Mana Pools National Park

Mana Pools National Park

Mana Pools National Park showcases the Zambezi is at its most beautiful, with the broad river meandering languidly between the Zambian escarpment to the north and Zimbabwean escarpment to the south. Over geological time, its ever-shifting course has left a chain of oxbow lakes, which are now set in the attractively open parkland of the floodplain, with its signature stands of winterthorns. During the dry season, large herds of elephant, buffalo and zebra from the park’s interior converge on this floodplain, joining impala, waterbuck and other antelope, including eland and rare nyala. The area around the pools and the river bank fills with game, and predators – notably lions and spotted hyenas – are abundant. With most camps set along the river, guests can expect a constant stream of large wildlife through their unfenced boundaries. Mana Pools is nothing if not a place for hair-raising stories.

The river itself offers another perspective. Several operators run canoe safaris, either short excursions or multi-day trips, on which you will certainly meet countless hippos, their grunting chorus integral to the Mana Pools soundscape. Crocodiles are also plentiful, as are water birds, from fish eagles and goliath herons to white-fronted bee-eaters. Canoes offer an excellent way to approach wildlife; I have held my breath here while drifting past a leopard drinking at the bank. Away from the river, in the park’s wild hinterland, a number of spring-fed pools also hold a magnetic appeal to wildlife during the dry season, including some feisty lion prides. At private camps in these areas you are unlikely to encounter other visitors.

Mana Pools is celebrated for its walking safaris, and indeed independent travellers are free to stroll around the river frontage at their own risk. Some of Africa’s top guides work here, and guided walks are not only an opportunity to track big game but also to gain an insight into the ecology and more hidden details of the bush, from seed pods to birdsong. Birders may find several species that are rare elsewhere in Zimbabwe, including Lillian’s lovebirds and the elusive Narina trogon.

Notable absentees from Mana Pools include giraffes (reputedly never able to descend the escarpment) and blue wildebeest, while the last remaining black rhino – for which the Lower Zambezi was once a stronghold – have been translocated elsewhere. On the plus side, wild dogs appear to be doing well, and may be encountered on foot, while cheetah are also sometimes seen. Whatever wildlife you do or don’t spot, Mana Pools is not so much about your sightings list as about simply enjoying a full immersion in one of Africa’s most stunning wildernesses.