Experience close encounters with African wildlife from canoe or on foot
For those looking for a little adventure, this is possibly the best safari in all of Africa! This thrilling experience provides incredibly close encounters with animals and birds either from the canoe or on foot. Each trip is led by an armed professional guide who is licensed to take guests both canoeing on the river and walking in the national park. Accommodation is in fully serviced, comfortable camps on the banks of the Zambezi with bedding, hot bucket showers, meals and waiter service.
The canoe trails traverse the entire length of the enchanting Mana Pools National Park. Canoeing is in comfortable, stable Canadian canoes, travelling at a leisurely pace. The combination of walking and canoeing allows maximum flexibility, and provides the best opportunity to experience all that Mana Pools has to offer.
Highlights
- Get amazingly close to iconic African wildlife such as elephant and hippo
- Paddle at a relaxed pace along the mighty Zambezi River
- Explore magnificent landscapes in beautiful Mana Pools National Park on foot
- Enjoy fully serviced camping on the shore with hot bucket showers
- Traverse the entire length of the reserve with the flexibility to canoe or walk throughout your safari
Getting there
Sample Itinerary
Mana Pools Canoe and Walking Trails
4 days/3 nights
Day 1
Mana Pools National Park
Arrive in Mana Pools no later than 11:30AM, where you are driven through the game-rich floodplain to reach your first night’s campsite. Enjoy a light lunch and a safety briefing before launching your canoe near the confluence of the Ruckomechi and Zambezi rivers. Hippo, buffalo, elephant, crocodile and an array of antelope species are often seen on the banks. Return to camp around sunset, where sundowner drinks and a three-course dinner by a campfire awaits. LD
Days 2/3
Canoeing
Start the day early, on the water by sunrise. Drift along, enjoying the scenery and possible predator action, before disembarking for breakfast and a walk through riverine woodland. Learn how to identify an animal by its spoor or a bird by its call as you traverse the landscape on foot. After a well-earned lunch break and siesta, drift downriver to your second campsite, which overlooks a large grassy plain and the Zambezi River. Day 3 follows a similar itinerary, but in a much more remote area, far from roads. There is an opportunity to walk across a wild island before paddling to a third campsite. BLD
Day 4
Tour ends Mana Pools
Enjoy a final walk before breakfast, or simply sleep in. A game drive takes you back to the airstrip or the Nyamepi main camp where you say goodbye to your hosts. B
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