-The tribal people who used to live in Gonarezhou before it was taken over for national park land are called the Shangani. Efforts have been made to get the land back to its previous caretakers. Arguments against allowing the people back on the land are that tourism and space for wildlife needs to be promoted, as the droughts that occur five out of seven years make the last almost impossible to live upon. Arguments for allowing people back on include the viewpoint that tribal people like the Shangani know how to live on the land because their ancestors have developed sustainable lifestyles there for thousands of years. The longer they are off the land, the sooner this cultural knowledge dies.
-The village closest to our entrance to the park is called Chikombedzi. Known for its poverty, the Shangani people that live there have little economy. Much of the isolated village consists of living space for people under tarps and blankets.
-Though the park does not have one of Africa's most endangered animals,
the rhino, it does have another. Packs of painted dogs roam the land in
small numbers. Counting efforts used to monitor these populations have
dwindled over the last ten years, though the animals are occasionally
found.
-The park at one time had prison locations within it. This is because
the land is so hard to survive upon that no one in their right mind
would try to leave the walls in escape.
-Not one road goes all the way through Gonarezhou from the south to the north or from the east to the west. This meant that if we wanted to see the famous Chilojo Cliffs on the other side of the park, we had to travel about eight hours out of the park before getting a road that would lead back in. Examples like this mean the park is extremely hard to manage.