Little Vundu Camp keeps a quiet, deliberate presence on a private concession fronting the Zambezi in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park, some 75 metres from the water. Five canvas tents shelter under sausage trees, ebony and acacia, and the main dining tent lies across a footbridge over a narrow channel that elephants use daily to drink and feed.
Bulls feed on fallen sausage-tree pods within metres of the tents.
Nick Murray is a professional guide. He founded Bushlife Safaris with his wife Desirée, and runs it all himself. Mana Pools has a long tradition of approaching habituated elephants carefully on foot. Bulls feed on fallen sausage-tree pods within metres of the tents. Murray’s guides read their behaviour before deciding whether to approach, and a morning drive gives way to walking wherever fresh tracks lead.
Nick Murray and his guiding team have worked this stretch of the Zambezi Valley for decades, and that experience is why people book Little Vundu Camp ahead of a larger, more polished camp. Concession status changes what a day can look like. Walks, drives and canoe trips combine as the morning demands, following elephants, lion and wild dog, with far fewer vehicles around than in the park’s public sections.
The canoes drift past hippos and crocodiles at eye level.
A canoe gives a slower, lower vantage on the same floodplain the walks cross on foot. The canoes drift past hippos and crocodiles at eye level. Fishing and birdwatching fill the quieter hours, and all of it turns on Mana Pools’ dry-season rhythm, when the shrinking river draws the game close to the water, not on any itinerary fixed in advance.
Rebuilt each May and dismantled again in November, the camp lives a seasonal life that keeps its footprint light, and gives the strong sense of camping within a working floodplain instead of beside one. Its five Meru-style tents have been refurbished with new canvas and updated interiors, each holding twin beds under mosquito netting. The en-suite bathroom is open to the air, with a flush toilet and an outdoor shower. There is a simple fan, and private seating that faces the river through the trees, close enough to hear the water and the elephants that come to drink.
This is a proper simple bush camp, and it suits guests who want exactly that. The meals are cooked over the fire, the bathrooms are open to the sky, and the big animals move through on their own schedule rather than the camp’s. Elephants pass at night, and lion, leopard, hyena and wild dog use the same ground. That is why guests are escorted between tent and fire once it is dark. Anyone wanting a fully enclosed, climate-controlled lodge experience will find it somewhere else.
Elephants pass at night, and lion, leopard, hyena and wild dog use the same ground.
Breakfast comes at first light, the mist still lifting off the river, hippos surfacing and fish eagles calling, before the morning’s walk or drive sets out. The days follow the animals, not a clock. Meals are communal, taken at a long table in the open-sided dining tent beside the channel. Dinner is usually served outside near the fire, where elephants often feed within sight of the table as it is laid, and the coffee and nightcaps carry on around the firepit as lion call across the floodplain.
Close to 400 bird species have been recorded in Mana Pools, and the riverine woodland around the camp holds kingfishers, bee-eaters and fish eagles alongside the larger game. Children are welcome, with higher minimum ages for walking and canoeing left to the guides’ discretion, and families with younger ones book a private vehicle. Five tents make the whole place easy to take over, which suits a single family or a group of friends travelling together. Sister camp Vundu hosted the BBC Dynasties crew filming the Painted Wolf episode, with Nick Murray guiding the production.
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accommodation
Five Meru-style canvas tents, refurbished with new canvas and updated interiors. Each has twin beds under mosquito netting, an open-air en-suite bathroom with flush toilet and outdoor shower, a simple fan, and private outdoor seating facing the Zambezi through sausage and ebony trees, close enough to hear the water.
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activities
Guided walking safaris are central here, often tracking elephants and wild dog on foot with Nick Murray's team. Morning and afternoon 4x4 drives shift to walking as sightings warrant. Canoeing on the Zambezi passes hippos and crocodiles at water level. Fishing and birdwatching round out the programme, all within a private Mana Pools concession.
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conservation
The Bushlife Support Unit was established in 2015, an anti-poaching team working alongside Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority on daily patrols, run by Nick and Desirée Murray. Their Bushlife Conservancy works to protect wildlife and habitat across the Zambezi Valley in Zimbabwe and Zambia, and the Murrays support health, welfare and education projects in communities bordering the park.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
Mana Pools is remote and reached by air. You fly into Victoria Falls or Harare, then take a light aircraft to one of the Zambezi valley airstrips, from where the camp collects you for the short transfer to the river. There is no practical way in by scheduled flight, so the small charter is part of the experience and we arrange the whole chain of connections.
These flights are shared, with the exact departure set the day before once the airline fixes its routing, and luggage is soft bags of around 20kg per person including hand luggage, which we confirm before you pack. If you would prefer to set your own timings, we can arrange a private charter instead, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, flown direct to the valley. The camp is seasonal, running through the dry months from roughly April or May to the end of October and closing for the green-season rains, so we plan your trip around the months it is open.
Yes, the lower Zambezi valley is a malaria area, so it is not malaria-free. The camp runs in the dry season, when mosquito numbers and the risk are lower, but the risk does not disappear, and it is higher in the wet months either side of the season.
Please check the current advice with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, take antimalarials if they recommend them, and cover up against bites after dark.
The dry-season days are warm and the early mornings cool, so you want a warm layer for the first walk or drive and light clothing for the heat of the day. From September the valley grows very hot, and October can top 40 degrees, which is worth knowing if heat is hard for you.
Pack light, neutral-coloured clothes, closed shoes for walking, a hat and strong sun protection, and plan to drink plenty of water through the day. Bags need to be soft-sided for the light aircraft, so leave hard suitcases at home.
Mana Pools is one of the few parks where you can properly explore on foot, and this camp is built around it. Days follow fresh tracks rather than set routes, on foot with an experienced guide, often approaching the famous elephants that stand tall on their back legs to reach the higher branches. On the river, canoes drift past hippos and elephants at water level.
Walking safaris are for guests aged sixteen and over for safety reasons. If you are travelling with teenagers, tell us their ages and we will confirm what they can join.
The camp generally takes children from around ten years old, and families with children under twelve are usually asked to book a private vehicle so a shared safari is not held up. It is a small, remote walking camp rather than a dedicated family lodge.
Walking safaris are limited to ages sixteen and over. Tell us the ages of your children and we will let you know honestly whether the camp suits your family or suggest a better fit.
No, there is no wifi at the camp, and the mobile signal in this remote part of Mana Pools is very limited or absent. The camp keeps a radio or satellite link for safety and logistics, but not for guests to browse or call.
Plan to be offline while you are here, which most guests come to value as one of the best parts of the stay. If you need to stay reachable for a genuine reason, tell us before you travel and we will advise on the options.
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our approach
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