Matusadona Wilderness Campsites
Wilderness camping, no facilities · Eight sites across the park · Matusadona Conservation Trust
A drawing, because nobody has sent us a photograph of Matusadona Wilderness Campsites yet. Send five and this page changes the same week.
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (Conservation Trust)
Eight sites spread across the park: Jenje Wilderness Platform, Hogwe River, View Point on the edge of the 600 m escarpment, Bonde with lake views, Maronga at the Ume mouth, Shenga Wilderness, Mhukadzapera and Matandare near the entrance. There is no infrastructure at all. Basic ablutions were planned for the start of 2026; we could not confirm them. All ages are welcome, but the park stresses that children must be supervised at all times.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Eight remote sites, including one on a 600-metre escarpment edge
- An Avenza map with directions sent once you book
- No neighbours: fully self-sufficient wilderness camping
- Open to all ages, unlike the fully inclusive bush camp
Cons
- No infrastructure at all; basic ablutions were only planned for 2026
- No airstrip nearby; self-drive access only
- 2026 rate not published; 2023 schedule was $20pppn foreign
- Children must be supervised at all times, the park stresses
What's here
- Campsite
Read from Matusadona Wilderness Campsites'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 Matusadona Wilderness Campsites
2026 rate not published. No 2026 rate is published. The trust's 2023 schedule charged foreign adults $20 per person per night and Africa and Zimbabwe residents $10.
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 Matusadona Wilderness Campsites
What facilities do the Matusadona wilderness campsites have?
None beyond the site itself. The eight sites, including Jenje Wilderness Platform, View Point on the 600-metre escarpment edge and Bonde on the lakeshore, have no infrastructure. Basic ablutions were planned for early 2026, but we could not confirm whether they were built, so arrive fully self-sufficient with water, fuel and food.
Can you self-drive to the Matusadona wilderness campsites?
Yes, and you need to: there is no airstrip nearby, so self-drive is the only way in. The park sends an Avenza map with directions once you book one of the eight sites, which are spread across the park from the Ume mouth to the escarpment edge.
Are the Matusadona wilderness campsites good for families?
All ages are welcome, but the park stresses that children must be supervised at all times. These are unfenced, unserviced sites with no infrastructure, so it suits families comfortable with proper bush camping rather than a first safari with young children.
How much do the Matusadona wilderness campsites cost?
No 2026 rate is published. The trust's 2023 schedule charged foreign adults $20 per person a night and Africa and Zimbabwe residents $10. Ask the reservations office for the current figure, and book early enough to get the Avenza map with directions to your chosen site.