Upon arriving at Buffalo Range airstrip in the late afternoon, I was met by Clive Stockil, founder of the Chilo Gorge Lodge. As my guide for the next few days, Clive was going to introduce me to one of the hidden gems of wildlife safaris – Gonarezhou National Park – with Gonarezhou being the Shangaan community’s name for “the place of the elephants.” And what an introduction! Even getting there is an adventure – because you have to cross the Save River to get to the park – and there isn’t a bridge in sight. Carefully placed wooden tree branches, pushed into the river’s sandy bottom, mark the route across the river. In my view, the rugged utility of the Land Rover is shown at its best when driving across a river.

Passing through the simple gateway, we ventured into what appeared to be dense forest. Unlike most of the safari destinations we visit, Gonarezhou is dominated by several types of woodlands, with occasional thickets and wooded grasslands. The result is that we must slowly explore these diverse habitats and we often rely on the unique skills of our tracker to locate the animals we seek.

I felt a sense of mystery and adventure as we traveled along the dirt tracks and then, turning a corner, we came to the edge of a small rise where, in a distant clearing, I saw the largest herd of African buffalo I’ve ever seen. As I reached for my camera, something must have spooked them, and the herd rushed off into the cover of the forest. Although I love photographing African’s incredible wildlife, there are times – and this was one – when I leave the camera in my bag, relax and enjoy the process of tracking and discovering the animals.

The variety of Gonarezhou’s wildlife is truly amazing. It is virtually the only destination in Zimbabwe where you are likely to find nyala – one of the most beautiful of all the African antelopes. But it is the animals for which this magical place is named that are the true stars of Gonarezhou – the elephants. Recent estimate put the population of these mighty pachyderms at 10,000. These incredible numbers are the direct result of the successful cooperative efforts pioneered by Clive Stockil. It may seem a bit unusual for me to include such a little-known place in my list of bucket list destinations, but I assure you that if you add Gonarezhou to your safari in Zimbabwe, you’ll understand why.

Tom LaRock
Chief Exploration Officer