Self-Drive Zimbabwe: Potholes, Tolls, Roadblocks and Park Rules

Zimbabwe is not Botswana. There is no deep sand, and every big park can be reached on tar or decent gravel. What catches people is the tar itself: some is brand new, some has been chewed up by haulage trucks and neglect, and the two swap within a kilometre.

The main roads, one by one

Harare to Victoria Falls through Bulawayo. 430 km to Bulawayo on the A5, five to six hours of tar busy with trucks. Then about 440 km to the Falls on the worst main road in the country. The rebuild started on 1 October 2025 in eight contracts of about 51 km each and was meant to finish around August 2026. It didn’t: in August 2026 CITE reported a go-slow, about 57 km done, and a senator telling Parliament that motorists were suffering. Fill up in Bulawayo, leave at first light and treat it as a full day. Expect coal lorries around Hwange town.

Harare to Kariba and Mana Pools. Tar all the way, 361 km to Kariba through Chinhoyi and Makuti, about five hours when the road is good. It isn’t, everywhere. A 2023 road report calls Harare to Chinhoyi (Sinoia) good wide tar, Chinhoyi to Karoi moderate, and Karoi to Marongora bad, potholed with eroded edges that drop you below 80 km/h. Marongora down to Chirundu is the exception, modern tar. The full Harare to Chirundu rebuild was due to start in August or September 2026.

Beitbridge to Harare. The 580 km rebuild through Masvingo had 550 km open by April 2026, the last 30 km mostly interchanges around Harare. It is a premium toll road, so US$4 a plaza.

Harare to Mutare and the Eastern Highlands. 271 km through Marondera and Rusape, rehabilitated tar in good to moderate shape, Christmas Pass into Mutare (Umtali) dualised. Allow three to four hours to the Eastern Highlands towns.

Masvingo to Gonarezhou. Masvingo (Fort Victoria) to Ngundu is the rebuilt Beitbridge road, then Ngundu to Chiredzi is moderate wide tar shared with sugar cane trucks. From Chiredzi, Chipinda Pools is 55.6 km, turning south off the A10 at 17.8 km, about an hour. Mabalauta, in the south of the park, is 111 km from the Beitbridge to Masvingo road via Chikombedzi, turning off at Mwenezi.

Where a 4x4 earns its keep

Hwange does not need one in the dry months: the ZimParks camps and most park roads take a high-clearance two-wheel-drive except at the height of the rains, and Main Camp is 23 km of tar from the Cross Mabale turn-off. Robins Camp is the awkward one. It is 64 km from the Pandamatenga turn-off on dirt that turns to mud in the rains, and the Great Zimbabwe Guide says the laterite stretch wants a 4x4. It recommends one for the whole park from December to March too. Gate times are in the Hwange gate times guide.

Mana Pools is different. ZimParks requires a high-clearance vehicle because of the roads in and tells self-drivers to bring recovery gear, and the Chitake Springs sites are 4x4 only.

Gonarezhou sits between the two. The Conservation Trust says a high-clearance two-wheel-drive manages most of the park in the dry season except the river crossings, recommends a high-clearance 4x4 wherever possible, and wants two vehicles and recovery gear for the remote areas and sand rivers. Crossing the Runde is a 4x4 job, full stop.

When the Zambezi Valley shuts

Mana Pools has no published closing date. Rain falls from early November to the end of April, most roads inside the park close for that period, and the camps reopen once the airstrips have been cleared. In 2026 it was worse: on 26 March ZimParks said rain had destroyed part of the Rukomechi Bridge and damaged the road just after the Runese River crossing, and told self-drivers to stay away until further notice. Lodge guests were driving to Chirundu and going in by boat instead. For Mana early in the season, ring ZimParks central reservations the week before you leave.

Gonarezhou publishes its date: the whole park closes to tourists from 10 January to 1 March, and the remote camps shut from late November to March or April.

What ZimParks lets a self-driver do

Hwange: daylight only, stay on the roads and in the vehicle, no motorbikes. From Main Camp you may not leave for Sinamatella after 14:00 or Robins after 12:00, and a ZimParks booking needs you checked in by 17:30 or it can go to someone else.

Mana Pools: buy the permit at the Marongora office on the escarpment before you descend (or at Chirundu if you come from the border); without it the Nyakasikana gate sends you back up the hill. Be in camp from 18:00 (May to July) or 18:30 (August to October) until 06:00. No night driving, no spotlights, no fuel or shop inside; the last pump is at Karoi, 177 km before Nyamepi.

The money, from the ZimParks 2026 tariff, last checked 18 October 2026: a foreign-registered car, pickup or 4x4 pays US$10 a day as a day visitor and US$3 a day if you sleep in the park. The conservation fee for an international adult is US$24 a day at Hwange and Mana Pools (US$12 at Hwange if you stay inside) and US$30 at Gonarezhou (US$20 staying inside, car US$5 or US$2 whatever its plates). Bring US dollar cash; card and mobile money at Marongora and Nyamepi are unreliable. The full tables are on the Hwange, Mana Pools and Gonarezhou park pages.

Tolls

ZINARA runs 29 toll plazas. Since 28 October 2024 a car pays US$4 on the two premium roads, Harare to Beitbridge and Plumtree to Mutare, and US$3 everywhere else; a minibus US$6 or US$5; motorcycles free. Plumtree to Mutare runs through Bulawayo and Harare, so the five plazas between those two cities cost US$20 each way. ZINARA prices every class in dollars and ZiG, and a booth may have no change, so keep US$1 and US$5 notes handy. Last checked 18 October 2026.

Roadblocks and what the police look for

A December 2017 police memo banned spot fines and limited roadblocks to one in 100 km, and a South African driver in 2023 was waved through at least half of them, the rest asking only his destination and the car’s import permit. Canada says on-the-spot fines are illegal, so ask for a ticket; the UK says stop at every one and get a receipt if you do pay. Keep copies of your passport photo page and visa in the car. If the President’s motorcade comes through, pull off the road; carrying on is illegal.

What gets checked is equipment. The regulations want two red warning triangles (a second pair if towing), a serviceable fire extinguisher, two white reflectors on the front and two red on the rear in honeycomb or diamond grade, a side strip down each side if car and trailer exceed 8 m, white and red T-signs on a trailer, and a serviceable spare wheel, jack and wheel spanner. Nothing requires a reflective vest in a private car, though South Africa’s Cross-Border Road Transport Agency lists one as recommended. Its fine table puts no triangles at US$15, a missing reflector at US$5 and no driving licence at US$20.

The new radio licence mostly isn’t your problem. Since the Broadcasting Services Amendment Act of 2025 a Zimbabwean motorist pays ZBC US$23 a quarter before ZINARA will licence the car or an insurer will cover it. A foreign car is licensed at home, and the Act lets ZBC exempt tourists. Keep the insurance reciept from the border handy anyway.

Fuel

ZERA publishes the pump price in dollars. On 9 October 2026 blended petrol (E20) was US$2.05 a litre and diesel US$2.04, last checked 18 October 2026. The UK government warns that fuel is sometimes unavailable and queues form, so top up whenever you can and carry cash for when the card machine is down. There is no fuel in Mana Pools, so fill at Karoi; Gonarezhou has no shops, and Chiredzi, an hour from Chipinda Pools, is where you stock up. Hwange Main Camp had fuel when the Great Zimbabwe Guide drove through in 2016, but its current advice is to fill up in Bulawayo or Victoria Falls.

Night, animals and speed

Do not drive between towns after dark: potholes, unlit roads and vehicles, pedestrians and animals on the main roads, say Canada and the UK. Between Hwange and Victoria Falls the animals are elephants. In April 2022 a bus hit a herd about 35 km outside the Falls, near the Mbizha turn-off, just after 05:00 and killed three; a truck killed two at night near Sinamatella in December 2020. Dawn and dusk there are elephant hours.

Limits are 60 km/h in towns, 100 km/h on untarred roads and 120 km/h on tar unless a sign says lower. Speeding fines in the CBRTA table run from US$5 for 6 to 15 km/h over to US$20 for 36 to 50 over; at more than 50 over you go to court. A UK licence is good for 12 months; Canada says carry an International Driving Permit and a copy of your vehicle clearance certificate. Visa and passport rules are in the entry requirements guide.

Bringing a car from South Africa or Botswana

The Temporary Import Permit (TIP) costs nothing to issue, and you can apply on ZIMRA’s eTIP portal before you reach Beitbridge or Plumtree. Bring the original registration book, a letter of authority or affidavit from the owner if the car is not yours, and a police clearance certificate for the vehicle, which ZIMRA lists for everyone except Mozambicans. At the border you pay third-party insurance of US$30 a month and carbon tax of US$10 a month, for every month you stay. The US$10 road access fee that ZIMRA’s pages still list was removed by Statutory Instrument 113 of 2026, gazetted on 24 July 2026, as the Herald reported; if a counter asks for it, ask which instrument they are collecting under. Private cars need no Commercial Vehicle Guarantee. Last checked 18 October 2026.

A hire car needs the rental company’s letter of authority with the car’s engine and VIN numbers and the country you are entering. Ask for it when you book, and ask the company to show you the triangles, extinguisher and reflectors before you drive off. Report any breakdown or accident to the nearest ZIMRA office before you leave Zimbabwe, or the car can be seized.

How long the legs take

Leg	Distance	Allow
Harare to Bulawayo	430 km	5 to 6 hours, five tolls
Bulawayo to Hwange Main Camp	306 km (283 km to Cross Mabale, then 23 km)	most of a day on the broken road
Bulawayo to Victoria Falls	about 440 km	a full day until the rebuild is done
Harare to Kariba	361 km	5 hours, slower past Karoi
Harare to Masvingo	322 km	3.5 hours
Harare to Mutare	271 km	3 to 4 hours
Harare to Gonarezhou	480 km	7 hours via Masvingo and Chiredzi

Never plan to reach a park gate after 17:00. Places to stay along the way are on the town pages, from Bulawayo and Masvingo to Kariba and Victoria Falls.