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The sights and sounds of Haka Game Park

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One gorgeous, sunny afternoon in August, we went for a picnic at Haka Game Park, which is a small reserve just 10 minutes from Harare’s city centre. Haka Game Park is just one of the many family-friendly oases near the capital where visitors and locals alike can enjoy the African bush without needing to do much planning.

One gorgeous, sunny afternoon in August, we went for a picnic at Haka Game Park, which is a small reserve just 10 minutes from Harare’s city centre. Haka Game Park is just one of the many family-friendly oases near the capital where visitors and locals alike can enjoy the African bush without needing to do much planning.

Haka has picnic and braai (barbecue) areas dotted around the park, nestled under trees and around rock formations — all making for wonderfully peaceful spots to spend a few hours. Animals in the park include wildebeest, giraffe, zebra, impala and eland, as well as over 280 species of bird. This means that visitors can walk along the dirt roads and pathways to see plains game without fear of any aggressive animals sneaking up on them in the meantime!

I spent a blissful afternoon catching up with friends in the sunshine, eating under the msasa trees, and admiring the dappled rock formations that I had missed so much living in southern England.

Haka Game Park is situated off the Mutare Road next to Cleveland Dam, and there is also an entrance on Harare Drive. It is signposted from the main road.

When we visited, there were no maps of the park available and no signposts within the park, so if you are meeting friends inside the park, my advice would be to ensure you plan a rendezvous point in advance. There are some basic toilets at some of the picnic spots, but not all of them. Horse rides, fishing and canoeing are available.

Haka is small private reserve, which borders Cleveland Dam, and home to animals such as impala, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe and eland. It is an idyllic little picnic spot and if you are a keen fisherman, it would be possible for you to take a boat onto the dam from the Cleveland Dam entrance, and they also offer canoe trips from that side.

To get to Haka, take the road left off the Mutare Road, after Danhiko (opposite Pick n Pay). You will then see Haka signposted to your left just before you reach the entrance to Cleveland Dam.

In August last year, the game park scooped gold at the Corporate Care Awards during a sunset cocktail party hosted on the game platform at Mukuvisi Woodlands. It was announced the winner of the 2017 Advertising and Publicity Club’s Corporate Care award. The APC which was established in 1963, has given the prestigious award annually to individuals or business enterprises that have shown exceptional.