Mana Pools National Park

Mana pools is one of the wildest and most beautiful places along the Zambezi (in my opinion). As I am an avid animal lover, I love being around animals in their natural environment,  Mana pools is one of my favourite places to visit.

Mana pools is a wildlife conservation running along the lower part of the Zambezi river, home to all sorts of animals. It is one of the few national parks in Southern Africa where visitors are able to walk around the park freely without a game guide or professional hunter (at their own risk). Mana pools national park is home to some of the largest wild life in Africa, therefore walking around the bush without a trained game guide or hunter, should not be taken lightly.

When looking for somewhere to stay within Mana Pools there are a number of camp sites in which visitors can bring their own camping gear, and pay to stay in the designated camping sites, or you can organise to stay at one of the mobile tented camps. I have made use of both types of accommodation, and both are very rustic and wild. The first time I visited Mana we stayed at the designated camp site, where you have to set up your own camp site. I am all about wild life, and animals passing through the camp site in the middle of the night, but I wasn’t ready for how up close and personal you get with the animals! While eating dinner Hyena were always waiting, a few meters away in the dark, for the scraps they could steal. Elephant would roam in and out of the camp, which kept us all on our toes, and a near by campsite actually had a bull elephant charge the group while they were eating dinner. As the camp site is set up on the edge of the Zambezi hippos would come out the water at night and graze around your tent. And some mornings we found lion spoor through the middle of our camp site which they had walked through while we were all sleeping!!

No matter where you stay in Mana monkeys are always around in the camps, this is a money that was eyeing out its next piece of food it was going to try steal.

The more luxurious option for camping is in the mobile tented camps which move every few months depending on the flood plains. This in my opinion is the best way to stay in Mana, its a less amateur means of camping, each large canvas tent sleeps two people, and there is a common dining area that is set up right next to the river where we eat all our meals. With the tented camp there is a game guide who is also a PH, who takes you on long walks every day and you are able to get close to some of Africa’s wildest animals, but at a safe distant.

Neither of these camp sites have fences to keep animals out, the animals are free to roam in and out of the camp at their own will, at any time of the day. (Thats why I like the HP in our camp who always warned us of the near by elephant and other animals that we needed to be aware of. He would also point out the different kinds of spoor of animals that passed through our camp the night before, so we were always aware of what animals were around, and to never move to far from the camp without him).

One of the tents at the tented mobile camp.

An elephant we saw on one of game walks at Mana.

Beautiful view to wake up to! Picture taken early in the morning as the sun was rising.

The sun peaking through the clouds on a late afternoon game walk.

The Zambezi: Sapi Safari Area

One of the most beautiful place to go to in Zimbabwe is along the Zambezi river. Approximately 2700kms long the Zambezi river is Africa’s 4th largest river system, and runs through six different countries. There are a number of places to visit along the Zambezi river where one can stay in fishing lodges and tented camps. I have stayed in both along the Zimbabwean side of the river.

The two main places I have visited along the Zambezi is Mana pools, and the Sapi Safari area.

If you are the type of person that likes to get up close and personal with the animals and isn’t afraid of the Hyenas sniffing around your tent, and the odd lion passing through your camp site while you sleep Mana pools is the place for you. But if you enjoy a more secure environment of a thatched chalet far out of reach from any wildlife then a fishing lodge would be for you.

I have stayed in both places, and have enjoyed both equally but for completely different reasons.

In April this year my family organised a trip to Tafika fishing Lodge which is located within the Sapi Safari Area, about 40km downstream from Mana Pools National Park. It is a beautiful fishing camp that sleeps 14 people comfortably in their stunning chalets that are all situated facing the river. Each secluded chalet sleeps two people with a private veranda where you can drink tea in the early mornings listening to the hippos. What I like most about the chalets was the outdoor show, after a long day in the sun fishing on the river, and quite a few GnT’s later, it was so amazing showering under the stars!

The fishing camp as well as many others along the river are amazing, that area of the Zambezi is very well known for Tiger fishing, and although we weren’t there in the peak season of Tiger fishing we still all caught a fair share. While on the pontoons floating down the river with a rod in the water (and of coarse a cold hunters in hand) you are always sure to see wildlife. There are tons of hippos around, as well as elephant, buffalo, kudu, zebra, monkeys and baboons. If you are really lucky you might see a leopard or lion along the waters edge in the dry season coming to drink.

Here are a few photos I took of our 5 night stay at Tafika.

Taken while having Sundowners on our first night at Tafika.

Elephant on the bank watching us reeling in all the tiger

Mhoro Shamwari!

Hello friends,

Zimbabwe is one of the most beautiful countries in Africa, but unfortunately very few non-zimbabwean have experienced the beautiful places and people the country is home to. In the last 20 years Zimbabwe has been a country ravaged by war and dishonourable political leaders who have tarnished the image and perceptions of the country. Due to the immoral decisions and greed of the Zimbabwe national leaders of the political party ZANUPF, the country’s economy crashed and the Zimbabwean dollar is now just a distant memory due to the extreme inflation the country was exposed to.

During the early 2000’s was when Zimbabwe was at its worst with farm invasions increasing, the crime and violence at an all time high, and tourism sharply declining due to the fear of safety while traveling in Zimbabwe.

Many farmers were kicked off their farms by the ZANUPF war vets, and when farmers resisted to leaving their livelihood and farm life they had built for their families, to war vet hooligans who would inevitably destroy, it resulted in violence. Many farmers who resisted were either beaten, and sadly while defending their farms and families were killed. These drastic life changing events lead to many Zimbabweans fleeing the country to restart their lives, those who fled the country included farmers who had no choice but to leave and start their lives over, as well as people who were based in town and had been exposed to the terrible crimes and violence that was taking place within the cities.

My parents were one of the thousands of parents that made the very life changing decision in the best interest of their family to leave the place we called home, and leave behind the family and friends we had grown up with, to re-start our lives free from the fear of living in Zimbabwe at the time.

Today eleven years down the line from when we first left Zimbabwe my family has lived in three different countries around the world. In the five homes we have owned around the world, the only place that has and always will be home for my family is Zimbabwe.

This is my opportunity to show the amazing places and people of Zimbabwe, and to remind those who use to live there of their beautiful home.

All the pictures that are placed on this blog have been taken by either myself, or friends of mine over our travels to different areas around Zimbabwe in the last 8 years. It is our personal experiences and memories of the country we would like to share.