Botswana & Zimbabwe guide
Find out more about combining two Southern African countries in a single trip.
Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe
Wildlife numbers tumbled here in the 2000s due to poaching under an unstable government. Finally, animals are back to healthy numbers again.
Your guide raps their canoe with the paddle – and, there ahead of you in the water, something responds with a splash. Hippo? Fish? Caiman? Crocodile?
“Flatdog,” they say.
What is a flatdog? It’s a crocodile. Just as a kloof is a ravine, a vlei an area of marshy low ground, a veld a grassland.
Mana Pools National Park is a place of flatdogs – and of vlei and veld and floodplain – and much more besides. This 2,000km2 Zimbabwe park is seven times smaller than the more visited and more safari-species diverse Hwange National Park, but it’s often cited as one of the most beautiful places on the planet for a safari holiday. The quality of the light here is renowned; you might take the best photographs of your life.
Named after four lakes (mana means ‘four’ in Shona) on the Zambezi River floodplain, Mana Pools, together with two safari areas, was Zimbabwe’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s a wilderness area, important for 450 species of birds, with vital wetlands.
The pools – and indeed water in general – are integral to the park, attracting heaps of wildlife to the area in dry season. The Zambezi River forms the northern border of the park, just as it forms a border between Zambia and Zimbabwe; Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park runs the other side of the river – a dramatic escarpment of hills that provides a scenic backdrop to photographs of the river. There are heaps of hippopotamuses and Nile crocodiles, and 75 species of fish, including massive tiger fish – popular quarry for leisure fishermen.
Follow the Zambezi west instead and eventually you reach Victoria Falls – a busy natural attraction. Mana Pools, by contrast only gets a few thousand visitors a year, and is among the least developed parks, in terms of facilities, in Southern Africa.
The environment is so untouched that the trunks of fossilised trees, millions of years old, still lie undisturbed on the ground alongside fossilised dinosaur tracks and Stone Age implements. In rainy season, the park empties of people. Some camps are packed up completely and taken away.
Your guide raps their canoe with the paddle – and, there ahead of you in the water, something responds with a splash. Hippo? Fish? Caiman? Crocodile?
“Flatdog,” they say.
What is a flatdog? It’s a crocodile. Just as a kloof is a ravine, a vlei an area of marshy low ground, a veld a grassland.
Mana Pools National Park is a place of flatdogs – and of vlei and veld and floodplain – and much more besides. This 2,000km2 Zimbabwe park is seven times smaller than the more visited and more safari-species diverse Hwange National Park, but it’s often cited as one of the most beautiful places on the planet for a safari holiday. The quality of the light here is renowned; you might take the best photographs of your life.
Named after four lakes (mana means ‘four’ in Shona) on the Zambezi River floodplain, Mana Pools, together with two safari areas, was Zimbabwe’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s a wilderness area, important for 450 species of birds, with vital wetlands.
The pools – and indeed water in general – are integral to the park, attracting heaps of wildlife to the area in dry season. The Zambezi River forms the northern border of the park, just as it forms a border between Zambia and Zimbabwe; Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park runs the other side of the river – a dramatic escarpment of hills that provides a scenic backdrop to photographs of the river. There are heaps of hippopotamuses and Nile crocodiles, and 75 species of fish, including massive tiger fish – popular quarry for leisure fishermen.
Follow the Zambezi west instead and eventually you reach Victoria Falls – a busy natural attraction. Mana Pools, by contrast only gets a few thousand visitors a year, and is among the least developed parks, in terms of facilities, in Southern Africa.
The environment is so untouched that the trunks of fossilised trees, millions of years old, still lie undisturbed on the ground alongside fossilised dinosaur tracks and Stone Age implements. In rainy season, the park empties of people. Some camps are packed up completely and taken away.
In the 2010s Mana Pools’ elephants found fame when it was discovered they had learnt to stand on their hind legs to feed from the trees. One of the current favourites is Fred, named after Fred Astaire.![]()
The next big safari destination
In the 1980s and 1990s Zimbabwe was a major safari destination. But under Robert Mugabe’s long presidency, the country experienced serious challenges. The population suffered from lack of food production during land reform and economic turmoil. Wildlife vanished from parks, killed for their meat. Between 2004 and 2014, the Zambezi Valley’s elephant population was reduced by half. Mana Pools’ UNESCO inscription came, in part, because it was a reserve for black rhino, but these were poached. By 1994 they were no longer present in the park.The park’s fortunes have changed again. President Mugabe’s tenure ended in 2017. In 2022 the park celebrated its third year in a row with no elephant poaching, and the trend has continued since. Liddy Pleasants from our partner for family holidays, Stubborn Mule Travel, has been gearing up to send more families to the country. She sees Zimbabwe as finally back on the travel map. “We weren’t really suggesting it as wildlife was depleted but numbers are buoyant and back in place,” she told us. “And Zimbabwe’s wildlife guides are reputed across Africa.”
Now, elephants have returned – so many that in dry season, their tracks harden into huge craters all over the floodplain. In 2018, hit BBC documentary, Dynasties, showed two families of African wild dogs roaming the park as part of their massive territories. Yet threats remain: in 2019, severe drought dried up two of the eponymous pools in fifty-degree heat, and they have not recovered. Bales of hay were trucked into the park to feed the animals. More recently, drought has struck again and will likely be a feature of future seasons. Artificial boreholes help supply water to the wildlife (and to tourists) in dry periods, but may not be enough. The threat of mining also looms, and oil and gas companies have expressed interest in prospecting near the park.
Tourism cannot solve all of Mana Pools’ problems, but responsible tourists can tread mindfully, knowing that the newly returned wildlife they see is still fragile – even if it does seem as tough as a big old flatdog.
Ways to explore Mana Pools National Park
Walking safaris
The original walking safaris came about just over the Zambezi, in Zambia, but what Zambia started, Zimbabwe perfected. Zimbabwean guides come into their own on walking safaris; serious business in a park with so many elephants and other big mammals.
“I’ve tracked wild dogs on foot in Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe and it was awesome,” says Simon Mills from our partner for African safaris, Native Escapes. “It was a really great experience.” Animals are used to seeing people on foot because it has long been practised – unlike in other areas, where it is a newer phenomenon. Animals also recognise, and tolerate, particular guides. Going on foot is particularly rewarding in Mana Pools as it has less grass than other parks. In dry season, you have good visibility across the plain.
“I’ve tracked wild dogs on foot in Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe and it was awesome,” says Simon Mills from our partner for African safaris, Native Escapes. “It was a really great experience.” Animals are used to seeing people on foot because it has long been practised – unlike in other areas, where it is a newer phenomenon. Animals also recognise, and tolerate, particular guides. Going on foot is particularly rewarding in Mana Pools as it has less grass than other parks. In dry season, you have good visibility across the plain.
I’ve tracked African wild dogs on foot in Mana Pools National Park, and it was awesome.![]()
Canoe safaris
Lazy and wide, the Zambezi makes for blissful paddle. Canoeing expeditions down the Zambezi are one of the best ways to experience Mana Pools National Park: watching carmine bee eaters flee fore and aft between their sandy burrows in the bank and the air; looking for animals coming to the water’s edge to drink, and elephants coming to bathe; and letting the stream carry you ever further east. You start your paddling early in the day, before any rising easterly headwind can impede your progress. You can expect trips to spend around three nights on the river. Camps dotted along the shore provide the evening stops.
Jeep safaris
Traditional jeep safaris remain an excellent way to get around Mana Pools and most of our holidays include at least a couple of jeep safaris. Jeeps cannot drive off road – their tracks make a lasting impact, and they compact the soil, which damages the ecosystem. There are an increasing number of roads through the park. Sticking to the road can be great because many animals – such as lazy lions – do it too, rather than clambering over rougher terrain.
Going with a guide
The best way to experience Mana Pools’ beauty is with a guide – and indeed Zimbabwean safari guides are reputed for their experience and expertise. Candidates face one of the strictest guiding tests in the world, and the first-time pass rate is very low. Alongside practical, oral and written exams, guide spend at least two years in apprenticeship in the field before they can become a walking guide.
Zimbabwe & Botswana game tracker safari
A lodge safari through Kruger, Zimbabwe & Botswana
From
€3180
16 days
ex flights
Zimbabwe safari holiday, tailor made
Safari combining some of the most diverse areas of Zimbabwe
From
£6295
8 days
ex flights
Victoria Falls photography holiday, Zimbabwe
Learn about wildlife photography & support conservation
From
US $2195
14 days
ex flights
Hwange NP safari and rail holiday, Zimbabwe
Hwange safari before taking Rovos Rail to Pretoria
From
US $9566 to US $12910
12 days
ex flights
Highlights of Zimbabwe and Botswana, tailor made
Victoria Falls, Chobe and the Moremi Game Reserve
From
£3130 to £5730
8 days
ex flights
Zimbabwe family safari
Big 5 Safari, adrenaline fuelled activities, ideal for teenagers
From
£2775 to £5450
10 days
ex flights
Contact Us
Call us for a chat about our holidays. We are happy to discuss your holiday and help in any way we can. No bots, queues or awful hold music.
01273 823 700
Call us until 6pm
Calling from outside the UK
Practicalities
How do I get to Mana Pools, Zimbabwe?
Mana Pools is remote. On our holidays you tend to reach it by flying from Victoria Falls airport, or flying into Harare, then driving – or flying – the 350km north. Our safari holidays will combine Mana Pools with other parks – heading east towards Matusadona and Hwange. Whilst Mana Pools borders Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia, there is a closed border between the two countries, meaning you cannot easily get from Zambia to Zimbabwe. Canoe trips will only camp on one side of the river.
Where will I stay in Mana Pools?
You might see signs up when you arrive in Mana Pools – No fruit allowed in the park. Elephants can smell fresh fruit from hundreds of metres away, and will raid tents to get it; offending elephants may have to be put down once they learn that humans can be a source of food.
You can stay in camps that are solar powered, that save water, and are helping fund schools whose pupils live near the parks. What camps lack in terms of mod cons, they make up in scenery: “There may be no running water in the tents and limited solar-powered lighting,” said our traveller Christine Waddington, “but it is the most beautiful location that I have ever stayed in.”
Most safari camps are clustered around the river. You can choose more remote camps further south for an even quieter experience. Outside of dry season, when wildlife moves away from the river, you can have some good sightings in these quieter spots. The presence of tourists helps combat poaching, and income from tourism can help justify the park’s existence, and make its wildlife worth more alive than dead.
You can stay in camps that are solar powered, that save water, and are helping fund schools whose pupils live near the parks. What camps lack in terms of mod cons, they make up in scenery: “There may be no running water in the tents and limited solar-powered lighting,” said our traveller Christine Waddington, “but it is the most beautiful location that I have ever stayed in.”
Most safari camps are clustered around the river. You can choose more remote camps further south for an even quieter experience. Outside of dry season, when wildlife moves away from the river, you can have some good sightings in these quieter spots. The presence of tourists helps combat poaching, and income from tourism can help justify the park’s existence, and make its wildlife worth more alive than dead.
Best time to visit Mana Pools National Park
Visiting season tends to run from May to the end of October. The dry season peaks from August to November, and this is when wildlife viewing around water sources is best – the number of elephants around the water increases as it gets drier and drier. Water really is at a premium and there can be terrible droughts. By October – sometimes called ‘suicide month’ – it’s getting extremely hot. In the rainy season, which is particularly good for birding, the park remains open but is difficult to navigate; roads are mud-bound, and there are more biting insects. Some lodges close, roads close, and fly camps are removed each year for the rainy season in their entirety, letting the area around them recover.
More Zimbabwe articles
Zimbabwe has been turned upside down and inside out since gaining independence in the 1980s.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that the only thing to see in Zimbabwe is Victoria Falls.
From river rafting to going on safari, climbing mountains to jumping off bridges, Zimbabwe keeps you on your toes.
You may feel that nothing roars louder than Mugabe, but then you remember that the real roar is from Zimbabwe wildlife.
Famed for its enormous elephant population, Hwange has emerged from difficult times.
Discover the history and significance of Zimbabwe’s ancient capital.
Keep an open mind and open eyes when you're in Zimbabwe and use our advice and tips from our partners in the country.
Help ensure Zimbabwe's tourism grows sustainably, and with positive environmental impacts.
More relevant guides
