Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe

Mana Pools National Park is an excellent game viewing destination located on the banks of the Zambezi River opposite Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park.

The magic of this national park, which is a World Heritage Site, stems from the pervading sense of the wild and also in the park’s relative remoteness.

Mana Pools has a parklike appearance with massive acacia albida trees towering over more open grassland whilst away from the river and its floodplain the area is covered in thick bush.

The park has excellent game viewing along the mighty Zambezi River and around the oxbow lakes that give Mana Polls its name. Game includes plentiful lion, elephant and buffalo as well as offering a good chance of viewing leopard. The river teems with crocodile and hippo and large herds of buffalo graze along the shoreline.

Part of the fun at Mana Pools is getting out on the river and short, guided, canoe trips along the river where sightings of hippo and crocodile are virtually guaranteed are offered at most camps. Every kind of wild animal and bird is viewed at close hand as the canoe glides silently past. One can drift within metres of grazing buffalo, slide by sleeping crocodiles, watch wading elephants and enjoy a sense of freedom which is hard to match elsewhere.

The open areas of the park are ideal walking country and exciting walks here are very popular.

The park can be accessed by road from Kariba and Harare or there are charter flights into the area from Hwange and Victoria Falls. Mana Pools is an excellent component of any Zimbabwe Safari circuit.