On the Zimbabwean bank of the river, at the Nkupi site in Mana Pools National Park, six canvas tents face the Zambezi head-on while the Zambian escarpment rises across the water. They stand among winter thorn and ebony on open floodplain that doubles as a wildlife corridor, and they do not stay. The camp is semi-mobile, built and struck with the dry season, when the animals move between the river and the shade of the tree line.
The camp is semi-mobile, built and struck with the dry season
Here the only barrier between guests and the floodplain is canvas and gauze, so that elephants pass the tents by day and hippos call from the shallows through the night. The camp is deliberately small, twelve guests at most, and that scale keeps the focus where it belongs: on walking, on canoeing, on the long hours spent moving along the river rather than on any facility a bigger place might offer.
Few places reward travel on foot and by water like Mana Pools, and few permit unguided walking as this park does. Every walk from Zambezi Expeditions is led by an armed professional guide who reads tracks and browse lines through the woodland rather than following a set route, while on the river the pace slows again as canoes drift past hippo pods and elephants feeding at the water’s edge.
canoes drift past hippo pods and elephants feeding at the water’s edge
Some of those elephants rise onto their hind legs to reach the pods of albida trees overhead, a feeding behaviour particular to this stretch of the Zambezi. The country holds African wild dogs too, and through the driest months its four permanent inland pools draw lion, buffalo and waterbuck away from the river. Beyond the walking and canoeing, open 4×4 vehicles work the floodplain morning and afternoon, and there is quieter sport to be had from the bank, casting for tigerfish and bream and releasing them again.
The tents are mini Meru-style canvas, set up with twin or king beds, an en-suite flush toilet and an outdoor hot bucket shower fed by the old expedition method. Floor-to-ceiling mesh windows open each one to the river and the escarpment beyond, and campaign furniture and simple prints lend the interiors an old-school character. Everything runs on solar with a generator held in reserve, powering the 12-volt lighting and the camera charging points, while the shared life of the place gathers at its heart, around a small plunge pool, a lounge, a bar and a fire circle.
Beks Ndlovu grew up in a village near Hwange National Park and worked as a professional guide before founding African Bush Camps in 2006, opening his first camp at Somalisa in Hwange and growing the company since across Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia. The guiding approach set down at that early camp still runs through the days here. Each one is built around what the guides find that morning rather than a fixed itinerary, and the camp is kept small enough that the safari always stays personal.
Each one is built around what the guides find that morning rather than a fixed itinerary
Meals are homely, taken at a communal table in the open-sided mess tent, or set out in the shade of the trees, sometimes on the riverbank as the light drops. Evenings gather around the fire, the river running past in the dark and hippos calling somewhere close. It is the kind of camp where the day ends slowly and no one is in a hurry to leave the flames, with only canvas and gauze between the fire circle and the floodplain beyond. Nothing here stands between you and the country you have come to see.
You reach Mana Pools by light aircraft, and the camp runs through the dry season, roughly May to October, when the river frontage and the inland pools hold the most game. It pairs naturally with Kanga Expeditions, the inland sister camp near Kanga Pan. Set the fertile riverine edge against the game-holding pans of the interior and you have a fuller picture of the park, the same country read from two very different vantage points, a journey that moves from the water to the heart of the woodland.
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accommodation
Six mini Meru-style canvas tents sleeping twelve guests, each configured with twin or king beds. All have en-suite flush toilets, outdoor hot bucket showers and floor-to-ceiling mesh windows facing the Zambezi. Campaign furniture, 12-volt lighting and camera charging. Shared plunge pool, lounge, bar and fire circle in camp.
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activities
Guided walking safaris with armed professional guides and canoeing on the Zambezi are the signatures, both central to the Mana Pools experience. Open 4x4 game drives cover the floodplain morning and afternoon. Catch-and-release fishing for tigerfish and bream from the bank, plus birding.
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conservation
Community and conservation work runs through the African Bush Camps Foundation, established in 2006, which supports education, food security and human-wildlife coexistence projects around the park. Named initiatives near Mana Pools include Mangwara Primary School. The camp sits within Mana Pools National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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.
Zambezi Expeditions is reached by air. You fly into Victoria Falls or Harare, connect on a light aircraft to a Mana Pools airstrip, and the camp meets you for the transfer to its site on the Zambezi. We arrange the flights and every transfer for you.
The charter legs are shared, with the exact time set the day before once the airline fixes its routing, and bags must be soft-sided at around 20kg per person including hand luggage. If you would rather set the schedule yourself, we can arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, flown direct to the Mana Pools airstrip. Being semi-mobile, the camp is built for the dry season and struck for the rains, so it runs from roughly April or May to October and we plan your trip around the months it is standing.
Yes, Mana Pools lies in the Zambezi valley, a malaria area, so it is not malaria-free. The camp runs in the drier months when mosquito numbers and the risk are lower, though the risk is still present and higher in the wet season.
We recommend checking the current advice with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, taking antimalarials if advised, and covering up against bites after dark.
The dry-season days are warm with cool early mornings, so pack a warm layer for the first walk or paddle and light clothing for the heat of the day. September and October are very hot, with October often near 40 degrees.
Bring light, neutral-coloured clothing, closed walking shoes, a hat and good sun protection, and drink plenty of water through the day. A soft bag is essential, as the small planes cannot load hard suitcases.
This is a small camp built around exploring on foot and by water. Each walk goes out with an armed professional guide, who follows the tracks and the feeding signs to the animals rather than sticking to a set route, and on the water you paddle quietly past pods of hippo and elephants grazing along the bank, some of them standing tall on their back legs to strip the albida pods overhead.
The walking and canoeing are for guests aged sixteen and over. If you are travelling with teenagers, tell us their ages and we will confirm what they can join.
The camp is built around walking and canoeing, which are for guests aged sixteen and over, so it suits families with older teenagers rather than young children. It is a small camp of twelve guests with the focus firmly on the activities.
Tell us the ages of your children when you enquire and we will be honest about whether this camp fits or suggest a better one for a younger family.
No, the camp runs on solar and twelve-volt power with no wifi, though there are points to charge cameras and devices in the main area. Mobile signal in this part of Mana Pools is very limited.
This is a camp built for being out on foot and on the water, not online, so plan to be offline for your stay. If you need to stay reachable, tell us before you travel and we will advise on what is realistic.
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our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
