Mana Pools national park
Trip Start
Sep 01, 2008
1
4
6
Trip End
Sep 12, 2008
Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe
Thursday, September 4, 2008
These days were spent in Mana Pools National Park. Mana covers a small geographical area and there are not many roads on which to do game drives. The result is one of the most relaxing holidays one can imagine.
Mana is one of only a few parks where one can freely walk where one pleases. This can be very exciting as Mana is most definitely Big Five terrain...
We often drove out to a water hole where we had breakfast or lunch. Sitting outside next to a water hole and seeing the animals come for their morning or afternoon drinks is a very special experience. Another very special experience and a first for me was to follow a pack of wild dogs on foot. Unfortunately we lost sight of them when they started chasing after some impala.
One should always remember that walking amongst wild animals is a dangerous activity and this is reinforced by the fact that several tourists are injured by wild animals each season. Only two weeks prior a South African woman was severely injured after being gored by an elephant.
Another attraction of Mana is the fishing in the Zambezi and Mana rivers. Tiger and bream is the most common. Many hours were spent this way. Remember to carry a rod on game drives as well. There are a number of picnic spots next to the river where one can always try one's luck. Just be very careful. The Zambezi is known for its croc population! There is also no shortage of hippos.
Falling asleep each night to the sounds of the Hippos making their ridiculous sounds and the whooping of hyena is wonderful.
The campsite at Mana is not fenced. One should always be extremely careful as elephant and buffalo are daily visitors to the camp. At night hyenas skulk around. We saw spotted genet and a badger in the camp at night. I was also often awakened by the roar of lion close to the camp.
