Health and safety
Health, malaria and safety in Matobo National Park
Matobo is high, dry for half the year and close to a city, which makes it one of the gentler parks in the region on the health front. The real hazards are underfoot: wet granite, bare rock in October heat, and winter nights colder than most visitors pack for.
If you only want the answer
Malaria risk around Bulawayo and most of Matabeleland South is described as low, but take advice from a travel clinic and use repellent in the wet season. Do not swim in the dams, which should be assumed to carry bilharzia. Wear shoes with grip on the granite, carry water on every walk, and pack warm layers for June to August nights. Bulawayo is the nearest city.
Malaria: low risk, still worth advice
Secondary sources describe malaria risk around Bulawayo and most of Matabeleland South as low to negligible. A review of cases between 2011 and 2015 found fewer than one per thousand people a year in every district of the province except Beitbridge and Gwanda. The CDC's Zimbabwe page was not available when we checked, so we cannot quote its current recommendation.
Take advice from a travel clinic before you go, especially if you are combining Matobo with Hwange or the Zambezi valley, and use repellent in the wet season.
Source for the district figures: PubMed 29615043. We have not found a Matobo-specific malaria advisory.
Water: stay out of the dams
Maleme, Mpopoma and the other dams look inviting on a hot afternoon. Assume they carry bilharzia and do not swim in them. We have not found a Matobo-specific study that confirms it, but the risk is common in still water across the region and the cost of guessing wrong is high.
Granite, heat and cold
ZimParks lists slippery rocks among its cautions, and the domes are at their most dangerous just after rain, when a film of water turns smooth granite into glass. Wear shoes with real grip and keep off steep wet rock.
October is the hottest month, averaging about 30°C in the park and higher still on bare rock, which radiates the heat back up at you. Walk at first light and carry more water than you think you need.
Winter goes the other way. June to August nights fall to near freezing, and Bulawayo has recorded minus 3.9°C. ZimParks' own list for visitors includes a sleeping bag, and campers need a good one.
What to bring, according to ZimParks
- Enough food for your stay; Maleme has only a small shop.
- A first-aid kit with antihistamines, plasters, arnica and antiseptic.
- A torch and binoculars.
- Walking or hiking shoes.
- Warm clothing from April to August, especially for the evenings; light clothing and a sunhat from September to March.
- Clothes in earthy colours: ZimParks asks visitors to avoid red, yellow and bright green.
Sacred sites and rock art
Parts of the hills are places of worship. Follow any instruction from custodians, never enter the Njelele shrine enclosure without the custodian, and do not photograph ceremonies without permission. The August pilgrimage, which lasts about three weeks, is a particularly sensitive time.
Do not touch, wet or trace rock paintings. The linseed-oil damage at Pomongwe shows how well-meant preservation by visitors destroys art.
Roads, crime and cash
The UK Foreign Office's general advice for Zimbabwe applies here: petty crime in city centres after dark, no driving at night outside towns, stop at police roadblocks and ask for a receipt for any fine, carry cash because card acceptance is inconsistent, and expect fuel supply to be unreliable at times. Photography is illegal at airports and government and military sites, which is not an issue in the park itself.
Maleme reception has wifi and satellite television, according to lodge research. We have not verified mobile coverage elsewhere in the park, so tell someone your plans before a long walk.