Ngezi Recreational Park

Ngezi is a lake first and a game park a distant second. In 1945 a wall went across the narrow gorge where the Ngezi River cuts through the Great Dyke, to supply water to the power station at Munyati, and ZimParks now runs the 58 km² around it as a recreational park. About a tenth of it is water. Wooded Dyke hills rise to the west, msasa and marsh run down to the shore, and hippo grunt all night. Treat it as a quiet stop, not a safari.

Getting there

ZimParks puts the park 151 km from Harare off the Bulawayo highway. The usual route turns off at the Selous roundabout on the A5 and follows the Ngezi Mine road, which the Zimbabwe Field Guide says is excellent as far as the mine thanks to Zimplats. After that comes a gravel detour around the mine, then a crossing of the Dyke, and the guide’s route log reaches the gate at 96.4 km. From the Masvingo side the same guide measures from Featherstone police station, 105.2 km to the entrance. There is no fuel, food or mechanic in the park, so fill up and shop in Chegutu, Kwekwe or Beatrice. Roadblocks and tolls on the A5 are covered in our self-drive guide.

When to go

ZimParks splits the year into a hot summer, September to March, and a cooler stretch from April to August when nights get properly cold. Fishing is best in summer. The rains also bring the one bit of spectacle: when the lake is full, water pours over the dam wall as a waterfall.

What to do

Fish, mostly. Bass, bream and tiger fish come out from the bank or a boat, and power boats are allowed, but the Field Guide warns of rocks when the level drops. The wildlife is modest: waterbuck on the marshy banks, banded mongoose, vervet monkeys and baboons used to people, plus crocodiles along the shore. Most visitors work at the Ngezi platinum mine (mined since 2002) and come out at weekends to fish and braai, so a weekday visit should be quieter.

Good to know

You sleep in one of four self-catering ZimParks lodges (each takes four, with bedding, fridge and hot water), or at the campsites on points around the lake. Sources disagree on how many campsites there are (the Field Guide says 25, The Herald 12), and most have only toilets; the Quarry site and the caravan site at Mitchell’s Point have proper ablutions. Bring all your food. Keep well back from the water’s edge and the dam wall, because of crocodiles and hippo. If you are breaking the drive north, overlanders also look at Sebakwe and Antelope Park.

Last updated 19 October 2026. Sources: ZimParks, Ngezi Recreational Park (151 km from Harare off the Bulawayo highway, 58 km², lake about 10% of the park, built 1945 for the Munyati power station, Great Dyke gorge, msasa plains and marsh, crocodiles, hippos, dam wall, summer September to March, winter April to August), Zimbabwe Field Guide, Ngezi Recreational Park (6,326 ha, route from the Selous roundabout past Ngezi Mine with gravel detour and entrance at 96.4 km on its route log, route from Featherstone police station on the Masvingo road at 105.2 km, four self-contained lodges for four with bedding, fridge and hot water, 25 campsites at Mitchell's, Storey's, Hammond's and Ventura's Points, Quarry site and caravan site ablutions, bass, bream and tiger fish best in summer, power boats and rocks, waterbuck, banded mongoose, vervet monkeys, mine workers at weekends, supplies from Kwekwe, Chegutu and Beatrice), The Herald, Enjoy nature's endless generosity and elegance (15 November 2024; Mhondoro, 12 campsites, ZimParks self-catering lodges, waterfall over the dam wall in the rains, hippo heard all night and territorial fights, waterbuck on the marshy banks, baboons and monkeys used to visitors), Wikipedia, Great Dyke (about 550 km long, 3 to 12 km wide, platinum mined at Ngezi Mine south of Selous by Zimplats), Zimplats, History (Ngezi open pit established 2002, underground development from 2003), SA 4x4 Community forum, Gweru accommodation (May 2017; Ngezi listed with Sebakwe and other Midlands stops as alternatives to Antelope Park).