Matetsi is a village in

Matabeleland North Province Matabeleland North is a province in western Zimbabwe. With a population of 827,645 as of the 2022 census, it is the country's second-least populous province, after Matabeleland South, and the least densely Zimbabwean populated province. Matabele ...

, Zimbabwe, located about 55 km west of

Hwange Hwange, originally known as Wankie, is a town in Zimbabwe, located in Hwange District, in Matabeleland North Province, in northwestern Zimbabwe, close to the international borders with Botswana and Zambia. It lies approximately , by road, sou ...

. The village started as a railway siding and took its name from the nearby Matetsi River, named for the blue-green algae locally called “Matetsi” which is found on rocks in the river. Most of the surrounding land is under forest and the Matetsi Safari Area. The nearest airports are

Victoria Falls Victoria Falls (Lozi language, Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "Thundering Smoke/Smoke that Rises"; Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe), Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River, located on the border betwe ...

(Zimbabwe),

Kasane Kasane is a town in Botswana, close to Africa's 'Four Corners', where the borders of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe almost meet. The town is at the far northeastern corner of Botswana where it serves as the administrative center of the Ch ...

(Botswana), and Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula (Zambia). The Matetsi Safari Area is one of the largest hunting complexes in Zimbabwe, consisting of 7 separate concessions, covering in total. The area reaches from the

Zambezi River The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

in the north to

Hwange National Park Hwange National Park (formerly Wankie Game Reserve) is the largest natural reserve in Zimbabwe. It is around 14,600 sq km in area. It lies in the northwest of the country, just off the main road between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls. The nearest ...

in the south. The Matetsi River flows through its southern section. The safari area is famous for its large population of

Sable antelope The sable antelope (''Hippotragus niger'') is a large antelope which inhabits wooded savanna in East and Southern Africa, from the south of Kenya to South Africa, with a separated population in Angola. Taxonomy The sable antelope shares the genu ...

s. Generally the fauna resembles that of the neighbouring Hwange National Park. The north-eastern section of the safari area comprises the Matetsi Private Game Reserve, a private wildlife concession of which forms a key part of the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. It is bordered by the Zambezi River to the north, the Zambezi National Park to the east, and the Panda-Masuie Forest Reserve, home of the Zimbabwe Elephant Nursery, to the south. Within the reserve, close to the Zambezi River, there is a luxury accommodation called Matetsi Victoria Falls.

References

Populated places in Matabeleland North Province {{Zimbabwe-geo-stub