ZimParks outlying campsites
Basic campsites · Toghwana (east), Mtshelele (south), Mesilume (west of Maleme), Sandy Spruit (north) · ZimParks
A drawing, because nobody has sent us a photograph of ZimParks outlying campsites yet. Send five and this page changes the same week.
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (ZimParks)
A handful of small ZimParks campsites away from the Maleme hub, with basic shared ablutions. Two further sites, Arboretum and Lake Matopos, are named in one older guide and could not be confirmed as still in use.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Quieter than the main Maleme camp
- The $10 sleeping-inside entry rate still applies here
- Four different corners of the park to choose from
- Basic shared ablutions, but you get the park to yourself
Cons
- No 2026 rate is published for these sites specifically
- Toghwana may need a 4x4 in the wet season
- Just basic shared ablutions, nothing more
- ZimParks' own website gives no detail on these specific sites
What's here
- Campsite
Read from ZimParks outlying campsites'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 for guests sleeping inside the park.
- $10per person, per day
- VehicleForeign-registered vehicle, at the staying-inside rate.
- $3per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $69 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Sleeping inside the boundary is what keeps that low. $10 if you sleep inside the park, against $18 a day for anyone driving in from outside.
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 ZimParks outlying campsites
No 2026 rate published. The 2026 ZimParks tariff has no separate line for these sites. They may fall under the Maleme camping rate of $12 per person, but ZimParks does not say so. Confirm the price when you book.
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 ZimParks outlying campsites
Are the ZimParks outlying campsites good for families?
We found no published minimum age for these sites, and ZimParks' own website gives no further detail on them beyond their names and locations. They are more basic than Maleme, with shared ablutions only, so a family used to simple camping would manage, but confirm facilities directly before booking.
How much do the ZimParks outlying campsites cost?
The 2026 ZimParks tariff has no separate price line for Toghwana, Mtshelele, Mesilume or Sandy Spruit. They may be charged at the Maleme camping rate of $12 a person, but ZimParks does not say so in writing, so confirm the exact price when you book.
Can you self-drive to the ZimParks outlying campsites?
Yes, each sits in a different part of the park, Toghwana east, Mtshelele south, Mesilume west of Maleme and Sandy Spruit north, reached on the park's internal roads. Toghwana may need a four-wheel drive in the wet season; there is no airstrip at any of them.
How do you book the ZimParks outlying campsites?
Book through ZimParks at info@zimparks.org.zw or +263 242 707625, and confirm the price before you travel since the current tariff does not list one for these specific sites. Two further sites named in an older guide, Arboretum and Lake Matopos, could not be confirmed as still in use.