The Mabalauta section in the far south of Gonarezhou is a separate world from the Chilojo Cliffs and Chipinda Pools. Here the landscape is dominated by the Mwenezi River — a broader, slower waterway than the Runde — and the extraordinary baobab woodland that fills the valley. Swimuwini rest camp, the main accommodation in this sector, sits on a bluff overlooking a bend in the Mwenezi known as Buffalo Bend, where buffalo herds of several hundred can congregate during the dry season.
The baobabs here are enormous and ancient, their bark silver-grey and smooth, and they give the landscape a quality unlike anything else in the park. At dawn, when low mist sits in the river valley and the light comes in sideways through the baobab groves, this is one of the most atmospheric places in Zimbabwe. Elephant are abundant in this sector, as are lion and leopard, but the wildlife is less concentrated than in the northern areas around the Runde.
Mabalauta is accessed via Rutenga on the Beitbridge–Chiredzi road, about 667 km south of Harare — a full day's drive. It is administered separately from the northern sector, and permits for one area do not cover the other without additional payment. Swimuwini rest camp has basic chalets and a campsite, both unfenced. Booking through ZimParks in advance is essential in peak season (July–October).