Mana Pools
Old channels of the Zambezi turned into pools, a floodplain shaded by mahogany and acacia, and an escarpment rising a kilometre behind it, eighty minutes by light aircraft from Harare.
- Arrival
- Harare, Robert Gabriel Mugabe International · HRE
- To the park
- About 80 minutes by charter from Harare
- Private jets
- Into Harare or Kariba, then light aircraft
- Best time
- May to October
The city
Four pools on the Zambezi.
The park takes its name from four pools left behind by the wandering Zambezi: Green Pool, Chisasiko, Chine and Long Pool, the largest, over six kilometres long and never without hippos and crocodiles. Natal mahogany, rain trees and apple-ring acacias shade the floodplain; further back come mopane, jesse bush and baobabs, and to the south the escarpment climbs more than a thousand metres from the valley floor.
Together with the Sapi and Chewore safari areas, the park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. Its season is the dry winter, when the inland water fails and elephant and buffalo come down to the river in large herds, followed by lion, leopard and wild dog. By October the heat is fierce; the rains break in November.
- Long Pool The largest of the four, a six-kilometre oxbow where elephants and water birds gather at the end of the day.
- The floodplain Open ground under tall mahogany and acacia along the river, where animals feed in the shade.
- The Zambezi The northern edge of the park, with Zambia's Lower Zambezi on the far bank.
Arriving
Harare first, then the bush.
Long-haul arrivals come into Harare, thirteen kilometres from the capital. From there, or from Kariba on the lake, light aircraft fly down into the valley: around eighty minutes from Harare and twenty from Kariba.
- Johannesburg 1 h 50
- Kigali 2 h 20
- Nairobi 2 h 40
- Luanda 2 h 50
- Paris 10 h 15 long-range jet
When to go
May to October.
A hot valley with one rainy season, from November to March, when 160 to 190 mm fall in the wettest months. From May to October it is dry: June and July are the mildest, near 28 °C by day, and the heat builds to 36 °C in October as the game crowds the river.
- 32° J 189
- 31° F 163
- 32° M 96
- 32° A 20
- 30° M 3
- 28° J 0
- 28° J 0
- 31° A 0
- 34° S 0
- 36° O 9
- 35° N 62
- 32° D 178
Elsewhere in Zimbabwe
More reasons to come.
- Victoria Falls The Smoke that Thunders, its spray visible from miles away.
- Hwange The largest park in the country, and its elephants.
- Kariba A large man-made lake, explored by houseboat.
- Matobo Granite boulders, rock art and rhinos.
- Harare The capital on the highveld, and the start of flights to Mana Pools and Kariba.
Flying to Mana Pools?
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