Save–Runde Junction

Zimbabwe's lowest point and one of its finest birding locations, where two great rivers merge in a palm-fringed floodplain

Where the Runde River finally meets the Save, the landscape opens into something different from the rest of Gonarezhou — a broad floodplain interspersed with lily-covered pans, groves of stately old baobabs, and stands of mahogany, ironwood, and winterthorn. This is the lowest point in Zimbabwe, and the flat, well-watered terrain supports a different assemblage of wildlife and birds from the mopane and sandstone country upstream.

The Tembwehata and Machaniwa pans, both classed as Important Birding Areas, sit close to the confluence and retain water even in the driest years. Pel's fishing owl hunts the riverine forest here; African skimmer nests on exposed sandbars in season; yellow-billed storks, open-billed storks, and spoonbills feed in the shallows. With over 400 species recorded in the park overall, this corner accounts for a disproportionate share of the rare and localised ones.

This is the most remote part of Gonarezhou and requires a full day's drive from Chipinda Pools. The tracks in this section deteriorate quickly after rain, and the river crossings can become impassable from December to April. Even in the dry season, a second vehicle is strongly recommended. The isolation is the point — you may not see another vehicle all day.

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A story
The Save–Runde confluence marks the lowest point in Zimbabwe at 162 metres above sea level. The same waters that flow through this junction eventually reach the Mozambique Channel at the Indian Ocean coast. Historically, the convergence was a key crossing point for wildlife migrations between the lowveld and the Mozambique coast — migrations that were disrupted for decades by the civil war across the border but have gradually resumed since the 1990s.

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