Tashinga Campsite
Serviced campsite with tent hire · Tashinga, park headquarters on the Ume estuary · Matusadona Conservation Trust
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (Conservation Trust)
The main campsite at park headquarters, and in the park's own words currently its only serviced one. Seven pitches look over the lake, with a shared ablution block, drinking water and a wash bay but no laundry service. It is unfenced: elephants are resident, a leopard uses the campsite and hyaenas take what is left out, so bring everything in at night. Carry in, carry out.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Only serviced campsite in the park, lake views from every pitch
- Hot showers, flush toilets and reverse-osmosis drinking water on site
- Equipped tents with beds and linen available to hire
- At park headquarters, close to reception, the shop and harbour
Cons
- Unfenced: elephants, a leopard and hyaenas visit the campsite at night
- No laundry service; carry everything in and carry it out
- 2026 camping rate not published; last published rate dates to 2023
What's here
- Campsite
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
- Boat trips
- Guided walks
- Fishing
Read from Tashinga Campsite's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Matusadona National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryThe trust's conservation levy for an international adult.
- $30per person, per day
- VehicleForeign-registered car or 4x4, per day.
- $5per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $195 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
The ZimParks 2026 gazette gives $24 for an international adult, not $30. We use the trust's levy because that is what operators pass on in 2026. Confirm with reservations.matusadona@africanparks.org.
The full fee schedule for Matusadona National ParkRates at Tashinga Campsite
2026 rate not published. The trust has not published 2026 camping rates. Its 2023 schedule charged foreign visitors $10 per person per night and Africa and Zimbabwe residents $5, with equipped tents at $30 per tent per night. Ask the reservations office for the current figure.
Self-catering. You cook. Nothing else is included unless the entry says so.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Indicative rates read in September 2026 from each property's own website or rate sheet, and where noted from an agent or the VisitKariba directory. Watch the basis: lodges quote per person per night, houseboats per boat per night, and several Kariba town places per room or per unit. Park fees are extra almost everywhere, at $30 per international adult per day on the trust's levy, and houseboats add their own park and lake charges.
Questions about Tashinga Campsite
Is Tashinga Campsite good for families?
The trust's site was blocked when we checked, so we could not confirm a child policy for Tashinga; ask when you book. It is unfenced, with resident elephants, a leopard that uses the campsite and hyaenas that take food left out, so supervise children closely and bring everything inside overnight.
Can you self-drive to Tashinga Campsite?
Yes. Tashinga sits at Matusadona's park headquarters on the Ume estuary, reached by the park's own road network, and it also has its own 700-metre airstrip for fly-in guests. It is the main gateway into the park, with reception, the shop and the harbour close by.
What does a night at Tashinga Campsite include?
The site fee covers a pitch with lake views, a shared ablution block with hot showers and flush toilets, and reverse-osmosis drinking water, but no laundry. It is self-catering, though equipped tents with beds and linen can be hired, and reception sells firewood and ice.
How much does it cost to stay at Tashinga Campsite?
The trust has not published a 2026 rate. Its 2023 schedule charged foreign visitors $10 per person a night and Africa and Zimbabwe residents $5, with equipped tents at $30 a tent a night. Ask the reservations office for the current figure before you book.