8-Day Self-Drive Mana Pools & Chitake Springs

• You'll be collected from the airport.
• Accommodation before the tour starts can be arranged for an extra cost.

Fly into Harare - We Meet You at the Airport and Transfer You to Sunbird Guest House

We will meet you at the arrivals and transfer you to our own Sunbird Guest House in Harare where our team of hospitality professionals will look after you. The guest house recently got renovated to world-class standards. We are fully off-grid, with solar electricity to run our super-fast fiber Wi-fi, water heating, and borehole water. The theme is "Modern with a Zimbabwean twist" and our focus is on service and comfort.

We launch the 4x4 rentals from the guesthouse so you will be able to familiarize yourself with your vehicle and the kit. We have decent grocery stores and supermarkets within a 1 km radius so you can stock up on groceries for your trip. Alternatively, you can use our trip catering service whereby we pre-purchase your chosen groceries from our shopping list and menu of delicious home-made frozen meals.

Main Destination:

Harare (City)

Accommodation:

Sunbird Guest House

• Mid-range guest house located in Harare (City)

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Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

4x4 Handover, Drive to Mana Pools National Park

Early Start (06:00am) at Sunbird Guest House with 4x4 handover. Costa will demonstrate the operation of the vehicle and associated equipment and run you through the paperwork (please allow approx. 1hr 30 Mins- please don't rush him as this is vital for your safety and comfort).

Once the handover is completed, we'll set you off on the road to Mana Pools! Follow the GPS directions up the Great North Road. Brim your fuel tanks at Karoi and Makuit then proceed to Marongora Zimparks check-in, and present entry permits which we have prepared for you. You will need to pay a small Zimparks vehicle entry fees (USD3 per day). Descend the Zambezi Escarpment and turn onto the Mana dust road (you will now learn what corrugations are!). Proceed approx. 70km through the bush to Mana Reception.

Set up your campsite. You are responsible for all camp chores from cooking to cleaning and keeping your food safely stowed in the vehicle away from Monkeys & elephants (no fresh fruit allowed).

Main Destination:

Mana Pools National Park

Best Time To Visit June to October (Best wildlife viewing)

High Season July to September

Best Weather April to September (Rains rarely fall)

Wildlife in Mana Pools NP

ElephantAbundant

LionCommon

BuffaloCommon

ZebraCommon

HippoCommon

HyenaCommon

Show more

LeopardOccasional

Wild DogOccasional

CheetahRare

GiraffeNone

White RhinoNone

Black RhinoNone

WildebeestNone

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• Inside Mana Pools NP

Meals & Drinks:

• Meals at own expense
• Drinks not included

Explore Mana Pools

Wake up on your first day at Mana to a cacophony of birdsong and animal sounds. Hippo grunts, lion roars, hyena howls. You are in paradise. We suggest you book a Zimparks ranger at reception to take you on guided walks along the Mana floodplain every morning and evening because walking is what sets Mana apart from other African parks. Don't waste the opportunity and freedom of being allowed to walk at Mana by driving randomly along Mana's rather limited road network. Get out there in the bush with an armed Zimparks ranger and walk - you will be immersed in the bugs and birds and live a totally different experience to the standard African game drive. This is real, wild Africa.

Main Destination:

Mana Pools National Park

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• Inside Mana Pools NP

Meals & Drinks:

• Meals at own expense
• Drinks not included

Explore Mana Pools

Get into your Mana routine. Book morning and afternoon walks with Zimparks rangers. Relax during the heat of the day and see more animals walk through your campsite than you saw on your walk. You are now starting to become used to the Mana lifestyle.

Main Destination:

Mana Pools National Park

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• Inside Mana Pools NP

Meals & Drinks:

• Meals at own expense
• Drinks not included

Drive to Chitake Springs

Break camp after breakfast, and fill the roof-mounted water tank on the vehicle and solar showers with water at reception. Today we are going to Chitake Springs. Drive approx 60km inland from the river to set up camp at Chitake camping site. Here the Chitake river rises out of the sand and flows on the surface for up to 1km before sinking back into the earth. This is the only source of water for miles around in mid dry season and animals flock to Chitake to drink and hunt. You camp amongst them. You will definitely see lion at Chitake, set up your chairs under the shade of the fig tree and let the animals come to you.

Main Destination:

Chitake Springs (Mana Pools NP)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• Inside Chitake Springs (Mana Pools NP)

Meals & Drinks:

• Meals at own expense
• Drinks not included

Explore Chitake Springs

Today will be a full day to explore Chitake Springs. There is no water at Chitake so you have to live off the water tank on the vehicle. Spend a full day and two nights in this wild paradise unlike anywhere else on earth. Two nights at Chitake is probably about right, just from a water rationing point of view.

Main Destination:

Chitake Springs (Mana Pools NP)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• Inside Chitake Springs (Mana Pools NP)

Meals & Drinks:

• Meals at own expense
• Drinks not included

Break Camp, Self-Drive to Harare

After breakfast and a morning walk, reluctantly break camp, depart before 10:00 am and drive slowly back towards the tar road. Remember to re-inflate tires to 2,5 bar at the last boom gate at the tar road. Checkout at Marongora. Refuel at Chinhoyi and return the vehicle to Sunbird Guest House in the daylight (for traffic & road safety reasons it is unwise to travel after nightfall). Hand back the 4x4 and complete vehicle return paperwork with Costa. Then have a farewell barbeque at Sunbird or go out for dinner nearby (your hosts can arrange a reliable taxi for you).

Main Destination:

Harare (City)

Accommodation:

Sunbird Guest House

• Mid-range guest house located in Harare (City)

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Fly Home from Harare

We transfer you to the airport for your return trip home. Your will head back filled with memories and about as relaxed as a human being can be. Nobody just visits Mana once, if you go once you go again and again. The freedom and wilderness of Zim are addictive.

Main Destination:

No major destination visited

Accommodation:

No accommodation (End of tour)

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
• Drinks not included

• Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.
• You'll be dropped off at the airport.