Gonarezhou National Park in the south-east of Zimbabwe will be closed until the end of February for rehabilitation and maintenance, including roads that were damaged during heavy rains last year.

Camps in the park – Mananga Camps, Chinguli and Chilojo Bushcamp – that closed at the end of November, are scheduled to reopen at the start of April.

The park is managed by the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust, a new model for protected area management drawn up between the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and the Frankfurt Zoological Society.

Gonarezhou is part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which also includes South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Mozambique’s Gaza National Park. GLTP is home to more than 500 species of birds, 147 species of mammals, at least 116 species of reptiles, 34 species of frogs and 49 species of fish.