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Note: this post is two years late! Our visit was August 2022, but I had written about 80% of this shortly after our visit and I occasionally get some friendly nudges to finish the blog. Here goes…

Today we’d finally go to Mana Pools, one of the most famous parks in Africa. From Warthogs campsite in Kariba town, we hit the road with great anticipation. Mana Pools awaited, where you can walk without a guide, where the great albida trees provide that iconic canopy, where bull elephants stand on their hind legs to reach the tastiest morsels and home to the wildest campsite in Southern Africa, Chitake Springs.

First things first, we headed to take a peak at the Kariba Dam and then off to the grocery store in Kariba. After six nights in the bush, it was time to top up on the provisions. At this well-stocked market, as in Victoria Falls, a local swooped in to pay for our groceries with their debit card in local currency. We paid them in USD cash to take advantage of the better exchange rate*. To find this service, we just asked the cashier at the checkout, and she waved him over without a word. 

*Note that in April 2024, Zimbabwe introduced a new currency (another one!), the ZiG. Rumor has it that the gap between the official and black market rates is quite close, and thus, it is no longer worth it for locals to take advantage of the price difference and pay for groceries on a local card. 

Leaving town, we topped up on diesel and wound our way up the escarpment and through the Charara Safari area, a hunting concession. This winding and scenic road is good tar all the way to the A1 junction. 

Checking in to Mana Pools

Checking in at Mana Pools is a little convoluted, but the short version is you have to check in three times. First, at the Marongora office, alongside the A1, then at Chimutsi Gate, just after turning off the tar and lastly at Nyakasikana Gate. Here a left turn leads to Nyamepi and the main part of the park along the river, a right turn takes you to Chitake Springs. Full notes in the Nitty Gritty.

Though you’re technically inside the park boundary before Nyakansikana, the gate is where the park rules are posted, and it feels like you are entering properly. The corrugations are consequential here, but driving through the miombo woodland was wonderful. Dappled shade through tall mopane trees set the scene as we rolled to the riverfront.

The main part of the park is often referred to as ‘the floodplain.’ The mopane trees and jesse bush thin out to a grassy plain, and in the final approach, this gives way to a forest of albida trees (aka ana, apple ring acacia or winterthorn trees). The albida tree can rise 30 meters, and the canopy of each is neatly trimmed flat by elephants and giraffes.

These trees make for the classic Mana Pools setting, where you can see wildlife among trees and in the forest, but the lack of underbrush and dispersed nature of the flora mean that you can still see quite far, unlike the dense bush of, say, Botswana.

Right away we saw elephant, impala and zebra as we drove our way to Nyamepi, the public campsite and site of park HQ. After the drive here we were keen to scope out our campsite and stop for lunch before exploring the park.

Nyamepi Campsite

We only had two nights at Nyamepi camp. There are also private special campsites in Mana Pools, and initially, we were disappointed when none were available, but also a little relieved because they are very expensive. Nyamepi turned out to be a wonderful spot, right on the riverbank, with well spaced sites, water, ablutions, and a stunning sunset view. What more can you ask for? 

As we arrived to scope out our assigned site it looked like the herds of the Serengeti were descending upon us, but instead of wildebeest it was a horde of vervet monkeys galloping our direction, excited for fresh victims to plunder. This put us on high alert and I got out my catapult (aka slingshot) and fired a few warning shots into the trees. This got them to back down a bit, obviously these campers would require a bit more effort on their part! Most lost interest, heading for easier pickings, but we had to stave off the few who had stayed behind. The occasional waving of the catapult at them usually got them to hesitate.

In another happy coincidence, we rendezvoused with another 4x4commmunity.co.za forum member, “Ortelius” and his wife. They have traveled all over southern and eastern Africa, renting 4x4s in each location, and he maintains a wonderful blog, safaribug.wordpress.com. Here, he recounts their travels, showing that buying a vehicle is not required for adventure in Africa.

We had been in touch online and knew our itineraries might cross here. After a stunning Zambezi sunset, we gathered around the fire in the fading light of dusk and shared a bottle of wine, travel stories and swapped notes. What a pleasure to meet up in person, it was a real highlight. 

Originally we had planned more nights at Nyamepi, but when we first arrived we checked in at HQ and asked if there had been any cancellations for Chitake Springs. And there had! Instead of one night at Chitake we ended up with three, one on either side of our original booking. To top it off, Zimparks charges only the same prices as Nyamepi if you are a walk in* for Chitake, instead of the much more expensive rate when pre-booking. We were delighted. 

*This is no longer the policy and now walk ins are charged at the normal higher rate.

In our two days on the floodplain we packed in a good number of adventures and sightings. On our first morning game drive we managed to spot lions on three separate occasions. 

The first sighting was a mating pair not far from the main road. Eventually, they wandered off, and we lost sight of them below a rise.

Before the second lion sighting we were driving down a track and saw clear lion tracks in the sandy road. We got excited and went down the track, stopping occasionally to confirm we were still following the tracks. Partway along, we saw a guide stopped, chatting with his clients while his tracker was walking out ahead. A dedicated tracker ahead of the vehicle is not the sort of thing we see in other national parks; normally, being out of the car isn’t allowed in a National Park, and this is the sort of thing you’d only see at a very high-end private reserve.

A note about guides in Zimbabwe:

Zimbabwe has the strictest standards for Safari Guide certification in the world. In almost every country, a body tests guides to ensure they have the skills needed to take tourists safely into the bush. Often there are tiers of certification, where a guide might first attain they basic guiding license, but not be certified as, say, a hunting guide, a walking guide, or a birding guide. I suspect that, quite often, tourists end up with uncertified guides.

In Zimbabwe, they take this very seriously. Guides must undergo rigorous training, apprenticeship, and then a field test where they go out on a safari, “guiding” a panel of experienced guides who will judge their performance. Don’t forget that guiding is not just identifying animals; it includes knowing their Latin names, as well as the names of the flora and birds, how to drive a 4×4, perform vehicle maintenance and repairs, handle a firearm safely, perform first aid and numerous other bush skills. In Zimbabwe, it is said that the pass rate for first-time test takers is only 10-30%. 

We chatted with this guide for a minute, sharing our mutual excitement for the lion tracks. The tracks confirmed what we already knew: Lions are reliably lazy and as such, they had kept to the road, plodding on for quite a while leaving crisp tracks in the sand. 

After a kilometer or so the track branched off, and following the lesser track a hundred meters or so we found three male lions. Ta-da! We were feeling pretty good about ourselves and Mana Pools, now having seen lions twice in the first hour of our first game drive, and having beat the tracker/guide combo we passed earlier.

The guide/tracker we’d seen earlier pulled up and congratulated us for finding the lions. The guide grabbed his rifle and hopped out of the car, waiving his clients to join him, as casual as can be. In Mana Pools you can get out of your vehicle, but we had never seen anyone do this near lions before. The three male lions were sitting in the shade, no more than 50 meters away.

As his guests got out of the vehicle, the lions perked up, evaluating this recent change. As the guide briefed his clients, the lions got up and moved off a bit, stopping and looking uncertain. The guide was immediately disgusted, that these lions were new and “Didn’t know how it worked around here.” He took an experimental few strides toward the lions, and they headed off for the plains, uninterested in being approached. 

The approach to lions on foot thwarted, the guests took a few minutes for a break and we chatted with the guide again. He was quite a character, animated and full of eccentric charisma. To our astonishment he said that he will bring his guests on foot right up to lions, sometimes on their hands and knees so as not to spook them.

We had read of walking safaris and that Zimbabwe is the true home of proper walking safaris, but this was something else. 

After we parted ways, we remarked to each other how funny that guide was, and what a roll of the dice it is when you sign up for an expensive guided safari. You might get those two, who seemed like quite a combo, skilled and a lot of fun, or you might get the guide that is tired, not that interested and barely qualified. Certainly in Zimbabwe this seems less of a risk because of the stringent guide standards. 

Further ahead, the plains morphed into mopane forest, looking pretty dry. We were about to turn around when we stopped to watch an elephant browsing for leaves. He stopped and pondered on a good sized mopane tree, about 10 meters tall. Then we were treated to the most remarkable behavior I’ve read about in books but never seen.

He looked high up into the tree, placed his chin on the tree, trunk upwards, and started pushing the tree. At first, I thought he was trying to shake the tree to get leaves or fruits to fall. But no. He shoved, pushed, and shook the tree, and after a great effort and cracking noise, he pushed the entire tree over! 

After this, he casually strolled over to the canopy, now lying on the ground and within easy reach, and began munching on leaves. After sampling these for a few minutes, he moved on, leaving the tree behind. We felt bad for the tree, brought to its end so that an elephant could browse upon its leaves for only a few minutes.

He moved on and appeared to be searching for another tree to bring to an untimely end, and we thought we might witness this incredible sight again, but he didn’t seem satisfied with his choices and wandered off into the bush. 

One morning of game driving in Mana Pools was incredible. On our way back to camp, we stopped at the Nyamepi HQ and booked a walking safari for the next morning. Here, we bumped into a couple we had met at Matusadona, and while we were there, Colin had quite a close encounter with an elephant at the office. By the time it was clear the elephant wasn’t going to pass by, it was too late for him to move. A steady nerve got him through. Not recommended and the park staff were not pleased.

After lunch and some camp time, we headed out for the evening game drive. We took different loops and saw many wonderful grazers in the unique setting. Eland, buffalo, impala, and elephants all looked really nice in the shade of the albida trees. 

As we made our way along, we saw more lions. A few younger lions and a lioness were lying in the shade of some scrub. We watched them for a few minutes, and deciding they were done with us, they got up and walked down an embankment out of sight. We were able to circle around for another view, just in time to watch the lioness stand at the bottom the bank, with about a 50 meter patch of grass ahead, and then she walked into the grass and melted away, presumably with the rest of the lions we’d seen earlier.

It was not so big a patch of grass, and we could see the entire perimeter, so we resolved to wait to see if they would come out. There was another vehicle already here, doing the same thing. We learned from them that she was the last of eight lions that had descended into the grass. 

Eventually, no less than eight other vehicles spent two still and sweaty hours watching a 50-meter long patch of grass, knowing that eight lions had descended into this cover. For these hot and boring hours, many eyeballs watched and watched yet didn’t even catch a glance of a lion, not a twitch of an ear nor flick of tail. So little was seen that we heard murmurings of the next car that doubted that the lions were there at all, and one guide came by and asked who had actually seen this firsthand to make sure he wasn’t making his clients wait for nothing.

Several cars gave up. Instead of watching an uninteresting stand of meter tall grass, not unlike watching paint dry, they went on to watch another glorious Zambezi sunset, which we missed. 

A growing seed of doubt set in. Perhaps there were no lions and we had imagined that lioness walk down the bank, and this was a big waste of time and we could be off game driving in more serene and scenic locals. As these thoughts went through my head, the first lion materialized. Illustrating what incredible masters of camouflage lions are, a second lion took shape, then a third, and then a whole pride. The dull chatter ceased, and all of us, at this point, were surprised that the waiting had paid off.

The last whisperings died off completely when a gray sandy coated lioness started stalking the nearby impala. She stalked and froze, stalked and froze, making a bold head-on approach to a herd of grazing impala in the open. The impala sensed something was up, gazing alertly in their direction, but each time, the lioness froze until they relaxed, and then she took a few more steps. This time an undisciplined tail flick gave her away, and they bolted. She made a half-hearted rush, I suppose hoping for a lame impala to give up easily, which none did. After this excitement we headed for camp for the evening. What a day!

On Walking Safaris and being out of the car

Mana Pools National Park is famous for many things. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is the premier wildlife destination in Zimbabwe. Here live the only elephants that have learned to stand on their hind legs to reach the seed pods of the albida tree. It is wonderfully scenic, the wildlife plentiful, the lions numerous. 

There are of course many excellent wildlife destinations elsewhere in Africa that can claim similar superlatives. Perhaps the biggest distinction Mana Pools has from other parks and wilderness areas is that individuals are allowed to conduct their own walking safaris, unguided. Yeah, that’s right, knock yourself out and feel free* to wander into the bush on foot, risking being charged by an elephant, gored by the deadly buffalo or perhaps stalked and eaten by lions. 

*permit required, $15 pppd

This flies in the face of all other advice and against the rules of all other parks, which stand with uniformity on the “do not get out of your car” party line. Granted this laissez-faire freedom, one would assume that tourists are dying like flies on a near daily basis while Zim Parks sits idly by, pondering whether this will affect revenue streams. 

In fact, this is not the case. Though there have been fatalities at Mana, there have also been at other parks. That people are let off the leash without an apparent rise in mortal danger makes me call into question all the previous advice. I’m not advocating flaunting the rules in other parks, but it does beg the question: How should one conduct oneself on foot in the African Wilderness? Where lies the dividing line between real and perceived danger? 

One assumes the real reason you shouldn’t get out of your car in parks is to err on the side of caution, for many tourists don’t know when it is appropriate to disembark and when it is unsafe. The line between those two things is decidedly murky. 

Under this context, we peered into the opaque blank space of freedom, the old rules having been cast off, wondering what to do and how to conduct ourselves. 

In our eyes already some doubt had been cast on the ironclad “don’t get out of your car” line. After all, we’ve visited many parks that allow unfenced camping by anyone savvy enough to make a booking and get themselves there in a 4×4; totaling a great number of bush novices. For example, in Botswana, there are many campsites like this; for the most part, thousands of people have spent thousands of nights in the wilderness perfectly safely.

On many nights in Africa, we have camped with dangerous animals as our neighbors, and every time, we’ve accorded them respect, and they have left us alone. Hippos have munched grass inches from our friend’s tent as we watched from ours, elephants have wandered through camp, and a leopard made a casual inspection, coming close enough to be illuminated by the light of our fire. Lions have announced their presence loudly and firmly with calls that reverberated in our chest, and buffalos have driven us to retreat to the cab while they grazed by the front bumper. 

To dip our toes in the waters of this newfound freedom, we arranged a walking safari with one of the park rangers. At 0600 we picked up Allan, a Zimbabwe Park Ranger, and we drove to the flood plain between two of Mana’s four pools. Here we disembarked the vehicle and set out on foot. Before setting out he checked his rifle, chambering a bullet and telling us, “This is to scare, not shoot, any animals that give us trouble.” 

With this, he led us out into the wide open ground between the towering winter thorn trees. He explained that one reason it’s allowed to walk alone in Mana Pools is that the visibility is much better than in the other parks, allowing you to spot danger early. The ground is nearly barren of grass, and we can see more than 100 meters in most directions, save what is obscured by some large trees and the occasional shrub. 

This all sounds great, except that much of the park is dense bush, thickets of thorny shrubs and mopane forest that has poor visibility, where you are also welcome to walk unguided, though a sense of self-preservation prevents most from doing it.

For the next two hours we walked with Allan and he pointed out facts about various trees and animals. At one point, we saw an elephant quite a distance away, and he said that we would stay well clear and that, in any case, if you were to approach an elephant, you should do so from downwind so that they don’t detect you. This seemed odd to me. I’m no ranger, but sneaking up on an elephant seems like a good way to startle it, and then perhaps this might lead to an undesirable conclusion. Later Allan told us that he sometimes is assigned as a ranger with hunting groups in hunting concessions, and then this made more sense as advice to approach an elephant undetected. 

Allan was mediocre as a safari guide*, but he was fascinating to talk to and learn about how the park works and life as a ranger. As we walked, we noted that the impala were giving us a wide berth, and he casually remarked that was because until fairly recently, the park service didn’t provide meat for the staff, and instead, they were encouraged to hunt their own. 

*Note that rangers are not guides. They work for the park and do not undergo the same rigorous training that a certified guide has.

This practice is now banned and Zim Parks brings in meat from outside. I took this opportunity to ask what we have been told many times: Do waterbucks actually taste bad? Guides and guidebooks tell us that the meat of the waterbuck is not particularly tasty, and thus, lions only feed on them as a last resort. On top of this, while you sometimes see game meat for sale like kudu, zebra and springbok, you never see waterbuck. He disagreed, saying that waterbuck tasted just fine. 

Our walk concluded. Similar to our walking safari in South Luangwa months before, we did not see much in the way of animals, or not up close anyway. It seems walking safaris are more like nature walks, in an area where animals might be present. It’s not quite the experience I had in mind, silently watching a lion hunt on foot or that sort of thing. Later, we would learn that this is possible, perhaps more so in Zimbabwe than anywhere else, but not when guided by the park rangers. Instead, you need to be with specialty walking guides who train for and seek this sort of thing out. 

After our walk we did get an elephant encounter on foot. In camp! We gather there are a few elephants who frequent Nyamepi. He was very relaxed. With this very modest introduction to safari on foot, we were off to Chitake Springs for three nights. 

The Nitty Gritty

Bookings

We organized our bookings through the very efficient Christine Mhuriro, but she has moved on to another assignment and been replaced by Noel Manyerere, who I hear is also very good. Contact info is: nmanyerere@zimparks.org.zw +263 77 749 0390. We were able to do some back and forth on WhatsApp which made things much faster. We paid by wire transfer, which is inexpensive through our US Bank (Chase) and can be done on our mobile phone.

Checking into the Park

The check-in process for Mana is confusing, and though I’m tolerant of this sort of thing, it feels overly complex.

First, you must stop at the Marongora National Park office, just off the road on the A1, 8 km south of the turn-off to the park. If you’re coming from the south, this is easy, but if you’re coming from the north, you do need to bypass the turn-off to the park, drive to Marongora, then double back. 

There is a sign at Marongora, but unless you’re expecting it, it’d be easy to miss it and think to yourself, “Was that it? Whatever, I’ll just check in at the gate.” However, once you produce your booking (or explain that you don’t have one), the Marongora office provides you with a crucial slip of paper that you must produce at the Chimutsi Gate. Without this, you’ll be turned back and have to drive the eight kilometers back to Marongora.

From Marongora, descend the escarpment to the park’s turnoff, signposted, and arrive at the Chimutsi Gate. Here, produce the slip provided by Marongora. Air down your tires for dirt and head into the Hurungwe Safari Area (remember, in Zimbabwe, “safari area” = permitted hunting area). 

Partway along this next 31 km stretch, you’ll cross the boundary into the park and then arrive at the Nyakasikana Gate. Here you again check in for a third time, producing your booking, slip, etc. Enter your details in the book and head on. A right turn here takes you to Chitake Springs, left to the floodplain and Nyamepi, the main area for Mana Pools. 

Lastly you arrive at Nyamepi, park headquarters. You don’t need to stop at the park office, you can proceed directly to the Nyamepi campsite, a short distance from the park office. 

Nyamepi Public Campsite

The campsite has 36 sites scattered along the Zambezi river. The riverfront sites have a higher fee. There are four sites for people without bookings. Pretty much all the sites are good, even the non-riverfront sites are only 50 meters from the river and you can easily walk over to watch the sunset or take a look. 

There are occasional water taps scattered around the camp. We’re told the water is potable, buyer beware. There are a couple of ablution blocks with washing basins for laundry. 

The fee structure has changed since our visit. Non-river sites are $100 per night for the site, a maximum of six people. Unlike almost everywhere else in Africa, they charge per site and not per person. Riverfront is $130 pn, and exclusive campsites (BBC, Mucheni, Chitake, etc.) are $200 pn. They have a new booking system, but I have no idea if it works.

Before coming we had managed to get a one night booking at coveted Chitake Springs and we stopped at HQ to see if we could catch any last minute opportunities at Chitake. We talked to Brighton, the man in the office who organizes the bookings and we lucked out, with an open day at Chitake on either side of our original booking. 

At the office, you can also buy firewood (very generous portions for $5/bundle), get a walking permit for $15 pppd (required for any walking safari, self-guided or not) and ask for changes to your booking. There is very feeble wifi available at the office, ask nicely for the password.