Big Cave Campsite and huts
Campsite and Ndebele-style huts · About 2 km from the park boundary, own gate · Big Cave (family-owned)
Budget
Outside the gate
Owner/family-run
Big Cave's campsite, about 2 km from the park boundary: pitches with their own 220-volt point and solar backup, free wifi, braai with firewood, a bar and a laundry area, plus five simple huts on shared ablutions. You pay the park fee only on the days you drive into the park.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Power and water at every pitch
- No park fee needed just to reach the campsite
- A bar and laundry on site
- A 15kg bag of firewood included with your braai
- Just 2km from the park boundary, with its own gate
Cons
- Shared ablutions for the five simple huts
- A well-maintained jeep track, but 3km off the main road
- You still pay the park fee on any day you drive in
- Self-catering only; bring and cook your own food
What's here
- Wi-Fi
- Bar
- Campsite
- Solar or 24h power
- Self-catering
- Laundry
Read from Big Cave Campsite and huts's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Matobo National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryThe ZimParks rate if you drive in from outside.
- $18per person, per day
- VehicleForeign-registered car, $10 a day visiting and $3 staying inside; a Zimbabwe-registered hire car pays $5 and $2.
- $10per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $138 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
World's View and the painted caves need a separate NMMZ ticket, $10 per non-resident adult, which is not included in these sums.
The full fee schedule for Matobo National ParkRates at Big Cave Campsite and huts
From $18 per person camping. 2026 rates from the lodge's own site: camping $18 per person per night, half price for under-12s; huts $45 per hut per night, sleeping two. The site states that no park fee is needed to reach the campsite.
Self-catering. You cook. Nothing else is included unless the entry says so.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked in September 2026. Where a lodge publishes its own rate we use it, with its date; for Amalinda, Big Cave and Shashani, which do not print rates on their own sites, the figure comes from a named reseller or agent and says so. The price filter and sort use per-person rates only; lodges that price per room or per unit show their rate in the text but carry no sortable figure. ZimParks entry is extra almost everywhere: $18 per international adult per day driving in, $10 sleeping inside, and the NMMZ ticket for World's View and the caves is $10 on top.
Questions about Big Cave Campsite and huts
Is Big Cave Campsite good for families?
Yes on price: children under 12 pay half the $18 per-person camping rate. We found no published minimum age for children generally, so ask when you book, especially if you plan to drive into the park itself, which has its own entry rules for children.
Do you need to pay park entry to stay at Big Cave Campsite?
No, not to reach the campsite itself. It sits about 2 km from the park boundary with its own gate, and the lodge's own site states no park fee is needed to get there. You pay the park entry fee only on the days you actually drive into Matobo.
What does the rate at Big Cave Campsite include?
Camping is $18 a person, half price for under-12s, and includes a 220-volt power point with solar backup, a water point, free wifi and a private braai area with a 15kg bag of firewood. Huts are $45 a night for two, on shared ablutions. It is self-catering, so you bring your own food.
Can you self-drive to Big Cave Campsite?
Yes. It is reached by a well-maintained jeep track about 3 km off the main road, with a separate gate sized for large vehicles, so an ordinary car manages the approach even though the wider Big Cave property needs a 4x4 for the lodge side.
How do you book Big Cave Campsite?
Book through the Nightsbridge system linked from the lodge's own site, or email reservations@bigcavematopos.com. Visa and Mastercard are accepted. There are five huts, each sleeping two, plus open camping pitches, so confirm hut availability separately from a camping pitch.