tent | $30 (2023) | $30 (2023) |
| Wilderness campsite, adult, per night | $20 (2023) | $10 (2023) |
| Wilderness campsite, child 6 to 12 | $10 (2023) | $5 (2023) |
On top of camping you pay the conservation fee for each day, $30 for an international adult per operators' 2026 rate sheets, and $5 a day for a foreign-registered vehicle. See the entry fees page for both fee systems.
Old ZimParks camps you may read about
Older guides describe ZimParks lodges at Tashinga and exclusive camps at Sanyati, Changachirere, Ume, Mbalabala, Muuyu and Kautsiga. That is the inventory from before the trust took over in 2019. None of them appears in the 2026 gazette, the park's information pack or its accommodation pages, so we do not list them as bookable.
How to book
Book with the Matusadona Conservation Trust's reservations office: reservations.matusadona@africanparks.org or +263 78 677 4616. The park says WhatsApp works best because the signal is intermittent. ZimParks head office does not handle Matusadona bookings.
Practicalities: carry in, carry out. Buy firewood at reception rather than collecting it, and make fires only where they are allowed. The camp taps run lake water, which is not drinkable.
Something this page does not answer?
The trust has not published 2026 camping rates, so the only certain figure is the one its reservations office gives you.
Ask us. We answer questions about the park itself, and we can usually tell you which camps work on one route and who to write to. If what you want is a trip someone else arranges, we will say so and hand you to an operator we know, and we earn a commission if that becomes a booking.
Nothing on this site sits behind the form. Every figure we have is already on the page.