MANA POOLS NATIONAL PARK

Once a little known safari gem, visited only by seasoned safari goers, Mana Pools has become one of the best safari destinations in Zimbabwe, let alone Africa!

Mana Pools is home to high elephant numbers, huge buffalo herds, numerous hippos and crocodiles, a diverse population of antelope, spectacular bird life, and determined predators. The Zambezi River and its floodplains are wildlife magnets and provide water year round. Impalas, zebras, elands, waterbucks, kudus, and warthogs feed on the river’s surrounding plains. Late in the dry season when the winterthorn acacia trees drop their seedpods, the highest concentrations of wildlife can be found along the river and the surrounding forests.

Due to heavy rains and difficult logistics, most camps in Mana Pools close during the wet season, from January to March. Their reopening in March is marked by landscapes of lush grass, lively marshlands, and fresh pools. As the region transitions into the dry season, temperatures fall, inland water sources dry up, and wildlife is drawn to the banks of the Zambezi River and surrounding floodplains. By June, winter is in full swing with its moderate temperatures lasting through August, and average in the low 80s during the day, cooling off at night.

Days become warmer as the region moves into summer in September and October. The dry landscape makes the Zambezi River and its floodplains wildlife magnets, attracting plains game and hungry predators alike. By November the first substantial rain arrives, cooling the warm summer air and bringing relief to the parched landscape and its wildlife. Temperatures remain warm through the rest of the year with regular cooling showers.

Mana Pools is home to high elephant numbers, huge buffalo herds, numerous hippos and crocodiles, a diverse population of antelope, spectacular bird life, and determined predators. The Zambezi River and its floodplains are wildlife magnets and provide water year round. Impalas, zebras, elands, waterbucks, kudus, and warthogs feed on the river’s surrounding plains.

The swift-moving motion of packs of wild dogs on the move draws in all eyes. As they move through Mana Pools they avoid resident prides of lions, packs of hyenas, and leopards. The dusty landscape during the dry season provides perfect camouflage for tawny prides of lions to lie and wait for their prey at Mana Pools’ remaining water sources, while leopards lurk along the forested fringes of the Zambezi River.