Anyone been to Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique?

[Ozymandias]

So after years and years of park development work, Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park finally opened its doors to tourists on 15 April 2023. I'll be heading up there in a few weeks. Anyone been? Or got any recommendations for other stuff to see in and around the Beira / Chimoio area? We will have our own 4x4. I will be sure to report back with some images upon our return (we're also gonna try and climb the tallest mountain in Mozambique, Mt Binga, right on the border with Zimbabwe).

Gorongosa National Park (GNP) in Mozambique is perhaps Africa’s greatest wildlife restoration story. In 2008, the Government of Mozambique and the Carr Foundation formed the “Gorongosa Project”, a 20-year Public-Private Partnership for the joint management of the Park and for human development in the communities near the Park. On June 7th 2018, the Government of Mozambique signed an extension of the management agreement of Gorongosa National Park for another 25 years.

https://gorongosa.org/

[Darcy]

Sounds awesome! I lived in Southern Tanzania for a number of years, spent some time in Northern Mozambique, mostly Mocimboa da Praia and North. Lots of hippos in the Rovuma River. Never got any farther South. Bailed some local friends out of that border crossing too....

[Darcy]

You're probably well aware things have heated up around my old thrashing grounds, generally more to the North of your planned activity:

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11864

https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2022/09/01/mozambiques-resilient-jihadists

I hear rumbliings of activity in Cabo Delgado, and Wagner has been pretty active as well:

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2022/02/08/russias-wagner-group-in-africa-influence-commercial-concessions-rights-violations-and-counterinsurgency-failure/

I was in Mtwara for some serious riots; watched youth running around with masks and guns, some grenades and a few killed, had our vehicle run down but we bust through, then hiding out and hoped they didn't target our accommodations, but it was all pre-Al Shabab troubles. I put a little of it in my first novel. Ran into some serious Al Shabab trouble in Northern Kenya a few years later. Those un-registered white King Airs....