Antelope Park

On the negative side: We received a haughty (quite rude really for the hospitality industry) welcome from the receptionist at Antelope Park. We stayed in an Island Lodge which is the most expensive accommodation on offer. We could see that it was once lovely but it looked tired and grubby. The mats were filthy and the mat next to my bed had a wet patch on it which I hope was water. The river view was completely obscured by bull rushes. We left a day early and stayed the night in Bulawayo instead! On the positive side: our waitress at dinner was very friendly and we were surprised to find that the bar stocked our favourite white wine, Seasalter. We had great sightings of Galago on the way to and from dinner and the sunrise horse riding with Ted was lovely. We would only go back as a stopover if we were camping!

I was extremely disappointed with how the manager, Lizzie, handled the technical issue that occurred during my stay at Antelope Park. It left me with the impression that the focus of the park is solely on profitability, even at the expense of providing satisfactory services and addressing urgent customer concerns and that you are only happy and satisfied at antelope park as long as no urgent technical issues arise. My mother and I arrived at Antelope Park on December 20th 2023, looking forward to a special stay and spoiling her after a long year. Initially, I had booked a standard room for $25, but upon realizing that the toilets and showers were outside, I decided to upgrade to a river tent for $130 to ensure more comfort. On the night of the 21st, I discovered that the check-out time was 10 am, which posed a problem since we had a scheduled lion encounter activity on the 22nd that would go beyond 10 am. I called the reception to request an extension, but they were unable to grant one. However, they allowed us to leave our bags in a designated area until we finished our activities, which I appreciated. Later that night, around 11 pm, we were disturbed by a loud and unusual noise coming from the toilet. It was so loud that it could be heard even from outside the room. I immediately called the emergency number provided, but the first number went unanswered. When I called the second number, the security guard, Eddie, answered and came to investigate. He realized that the issue required a plumber, who would only be available the next morning with the necessary parts. He left with the sound still on and came back later with the plumber, who said the issue could not be fixed until the next morning when he gets the damaged parts. He suggested we use the bin, fetch water from the sink and fill the toilet tank in order to use the toilet. We had to use the room bin to flash the toilet. In the meantime, the plumber suggested using a bin to flush the toilet by fetching water from the sink. Throughout the night and in the morning, we had to use this makeshift method repeatedly until the issue could be resolved. Although the plumber temporarily fixed the noise issue around 1:30 am, it returned shortly after he left. At around 3 am, I called the emergency number again to inquire about moving to another room, as the noise persisted. The security guard arrived later with keys and said there was an available room, but my mother, who had managed to sleep through the noise, felt it was too late to move at that hour with our bags she said it was too late to move at 3am with bags, try to sleep again yet waking up at 6am to prepare for breakfast and checking out. I spoke to the security guard, informing him that we would discuss the issue later that morning as I wanted my mother to rest. Upon checking out before 10 am, I reminded the receptionist that we had left our bags in the room for collection after our activities, as previously discussed. I also inquired

You can come to Antelope Park as a Volunteer or as a Tourist. We came as tourists It is a magical setting, with the main lodge looking out over a lake. But maintenance is poor - see other reviews below My feeling is that they were badly hit by Covid and finances have not recovered. Be that as it may, I was disturbed by the "feeding of the lions" - mangy lions in a zoo line enclosure. One could not but feel sorry for the lions in this small enclosure The park also hosts camping for long distance camping lorries for backpackers - who fill the pool area. The pool itself is not well maintained Bottom line is, if you want to see lions, then see them somewhere else, where they are in the wild. As far as I could tell from questioning staff, no lions from here have been released into the wild for many years. You do not have to travel to Africa to see lions being fed in a zoo

My friend and I went here on a working holiday and it was the most amazing experience which fully lived up to my expectations and I will definitely leave a bit of my heart here! All the staff at the park were very friendly and knowledgable, they just want to ensure you have the best experience. They work very hard to ensure the people and animals are all well looked after. There are a variety of horses you can ride, at different levels but they are mainly rescues so don’t expect perfect riding school horses or 5* accommodation - if you want that stay in England or pay a fortune for a posh safari! It is important to remember you are staying in a developing country with people who care deeply about the animals and are doing their bit for conservation - volunteering here is really the best way to get up close and personal with local people and the animals. The rhino tracking experience and ancient cave paintings at Motopas Park was a really interesting addition to my stay and I’d totally recommend. I also got the chance to take part in the community projects run by Antelope Park and it was an incredibly humbling experience! Another huge positive was the other volunteers - we’ve made new friends for life and I hope we’ll be back next year!

I wouldn't waste your time, we ended up cutting our stay from 2 nights to 1. The lodges looked beautiful from the outside but the inside was incredibly disappointing. The toilets haven't been updated in decades, they look like someonthing out of a horror movie, thank goodness for the outside shower as the baths are honestly disgusting. The lodge had a fireplace but we were told we couldn't use it as we had not pre-ordered firewood, however this was not mentioned when we were booking the day before. Surely if they knew we were coming, they should have prepared for that?? Food was very mediocre, dinner was tasteless, breakfast was slightly better but nothing to write home about which is annoying considering each dinner was an extra $20 per person and breakfast was $15 per person. The saving grace was the guides and experts on the elephant encounter and game drive. Had it not been for their knowledge and service, this review would have been one star. However, all the activities being finished by 4pm means at nighttime you are essentially just burning money as there's nothing else to do and the park is a 6km rough journey for the main road making exploring the area very difficult.

Fabulous life long memories! Wonderful place but remember if you book as a Volunteer this is a WORKING holiday. It is a brilliant way to get fully involved and a proper ‘hands on’ experience! Yes, the facilities are not 5 star or 1st class but the staff (without exception) are very welcoming and friendly and the whole point of the park is to help and preserve conservation of Zimbabwe. We had a brilliant time and would recommend to anyone wanting the full experience.

This was the most amazing experience ever!! All the staff are super friendly and so kind, always trying to help. The horses were lovely and there was a huge range of activities to do with them and all the other wildlife around the reserve. There were lots of optional excursions on and off site that were all fab! 100% would recommend a visit - I already want to go back!

15 - 20 Minutes from Gweru CBD Activities available ✔️Elephant Encounter ✔️Lion Viewing/Feeding ✔️Game Drive ✔️Horse Riding ✔️Canoing ✔️Snake Induction ✔️Bush Walk ✔️Bird Viewing With affordable accommodation and numerous activities @antelopepark is definitely worth the visit

I came to Antelope Park after finishing uni and wanting to see Africa and have an amazing break away with my friend and that's exactly what I got and more. I had the most amazing 2weeks as a vol at Antelope Park, met some incredible people. The horses, wildlife and experiences were everything I hoped for and so much more, I didn't want to go home. Dani, Amber, Willem and Flick were all amazing, made us feel welcome from the start, catered to all our abilities and what we wanted to do. All the staff at AP were friendly and bubbly, made us feel like a close little family. Don't hesitate to go if you're thinking about it. Best thing I've ever done!