Gorongosa National Park opens for 2021 season. |
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Gorongosa Park is now open for visitors from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Early season activities are well underway and include:
- Guided safari drives
- Walking safaris
- Tours of Gorongosa Mountain and the Our Gorongosa Coffee project
- Cycling tours and community visits
- Boat and canoe tours of Lake Urema
- Birding adventures
Guests who dream of sleeping under Africa's magnificent night sky should consider the Park's popular Fly Camp Adventure (meals included). Overnight stays are also available at the legendary Chitengo Camp for visitors who prefer to self-cater.
Located in the southern end of the Great Rift Valley, Gorongosa Park is home to a wide range of animals including antelope, lions, hippos, elephants, leopards and African painted wolves. Lake Urema and its lush, surrounding wetlands serve as home to one of the world's largest nesting sites of water birds on the continent, attracting vast numbers of birds in a spectacular show of color.
Proceeds from park visits create local jobs, build schools and support education, healthcare and training programs.
Reservations for day trips and overnight stays are required. Visitors must wear masks and follow all safety protocols. Contact us at safari@gorongosa.net for details.
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Gorongosa leopard, painted wolf populations continue to grow. |
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Three new leopards and two packs of wild dogs were translocated to Gorongosa National Park this spring.
Two males and one female were added to the Park's recovering leopard population in April. Rescued from unprotected areas where they were facing persecution, the big cats were translocated from South Africa to the Park by air and released into 400,000 hectares of fever tree and palm forests, rivers, lagoons, and a lush floodplain.
In March, the Endangered Wildlife Trust relocated two new groups of painted wolves from South Africa to Gorongosa Park. The group included males from Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park and females from Lapalala Game Reserve. Two of the males once ruled one of South Africa’s most successful packs and were joined by an all-female team of buffalo hunters. The painted wolves were named by the Gorongosa Girls Clubs the day before their release.
We are grateful to our painted wolf and leopard recovery partners: Mozambique's Administração Nacional das Áreas de Conservação, the Endangered Wildlife Trust, KZN Wildlife, The Bateleurs, Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency, Wildlifevets SA, Natura, USAID - US Agency for International Development, the Oak Foundation, and the Pilatus Center SA.
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2020 aerial wildlife count shows rising populations for buffalo, hippopotamus and elephant. |
Gorongosa Park's buffalo herds are getting larger and spreading across the whole Rift Valley. According the latest 2020 Gorongosa Aerial Wildlife Survey, the current buffalo count has reached more than 1,200.
The 2020 aerial survey also uncovered more than 2,700 crocodiles, the highest count yet, and the highest number of hippo (750) since their decline during the Mozambican Civil War.
Scientists also suspect the true elephant count is reaching 1,000.
Students enrolled in the Park's Masters in Conservation Biology program all participate in aerial wildlife counts as part of their training.
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Mozambican PhD candidate Dominique Gonçalves (left) and Dr. Ken Tinley (right) exchange ideas about the Gorongosa ecosystem in Perth, Australia, October 2018.
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Montane to Mangrove - History informs the future.
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Dr. Ken Tinley’s doctoral thesis - Montane to Mangrove - Framework of the Gorongosa Ecosystem - is a stunning, 364-page historic document that describes the Gorongosa ecosystem in amazing detail.
Hundreds of beautiful, hand-drawn maps outlining the local geology, soils, hydrology, climate and wildlife grace the book's pages – all completed prior to the existence of the personal computer, GPS, digital photography, drones and the Internet.
Ken, his spouse Lynne Tinley, and their two small children lived in Chitengo Camp from 1968 to 1973. Lynne’s art is included in the thesis and in her own book, Drawn from the Plains, which is about living in Gorongosa Park’s headquarters for five years.
“Dr. Tinley’s masterpiece is an incredible document written by an incredible hand,” writes Gorongosa Restoration Project President Greg Carr.
Mr. Carr wrote the forward for the book, recently re-printed in Africa Geographic magazine.
First published in 1977 and again in 2020 by Hamilton-Fynch of South Africa, Montane to Mangrove is available for purchase for $150 USD plus shipping. For a copy, email Megan Carolla at megancarolla@gmail.com.
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Five new primary schools pilot Gorongosa Clubs for boys and girls.
Primary schools in the Mozambican communities of Nhamissongora, Matacamachaua, Madzimachena, Nhambita and Samora Machel are piloting Gorongosa Clubs designed to keep children in school and provide them with the skills and abilities to become future conservation leaders.
The pilot program includes administrative support for principals and teachers, training in active and participatory education methods, and infrastructure improvements designed to make the schools more comfortable for girls and boys.
Gorongosa Clubs are co-managed by the Gorongosa District Government, local school councils, ZIP coordinators and the Gorongosa National Park education team.
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