Chitake Springs is within Mana Pools National Park, but it is an entirely different experience than the riverfront, where most visitors spend their time. The Chitake area is dry miombo woodland, comprised primarily of jesse bush and mopane, punctuated by fig and baobab trees. The springs themselves lie in bottom of the usually dry Nyadara riverbed are the only water source for many miles. 

Because of this, all the resident animals must come to drink from the springs, and a pride of lions and other sundry predators have set up shop, knowing that their prey must come to them.  Reportedly, there is a large pride of lions in residence who kill daily to sate the hunger of their large numbers. 

Chitake is raw African bush; hot, dry and infested with tsetse flies. There are four campsites in the area. There area has almost no roads for game driving. Instead, it is a place to go and be in the wild and see what you can see at the springs. We bumped into the guide we had met at the lions again, Stretch Ferreira, and when he heard we were headed to Chitake he advised us to find the fig tree on the embankment above the springs and to have patience and sit quietly there all day, to let the game come to us. 

The brave might muster themselves to do their own bush walk, but here the scrub is thick and visibility poor. A pride of lions might be behind any bush. In 2010 a camper was killed by lions here, memorialized by a small plaque on the fig tree by the springs. In that case, the victim went a short distance from his fellow campers to shower in privacy at dusk. Certainly, this story loomed in our minds as we camped at Chitake. We always stick close to the vehicle, particularly at dusk and darkness.

We couldn’t get this notion of seeing game on foot out of our heads, but we also weren’t confident enough to waltz up to anything, leaving us with this idea that an opportunity was passing us by. Clearly, walking with the Zimparks rangers was not going to get us there; Allan, our ranger from the morning bush walk, had studiously avoided going near any animals, and this echoed what Stretch had told us to expect as we had chatted the night before (he was one of the vehicles camped out at the lions in the grass the evening before). Allan had mentioned that some guides do close approaches, calling out Stretch by name, who we had learned was famous for getting his clients very close to elephants. Allan shook his head in disapproval, noting that Stretch’s luck would eventually run out, and either he or a client would get killed. 

I can’t comment on that, only that Stretch has been in the bush since the Bush War in the 1970s, and Allan has been a ranger for five years. I will say that upon hearing that, our first reaction was, “Well, I guess we better sign up for a Stretch safari before anything happens!” Thus, the seed took hold that perhaps we might try to join a professional safari after our time at Chitake. 

Driving out to Chitake is a routine affair, head back towards the gate and suffer through corrugations, continue inland at the Nyakasikana checkpoint and take the turnoff (perhaps even signposted!). 

About two kilometers of bush track brought us near the springs. The road was a bit rougher and went through a couple of dry dongas. As we approached the first campsites before the river, we saw a tragic sight: a single Land Rover being loaded onto a flatbed, no doubt with some terminal condition while there were two Land Cruisers parked in camp. 

We drove on, down a steep riverbank, across the dry sandy riverbed and up the other side, which seemed like it’d be rough going if you had a trailer. This brought us to the famous fig tree, and we stopped to peek at the springs and see if there was any action, scoping out our surroundings for the next few days. There was no action at the springs, so we headed up to our campsite at Chitake Baobab.

The Chitake Baobab site lies about one kilometer south of the springs themselves, on the top of a hill adorned with about a dozen mature baobab trees. There is no specific campsite per se, but plenty of logical spots to set up. The general lack of scrub and brush meant no tsetse flies, which is nice; I have heard others being terrorized for their entire stay. There are no facilities at all. 

We still had some time, so we continued to explore the area. Chitake No. 2 was reportedly booked, but nobody was there so we stopped in for a look. This camp is the closest to the springs but lacks the same atmosphere (and shade) of camp No. 1 and the baobab site. 

Given that it was pretty quiet on the game front, we found ourselves timidly cracking the door of safari on foot. From camp No. 2 we took a brief stroll along the embankment above the river. This area has a lot of scrub brush around, and we found ourselves on very high alert. Like a puppy let off the leash that won’t stray far from its owner, a magnetism drew us back to the vehicle in relatively short order.

Chitake Baobab is ideally located for sundowners, and if you camp here, you can expect to get a visit from the campers from the other sites that have no such view. The Land Cruiser guys from camp No. 1 stopped by and they were having a great time. The Land Rover casualty was the culmination of a many-year rivalry between friends, and they were triumphant that they’d finally won, with a token acknowledgment of their friend’s misfortune (and no doubt great expense) of having to get your vehicle recovered from Chitake Springs.

Camp for the evening was magical. We had Mexican mini burritos for dinner by the fire, surrounded by huge baobabs, it was wonderful. There was no sign of the famous Chitake lions yet.

The next day, we resolved to spend the day at the fig tree, watching the springs and lounging about. We made the short drive there and had a leisurely breakfast while sitting in our camp chairs at the riverbank. This spot is perfectly located, affording shade and good visibility of the springs while also being high up on the bank and set back enough to not disturb animals coming to drink. 

It was quiet for a long time. This is a different type of safari experience, and I can imagine that sitting around for hours isn’t for everyone. We did some birding and reading, took a couple of short exploratory walks nearby and drank a lot of coffee.

On the river’s opposite bank is a long ramp of sand that is well-trodden with animal tracks. This is clearly the favorite approach. It was still and hot, and by late morning, we had begun to see dust kicked up by something. Eventually, a large and extremely skittish herd of impala showed up. It took them a long time to work up the courage to come to the springs, and we imagined they had been traumatized by past encounters with lions here. They finally did drink and then were off quickly back into the bush. 

Another hour or two went by, and more dust was being kicked up. We could hear the lowing of buffalo, another famous resident of Chitake. The area supports huge herds, and it appeared they had come for a drink. This, too, took a very long time. They crept forward and peered down toward the spring. They’d stop, shuffle around, and then one or two would take a few more tentative steps down the bank and stop again. The whole process would repeat, with the rest of the herd working closer. When they were only 15 meters from the spring, the herd gave a collective, “to hell with it,” they threw caution to the wind, rushing down to the spring to drink. 

The herd was hundreds of buffalo strong, and it was exciting to watch. They hadn’t appeared to notice us, but we were in the shade with a little bit of scrub to obscure us. We watched a lot of interesting interactions as the herd slaked their thirst. Secretly we were hoping some lions would burst out of the bush to hunt, but instead after a while the buffalos had their fill and retreated back up the riverbank. 

Our last visitor for the day was a lone bull elephant. He, too, took his time making his way down to the springs, first posing for us alongside a baobab tree. 

It was another great night in camp. We returned to the springs in the morning, remembering Stretch’s advice that patience was required here and the game would come to us. We were a teeny bit disappointed; we’d heard from others who complained endlessly about how terrifying Chitake was, that they couldn’t sleep because of the lions roaring right next to their tent all night and how they felt they couldn’t step out of the car since there were lions all over the place. That wasn’t our experience thus far, but it was still a special place.

It was back to the fig tree to stake out the springs today. Not long after, we were joined by a father and son from New Zealand. The son had just completed his guiding certification and internship from the FGASA (Field Guide’s Association of Southern Africa) and was on a father-son trip to Zimbabwe. It was really interesting to talk to someone who had just gone to guide school, and Jenny and I spent the afternoon fantasizing about getting our guide certification. 

We were treated to another visit by a very large herd of buffalo. This time, I spent some time slowly working along the riverbank to get some photos from a different perspective. I was slow and stayed low, dressed in safari khakis, and even from a good distance, the buffalo had their eyes on me and were not happy. I was mindful that if they wanted to, they could easily charge. The advice from our Massai friend in Kenya returned to me, “The buffalo is not a friendly animal.” This is from a guy who would happily walk up to lions on foot. 

The father-and-son duo moved on, and we were then visited by a guide and his client, who were staying at the Chitake site reserved for tour operators.

The guide’s name was Steve, and he was extremely knowledgeable. He generously shared many interesting facts and thoughts with us, his non-clients. Though he was South African, it turned out he had his PhD from UC Davis, which is not far from where we live in California. He had guided in South Africa before but was drawn to the strict standards in Zimbabwe and had come here to test his mettle. 

He had quite a few opinions that we found fascinating. In particular, he smarted at the double standard that the rangers could act as walking guides from Nyamepi HQ, but as a certified guide, he was required to undergo years of training and rigorous tests. The ranger’s training is much briefer and has a different focus. He pointed out that the firearms they carry are not of a high enough caliber to stop a buffalo or elephant and thus serve no real purpose for a walking safari. 

We saw them again at sunset at the Baobabs. He told us that this didn’t used to be a campsite and was reserved as a sundowner spot. Then, the park started using it as an overflow campsite, and now it is a bookable site at Chitake. He shared a bunch of other interesting facts with us and was clearly excited about all aspects of nature and the environment.

After sunset, we were alone for our final night in Chitake and heard the first roar of lions. They were a long way off, but it was fantastic to hear them. 

As we sat around the fire we talked about what would happen after this. We had no more bookings but we both agreed we needed to stay longer at Mana. Guide Steve told us a couple of tales of wildlife encounters on foot and we got even more excited about the idea of being able to go with a proper guide on foot. It seems the only way to do this is by paying for a high end safari. Steve also had opinions about Stretch Ferreira, whom he knew well, and his stories got us even more excited about the idea of trying to join Stretch for a few days. 

The end of our trip was approaching; we had only three weeks before we had to be in Windhoek and catch a flight home. By now, we had confirmed that we did have jobs waiting for us upon our return (this was not 100% guaranteed when we started this venture), so we resolved to head back to Nyamepi the next day and see if we could blow the budget on a few days with Stretch Ferreira Safaris. 

It was a magical night in camp, the stars were out and we were dreaming big dreams of animals on foot in Africa, lions were roaring in the distance and all was right in the world. Jenny decided to head to bed, and I thought I’d stay up a bit longer and make some notes for the blog. 

After Jenny was in the tent, the lions started roaring more and were closer. Exciting! Another 20 minutes went by, and clear and loud, a hyena started whooping not far away. There was some action in the bush tonight. I moved my chair so its back was against the car so that nothing could sneak up on me. 

Then we heard the call of a leopard, like a rough-toothed cross-cut saw rhythmically sawing through wood. It was loud, much louder than we’d ever heard before. The roar of lions, whoop of hyena and now leopard sawing all felt like they were triangulating in on me. Jenny was making some commentary from the tent on me still being out of the car at this point, and that was it for me; time for bed!

Retreating to the tent, we could hear the leopard’s call traversing around us. It sounded like it must be walking around the baobabs. The lions, too, got closer. It was shaping up to be an exciting night.  

The lions kept getting closer, and when we shined our big flashlight around, we saw a couple of lions walking down the road only ten meters away, heading toward the springs. We counted 13 lions. Fantastic.

The next morning we hoped we’d find the lions on a kill near the springs, but no luck. We lingered a while, but then it was time to head back to Nyamepi HQ and see if we could swing the next phase of our Mana Pools visit.  

The wifi signal at HQ wouldn’t support much, but I found the phone number and we began WhatsApp’ing Stretch’s office. The rate was eye-watering, more than we had guessed. After some back and forth and a lot of agonizing on our part, we negotiated a last-minute price reduction and booked two nights with Stretch Ferreira Safaris, starting that afternoon. 

Wish us luck!

The Nitty Gritty

Bookings

Chitake Springs needs to be booked ahead of time; you’d have to be very lucky to get any walk-in availability. For bookings, you can try your luck with the Zimparks online booking system, or contact Noel Manyerere at nmanyerere@zimparks.org.zw +263 77 749 0390.

Payment will be by bank transfer or wire transfer. When we managed to get our walk-in availability for Chitake, we paid cash at Nyamepi HQ. I don’t remember if they take credit cards.

Campsites

Chitake has five campsites:

• Chitake No. 1 is adjacent to the river (normally dry) and well shaded. According to the booking page this site is $300 night (all sites are a maximum of 6 people).

• Chitake No. 2 is the closest to the springs and this proximity means it’s probably the most likely to get nighttime lion action, if there is a kill at or near the springs. This site is listed at $200/night.

• Chitake No. 3 and 3b are tour operator sites and can’t be booked by the public. These are on either side of No. 1 and are marked on T4A as “Road Closed” and “Picnic spot,” respectively. I have heard that occasionally they allow self drivers to stay at one of these if it is not booked by a tour operator, but it can’t be booked ahead.

• Chitake Baobab, which you have read about, is also listed at $200/night.

Jenny and I debated what we would do if we could come back to Chitake again and price was not a concern. How long would we stay? Which site would we choose? We’d go for No. 1 for seven nights in September or October. It’d be brutally hot, full of tsetse flies, but would maximize animal viewing potential. 

I’d be tempted to split it with No. 2, hoping for some nighttime lion mayhem, but the site has minimal shade, no view and no atmosphere. And it is surrounded by brush; if the lions come, you won’t know until they are on top of you. 

I’d take any site for any duration; it’s a really special place. If you go to book a visit to Chitake, don’t sweat too much about which site is available.

I’m told that Chitake 1 and 3b have longdrops, but we did not see them. The longdrop at No. 2 is abysmal. Be prepared for no facilities; these are bush camps. 

Game viewing

Since our visit T4A has added a “No Entry” marker to the track on the north side of the river. When we visited you could drive a couple of kilometers of this before getting to a “do not enter sign.” If this is no longer accessible, it is a bit of a shame, but really game driving here isn’t the thing to do. The thing to do is to camp by the springs and see what you can see. At camp No.1, you are on the bank of the riverbed, and I expect you’d see wildlife traversing the riverbed to get to and from the springs. 

Depending on the time of year and strength of the springs, the water may or may not make it’s way as far as campsites 1 and 3/3b. Even if it does not make it this far, the animals will no doubt traverse the riverbed to get to the nearby water.

I’m told it’s possible to organize a guide to rendezvous with you to lead on a proper safari on foot, but I don’t know how to do this. If we do make it again we’ll try this, but I would try for a fully certified guide and not a ranger from HQ.

Day Visits

You can day visit Chitake. You need a permit, obtainable at Nyamepi HQ. It’s 56 km and about an hour and a half drive from Nyamepi, so it’s quite a commitment to go out there only for a day. I’m not sure it’s worth it, but on the other hand, if you weren’t able to get a campsite at Chitake and you wanted to experience it, you’d have a good chance of buffalo herds visiting the springs midday, and you’d get to scope out the feel of things and see what all the fuss was about. 

For more reading on Chitake and Mana Pools, I strongly recommend Stan Weakley’s trip report from 2010; still salient.

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. 

Drag the slider to compare high and low water levels.  Photo 1: The falls in the low season, November 2013: Photo 2: The falls in May 2018
 
After continuing along the bridge we made our way through Zimbabwe customs, a bit hectic but only 20 minutes or so and we found ourselves in another country, just like that. 
 
Zimbabwe is a fascinating country, and the town of Victoria Falls, is one of the longest visited tourist attractions in Zimbabwe, with people coming to see it not long after it’s “discovery” by the first European to set eyes on it, David Livingstone.
 
Zimbabwe’s longtime ruler Robert Mugabe, president since 1981, has just been deposed last fall and a new man, Emmerson Mnangagwa, from the same party and one of Mugabe’s old henchmen, is in charge. Zimbabweans and Africans are holding their breath a bit to see if change is in the air, or if he will be just the same with a different name. We weren’t able to talk to any Zimbabweans about this, but in South Africa many seem skeptical, but to me it almost seemed self protective, to insure against hope being squashed again, and there is a quiet underlying sense of optimism about the future.
 
Another ½ km or so past the border and we found ourselves at the entrance to the park for Vic Falls. Entry is $30 USD pp for Americans (less for SADC members or Zimbabweans), which seems steep, but considering that Vic Falls is a one of a kind is well worth the price of admission. There is a decent curio shop, small cafe and restrooms near the front of the park. After that it is on to the falls.
 
Depending on which portion you are along the falls are about about 100m high, and are a staggering 1.7km wide. So they are not he tallest falls, but with these dimensions and water continuously hurling itself into the chasm it is hard to fathom the scope of what we were witnessing. It’s also completely impossible to see it all at once from the park, as the spray is so thick and so high that at this time of year it obscures the view of the whole falls from any one point.
 
There is a thriving helicopter tourism business going as from the air is really the only way to take in the sight of the whole falls at once, but they are so successful that all of the town of Vic Falls and the parks on both sides is perpetually subject to the whine and throb of helicopter and ultralight engines, which becomes annoying after a while.
 
As we walked closer to the falls the vegetation becomes denser and greener and there is a mini rainforest that has developed along the edge of the falls, fed by the continual blanket of spray. The spray also continuously showered us. In the beginning it starts like a wet fog, then a fine spray. We got our first view of the western edge of the falls and it is a heart stopping wonder to behold, and we had seen it before. Christian had gone to the Zambian side the day before and was very impressed, already thinking that the view from this side was much better.
 
As we went along the face of the falls to each viewpoint we became subsequently wetter. The fine mist became spray, then spray became rain. Then the rain came from all directions, from up and down and sideways, as the huge volume of water drives swirls of air out of the gorge. At one point the spray is driving up at you from below, like a shower head pointed up, and after that we got so wet it was comical. At the various viewpoints sometimes we had a good view and sometimes it was such a wall of spray that you cannot see anything, not even the edge a few meters away, like being drenched with a fire hose.
 
We were laughing as we went along, as we couldn’t have been more wet if we’d jumped in a lake, so we squished along in our shoes and wrung out our shirts and laughed and enjoyed the spectacle. There were not many other tourists, and some were in a partially effective rain coats, getting wet with their sweat in the humid conditions instead of the spray from the falls, and others just as wet as us.

Thoroughly soaked we were ready for a bite to eat and to sit down, so we thought we’d attempt to have lunch at the Victoria Falls Hotel. The Vic Falls Hotel is an institution, the oldest hotel in the area, and with deep colonial roots has been visited by the Queen, other royalty, heads of state and no doubt an endless list of celebrities. It’s upmarket but also old fashioned, so not the chic eco chalets you can find throughout safari destinations. A colonial outpost in the very west of Zimbabwe in Victorian style. With it being so classy and us being dressed in now soaking wet t-shirts and shorts we weren’t sure they’d let us in, but it seemed worth a shot. No one gave us a passing glance, no doubt in part due to our white skin, a somewhat uncomfortable privilege. The sprawling lawn was before us, and behind that the Victoria Falls Bridge, the perpetual rainbow from the spray and the huge tower of mist above the falls were all visible as we sat on the verandah in front of the hotel, and we had one of the best gin and tonics I’ve ever had (Botanist gin, Fitch and Leeds tonic, with lime and a thyme spring, but perhaps it was just the setting?). Spectacular. Lunch was excellent, and expensive, and we finished with a similarly wonderful coffee. Feeling rested and fortified we headed off on our walk back across the border.

There is a trail from the Vic Falls Hotel towards the falls and the border, and when Jenny and I had been here before 5 years ago a security guard from the hotel had escorted us along the trail, to shoe off hawkers and provide security. On that walk, about half way down the trail we came around a corner and he said “Elephant. Run!” I didn’t see it at first, and responded “What?” Looking around, I spotted the elephant at the side of the trail about 10 meters from us behind a bush, and the guard had already run into the bush, leaving us behind. So much for security! But it was good motivator, and Jenny and I dashed after him and the three of us hid behind a bush as the guard told us that “This one is an angry one.” We waited a few minutes and a local came coasting down the trail on his bicycle and the guard shouted out a warning, in the local language so we don’t know exactly what he said, but judging from the cyclists reaction it must have been something along the lines of “Lookout dumbass, you’re about to be killed by an elephant!” With a surprised look on his face the cyclist promptly crashed his bicycle, left it in the trail and ran for cover to hide with us behind the bush. It seems the locals have a fear of elephants, and this is justified. We learned that within the last year where we are camping a security guard had been killed by an elephant on the way to work, and in a separate event two tourists had also been killed, probably by the same elephant. I write this in no way to reflect poorly on Maramba River Lodge, but to illustrate that these animals are indeed wild and need to be accorded respect and caution, and also to show again the difficulty of coexisting in an area where wild animals are so prevalent. We enjoy this un-sanitized arrangement where we need to be responsible for ourselves, and we certainly don’t want wild animals to be culled on our behalf. For our part we’re prepared to be alert for their presence and to retreat to our vehicle or behind the closest handy tree to give them their space. I should also note that most elephants are peacefully munching on vegetation, not attacking people, but occasionally an angry old bull or a mother protecting her young will act aggressively. This normally results in people retreating, accomplishing the elephants goal, but on occasion there is a more violent outcome. This time our walk down the trail yielded no elephant, and we made our way towards the border. Along the way a hawker joined us trying to sell trinkets. He introduced himself has Tomato (pronounced “toh-mah-to”) and proceeded to give us the hard sell, dropping his prices the closer we got to the border. It became tiresome and he was incessantly patient in hearing our refusals and persistent in continuing his offers. For about the seventh time I made another refusal to buy, saying something along the lines of “Look Tomato (foolishly pronouncing it in the American way, To-may-to) we aren’t buying anything” and he laughed hysterically, “My name isn’t To-may-to, it’s Toh-mah-to” again, laughing at my foolish error. It was pretty funny, and it took him awhile to get over this, and he kept giggling about it, but he then returned to his hard sell. Finally he gave up and attacked another group of tourists, and we were free. Border formalities on the return were swift, there was no one else there, and at the end of our trek our vehicle was where we left it, unmolested. We retreated to our campsite at Maramba River Lodge and planned our next leg, to the Lower Zambezi National Park and surrounds.  Logistical Notes: -Livingstone Guest House – Christian stayed at the Green Tree Lodge in Livingstone before meeting up with us, host’s name was Andrew. He was extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and a fantastic cook. Restaurant at the lodge was fantastic, including home made desert pastries. Bungalows were ~$80 USD per night, great low key place if you need a guest house. -Camping – we stayed at the Maramba River Lodge, between Livingstone and the Falls. Great place, icy cold beers and a nice campsite right on the river. Good food though the menu was not all available. Camping was $15 pp/pn, I think. Firewood was extra, but reasonable. Power point and lights at the campsite. Ablutions were a bit of a walk, but clean and nice w/ hot water showers. -Nico Insurance in downtown Livingstone was able to sell us COMESA, which may or may not actually cover us as a South African registered vehicle. This insurance business is messy and still a little uncertain, but here is what I know:-We have primary comprehensive coverage for the vehicle through TuffStuff/Ream Insurance in South Africa.-We are still required to purchase 3rd party liability in countries other than South Africa, though as I understand it in Namibia this is covered via a fuel surcharge, so is not an issue there.-In Botswana 3rd party insurance is paid at customs and is easy.-At the Kazungula border on the Zam side we bought 3rd party insurance, at the fixed price of 162 kw from an insurance company that I’ve forgotten the name of. They said they could provide COMESA as well, but after finishing most of the paperwork they made a call and said they no longer sell it to South African vehicles. This was somewhat annoying, the bait and switch, but I had read that it may be the case that SA registered vehicles cannot be covered by COMESA, so perhaps that was proving to be true.-We went to Nico insurance in Livingstone and they would sell us COMESA, but only as a sort of “rider” on their own 3rd party insurance. This meant that if we wanted the COMESA coverage we would need to purchase 3rd party cover a second time. I was concerned about finding insurance in future countries, and so it seemed worth the extra cash now to avoid hassle in the future, and also reportedly COMESA is very common in the rest of East Africa and thus police officers are expecting to see it, so we hoped this would speed our passage through any checkpoints.-COMESA coverage is based on duration and number of countries covered, so we paid for “3+” countries to maintain flexibility for 60 days of coverage, coming out to 330 kw (roughly $33 USD).