Lake Chivero Recreational Park
Encyclopedia
Lake Chivero Recreational Park is a protected area around Lake Chivero
within the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Estate.
Flora
Typical of high veld vegetation, the park is dominated by brachystegia woodland/ miombo woodland. Brachystegia and Julbernadaglobiflora with associated trees such as terminalia sericea, parinari curatellifolia and monotes glaber createing enough food for browsers.
Fauna
The animais that are easily sighted in the park are white rhino, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, impala, kudu, waterbuck, tsessebe, ostrich, eland, sable, baboon, monkey, duiker, warthog, bush pig, rock hyrax, scrub hare, spring hare, bush squirrel. The park also has a variety of nocturnals that include civet, genet, black backed jackal, porcupine, slender white tailed mongoose, caracal, pangolin, ant bear, serval, bush baby, night ape and several other species.
There is a great variety of birdlife and for the birdwatcher, the Park is a paradise, Included amongst the several bird species are: African Open Bills, Barbets, Bee-eaters, Buzzards, Coots, Cormorants, Doves, Hamerkops, Jacanas, Kingfisher, Grey Heron, Darter, Goliath Heron, fish Eagle, Gloossy Starling and Lilac-breasted roller.
Geography
The western boundary of the park is the Manyame Range, a line of ironstone
hill
s in which the dam was built. The remainder of the park is rolling granite
countryside, with numerous castle kopjies.
Archaeological
There are several rock painting sites in the park, including one at Bushman's Point, which is readily accessible from a short walk.
Lodges are self catering units that contain bedroom units, lounge and a kitchen. Cutlery and crockery are provided. Presently lodges are only available at the South bank. There are two standard lodges, Sunbird and Stonechat lodges. These are two bed-roomed units. There are 3 exclusive lodges, one located near the tourist office and the other two 1.5 km from the tourist office. Hornbill, the lodge at the tourist office is a two bed-roomed facility. Fish Eagle and Kingfisher lodges are located on a hill 1.5 km from the tourist office. The lodges have a unique view overlooking the plain and lake below. The lodges each have two bedrooms.
There are two types of chalets. Ail chalets have external communal ablution (toilet) blocks. The single chalets are one bed-roomed facilities with a small sitting area. The next level of chalets, are the three roomed ones that boast of two bedrooms, a lounge and a kitchen.
Some of the game was brought in from Lake Kariba during the game rescue operation better known as "Operation Noah".
Hiking
Game walks are conducted at the tourist's chosen time but they must be booked a day before. A guide takes tourists for a walk for at least an hour but no more than five hours a day per group, unless it is an educational tour. It is important to note that prior arrangement is required before this activity can be carried out.
Horse riding
Horse riding is conducted every day except Mondays, which are dipping days. There are two rides which take place per day, one at OSOOhrs to 0930hrs and the other at 1530hrs to 1700hrs. each ride is 11/2 hours long, ail rides are conducted under the guidance of the parks personnel. Horse rides can not be done when it is raining or promising to rain. Charges for the rides and any details on extra rides can be obtained from the tourist office.
Fishing
The main and most sought out activity at the park; fishing is conducted ail year round. There are 5 fishing and picnic sites in the park.
Boating
Recreational boating is permitted on the lake and there are many private boat hire companies.
Lake Chivero
Lake Chivero is a reservoir on the Manyame River. It was formerly called Lake McIlwaine in memory of the late Sir Robert Mcllwaine, a former judge of the High Court and founder of Zimbabwe's soil and water conservation movement...
within the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Estate.
History of the park
The parks was proclaimed as a national park in 1952, and changed to its current status in 1975.FloraFloraFlora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
Typical of high veld vegetation, the park is dominated by brachystegia woodland/ miombo woodland. Brachystegia and Julbernadaglobiflora with associated trees such as terminalia sericea, parinari curatellifolia and monotes glaber createing enough food for browsers.FaunaFaunaFauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
The animais that are easily sighted in the park are white rhino, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, impala, kudu, waterbuck, tsessebe, ostrich, eland, sable, baboon, monkey, duiker, warthog, bush pig, rock hyrax, scrub hare, spring hare, bush squirrel. The park also has a variety of nocturnals that include civet, genet, black backed jackal, porcupine, slender white tailed mongoose, caracal, pangolin, ant bear, serval, bush baby, night ape and several other species.There is a great variety of birdlife and for the birdwatcher, the Park is a paradise, Included amongst the several bird species are: African Open Bills, Barbets, Bee-eaters, Buzzards, Coots, Cormorants, Doves, Hamerkops, Jacanas, Kingfisher, Grey Heron, Darter, Goliath Heron, fish Eagle, Gloossy Starling and Lilac-breasted roller.
GeographyGeographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
and geologyGeologyGeology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
The western boundary of the park is the Manyame Range, a line of ironstoneIronstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
s in which the dam was built. The remainder of the park is rolling granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
countryside, with numerous castle kopjies.
ArchaeologicalArchaeologyArchaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, historicalHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and culturalCultureCulture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
sites
There are several rock painting sites in the park, including one at Bushman's Point, which is readily accessible from a short walk.South Bank (game park)
Facilities at Lake Chivero include lodges, chalets, caravan and picnic sites. Lake Chivero is electrified and the water is drawn from a borehole. Ail lodges and chalets are fitted with outside lighting and clean water at ail units.Lodges are self catering units that contain bedroom units, lounge and a kitchen. Cutlery and crockery are provided. Presently lodges are only available at the South bank. There are two standard lodges, Sunbird and Stonechat lodges. These are two bed-roomed units. There are 3 exclusive lodges, one located near the tourist office and the other two 1.5 km from the tourist office. Hornbill, the lodge at the tourist office is a two bed-roomed facility. Fish Eagle and Kingfisher lodges are located on a hill 1.5 km from the tourist office. The lodges have a unique view overlooking the plain and lake below. The lodges each have two bedrooms.
There are two types of chalets. Ail chalets have external communal ablution (toilet) blocks. The single chalets are one bed-roomed facilities with a small sitting area. The next level of chalets, are the three roomed ones that boast of two bedrooms, a lounge and a kitchen.
North Bank
The Msasa caravan and camping site is situated at the North Bank which is about 29 km from Harare using a separa te entrance. The facilities offer braai stands and an ablution block that includes showers both cold and hot water, firewood is also supplied at the spot.Game viewing
The game park which opened in 1962 occupies around 1 867 hectares which hold a variety of game; most of which was been introduced from the Hwange game reserve.Some of the game was brought in from Lake Kariba during the game rescue operation better known as "Operation Noah".