Kazuma Pan National Park

• likelyRoan, sable and tsessebeThe open grassland of the Kazuma Depression. ZimParks' plan says plains game numbers go up and down but singles out the Corner Pan area for some spectacular sightings, and it treats roan, sable and tsessebe as priority species here. All yearsource
• likelyEland, zebra and wildebeestThe open plains, with the Corner Pan area the one ZimParks picks out. Numbers go up and down from year to year. All yearsource
• likelyElephantAt the four pumped pans (Eland, Roan, Insiza and Kazuma Corner) and crossing the depression. The last survey ZimParks quotes put about 148 elephants in the Kazuma block, which takes in the park and the forest next door, and the plan expects water in the pans to change how many come and where they go. All yearsource
• likelyGiraffeThe long grass around the depression. A family who came in through Pandamatenga in their 2025 winter holiday saw them moving through it alongside herds of grazing antelope. All yearsource
• likelyWaterfowlThe main Kazuma Depression and its smaller satellite pans, which flood to about 16 square kilometres at their peak. ZimParks calls the park famous for its birdlife and says the flooded pans hold huge flocks of waterfowl. Only when the depression holds water, in and just after the rains. In most years it dries out completely, and ZimParks says road access limits wet season visitssource
• likelyLappet-faced vultureNesting in the park. ZimParks lists Kazuma as an important vulture nesting site, mainly lappet-faced, and worries about disturbance from tourism, so give an occupied nest a wide berth. All yearsource
• possibleOribi and southern reedbuckThe short grass of the depression edge. ZimParks calls oribi and reedbuck key grassland species and says oribi habitat needs special attention. The tented camp on the depression lists oribi among its regular sightings, but it is small and easy to miss. All yearsource
• possibleLionFollowing the buffalo around the pans. ZimParks says they are present but possibly affected by hunting in the areas around the park. All yearsource
• possibleCape buffaloAround the pans and the Kasetsheti River, the only natural permanent water in the park. ZimParks calls them seasonal visitors rather than residents. One guide says herds of up to 2,000 have been reported, but that is not something to bank on. Seasonalsource
• possibleCheetahThe open grassland. ZimParks says a population resident in the wider area moves through the park, and the unfenced tented camp on the depression lists cheetah among its regular sightings. All yearsource
• possibleBrown hyenaThe plains around the depression. ZimParks names hyena, especially brown, among the park's key predators, and the tented camp on the eastern edge of the depression lists brown hyena as a regular sighting. All year, mostly after darksource
• rareLeopardThe woodland on the Kalahari Sands rather than the open plains. ZimParks says present in low numbers. All yearsource
• rareAfrican wild dogPassing through. One guide says you may see them with luck, and ZimParks does not list them among the park's main species. All yearsource
• rareGemsbokAn occasional wanderer from the Botswana side. ZimParks says it is not known when one was last seen, so treat gemsbok as history rather than a target. No patternsource

Likelihood is for a normal visit of two or three days, from the sources linked. Nothing is guaranteed in the wild.

Malaria

The park sits at about 1,000 m, below the 1,200 m line UK travel health advice uses for Zimbabwe, so it rates as high risk from November to June and low risk from July to October. Tablets are advised for the high-risk months, and bite avoidance and awareness for the rest. In practice a travel clinic may say repellent and long sleeves at dusk are enough for a dry season trip, but anyone here from November onwards should be on tablets. Any symptom that could be malaria, up to a year after you get home, needs a doctor the same day. source

Unfenced camps and big game

Treat Insiza, Kasetsheti and Corner Pan as open to animals. ZimParks says most of its camps are not fenced, that wildlife moves freely through them, and that guests should keep doors and windows closed. Keep children within reach after dark, keep food locked in the vehicle, and do not walk out to the pan at night to see what is drinking. The UK Foreign Office notes that animal attacks have injured and killed visitors in Zimbabwe. source

The closed season

Kazuma is a dry season park. The Bhejane Trust map carries a warning that it is shut in the rains because of seasonal flooding, and ZimParks' own plan describes a short season with limited access during the rains and access roads that are a problem whenever it rains. The closure dates differ by source (the Trust's 2021 map says November to April, Wild Zambezi says January to April, one guide says January and February), so ask ZimParks or the Trust about road conditions before you set off from October onwards. source

The Botswana border track

The western boundary is the Botswana line, marked by steel markers and no fence, and a track runs along it. Two tracks in fact: the wide cutline on the far side of the markers is Hunters Road, which is in Botswana, and the narrow winding track is Zimbabwe. Stay on the Zimbabwean one. Drift onto the cutline and you have left the country without passing a border post. source

Remoteness

ZimParks counts around 20 visitors a month here, and one guide says only two groups are let in at a time, so you can go a long while without seeing another vehicle. Mobile signal is sporadic at best. The park has nine staff and one pickup, which is sometimes away on other duties, and the headquarters has a satellite internet link, which makes it the one place to raise help. source

Main roads to and from the park

The UK Foreign Office advice for Zimbabwe applies on the tar from Victoria Falls or Bulawayo: stop at every police roadblock and toll gate, ask for a receipt if you pay a fine, and do not drive outside towns at night because of deep potholes, stray livestock and vehicles with no lights. ZimParks' plan says both access routes to the park, through Matetsi and from the Victoria Falls airport side, are generally in poor condition and a problem when it rains. source

• Check in at the ZimParks office in the Matetsi Safari Area before you go in, even if you plan to drive on through Pandamatenga. Matetsi is 25 km of gravel off the Bulawayo to Victoria Falls road; Pandamatenga is another 39 km on, with a police check-in at the border post, and the park is about 25 km north-west of there. Entering via Kazungula is not allowed. one source
• Bring all your water. ZimParks' own plan says Insiza has no water for visitors and the borehole at Kasetsheti camp is not working (the river is the only supply there). Corner Pan is the exception, with a good borehole and, according to a 2026 trip report, water and a shower, but carry enough for the whole stay and treat anything you find on site as a bonus. official
• Corner Pan is the camp to ask for. ZimParks calls it a game changer for the park: roofed and raised, with storage, parking and flush toilets, built with the Bhejane Trust beside a pumped pan with good water. Insiza has little shade and Kasetsheti is in poor condition, and ZimParks says both were only ever used because there was nothing else. The platform was still being built in 2022 and ZimParks expects it to be over-subscribed once fully open, so book well ahead through the ZimParks office in Victoria Falls, which handles Kazuma bookings and fees. official
• Download the Bhejane Trust road map and directions before you go and do not trust the GPS alone. ZimParks' own plan calls the internal roads poor and badly signposted, and says they have to be opened each year with the Trust's help. The Trust's game count map has a grid on one side and a species table on the other; fill it in with what you saw and send a scan back to the Trust. one source
• Fill the tank in Victoria Falls and carry a reserve. Even the park headquarters brings its fuel in from Victoria Falls in 200 litre drums, and overlanders on this route have warned that fuel can be scarce in Zimbabwe. one source
• Come in the late dry season, August to November, when water is scarce and game and birds gather at the pans. The park sits on a corridor animals use between Chobe in Botswana and Hwange. The trade-off is heat: ZimParks' climate data puts the hottest months at October and November, while winter nights can fall below 6°C, so pack for both if you are in a roof tent. one source

Checked 19 October 2026. Conditions change, so confirm with the park or venue before you go.