Manapools.com - Glamping + Self-Drive Zim Safaris
Mana Pools Tourism Services
- Office In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Member Of:
- Wild Zambezi & Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $90 to $400 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
Email Niall | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, thorough, safe, and gave us the holiday of a lifetime.
Very impressed with the service we received from Ant in advance of the trip. Organising an itinerary that suited our timescales and requirements over WhatsApp, email, phone and facetime was all done with a minimum of fuss.
Upon arrival in Harare, we received a detailed briefing from him and Beaven in advance of departure. Because one of our party had been held up due to a cancelled flight, we had to re-jig the schedule and, again, this was done in a heartbeat and without any anxiety.
The trip itself was fantastic. Beaven was magnificent and negotiated the dreadful Zim roads like the pro that he is. At the sites we stayed, erecting the tents and sorting out the facilities became second nature and we were made to feel like family. The food was great (including one of our number who was vegan) and nothing was too much trouble. We visited Mana Pools, Chitake and Chizarira national parks - all of which had their own differing appeal which meant that we all had different favourites! There's not enough space to talk of the amazing experiences at each of the camps and sailing on Lake Kariba. All magnificent!
At every stage, Beaven's expertise and knowledge shone through. He looked after us and we felt we made a friend for life. There were some early starts and by the end, some of the teenagers were less than enamoured with getting up at 0600, but we saw it through and came back to the UK with memories that will last a lifetime, all thanks to the Mane Pools Tourism Services. 10 out out 10, guys!
Email Liljana | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Booked a holiday - got an adventure! Happy days!
It’s been about a week since we’ve been back after 24 nights in Zim and we can’t get enough of reminiscing. To start with there were dozens of calls and WhatsApp messages with Ant as we planned a once in a lifetime holiday/expedition/challenge - he is so generous with his time and encyclopedic knowledge and has the most amazing love for his country which comes across clearly in everything he does. We had a nigh enough perfect itinerary - for the novice adventurers that we are - and visited Nyanga, Bvumba, Manapools, Lake Kariba, Hwange, Victoria Falls and Matopos.
Ant arranged a wide variety of accommodation from the gorgeous Sunbird Guest house in Harare (where he and his wonderful team are based) to a four star hotel to cottage to campsites for our 4x4 and roof top tents (and kept a watchful eye over our late arrivals to some places and let venues know when we couldn’t do it ourselves) - but the tents and the Toyota Land Cruiser were our home for most of it.
The Land Cruiser is a no-nonsense fortress on wheels and driving it on very steep and lumpy mountain roads was our almost daily dose of adrenaline (but we are not silly daredevils and it felt more like riding a blancmange than a neck-breaking stunt ride - speed is not your friend when you’re navigating a rugged Zim landscape - great fun all round though). No doubt that we would not have seen half the things we saw without a reliable 4x4 so this was the perfect way to travel. We drove in excess of 2,000 miles without any car trouble which is a testament to the great care Ant and his team take with the cars.
We didn’t get, nor did we want, a restful poolside holiday. We were ‘geographically uncertain’ (i.e. lost), dusty and achy more often than not. It was a challenge at times to pack up camp by 6am for the sake of seeing the animals before the heat set in but it was well worth it and we only got guides/rangers a couple of times - this is the great advantage a self-drive expedition like this offers. We did start a bit wary but felt quite empowered (dare say fearless) and independent by the end of it.
It’s a worthwhile side note to say that we are all female - two not particularly fit fifty somethings and a nineteen year old- all long term London dwellers with no prior experience of anything like this. We felt completely safe and comfortable throughout.
And finally, it feels redundant to say it but still…Zim is a beautiful country - so many different landscapes and something special wherever you look. Manapools elephants are the calmest, quietest and most graceful living things you’ll ever see. Hwange lions let you get your car within six foot of them (and their cubs!), Nyanga ponds are so clear and a (freezing) joy to swim in. The beauty of Lake Kariba sunsets is equalled only by the Milky Way which was so easy to see as there is hardly any light pollution. Matopos rock formations might as well be on another planet and would make a fine location for a future Sci-Fi classic. We felt at times like we had six holidays in one - and there was so much more we didn’t get a chance to see.
All in all we feel so lucky and grateful to have found Ant and his team - none of this would have happened without their care and attention. Thank you Ant, Trymore, Godfrey, Tino, Chris, Moses, Costa - and Ant’s mum too 🙂 - for your warm hospitality.
FR
Email Rafael | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Professional, helpful, flexible, reliable
When planning our trip, Ant''s advice was precious to put up a realistic itinerary allowing us to combine both must sees (Vic Falls, Mana Pools) and pretty unique experiences (sailing the Kariba lake on a catamaran then crossing the lake on the ferry, securing a spot at Chitake, managing a spot for us at Kazuma at the last minute...). On arrival, he was also very helpful in dealing with my lost luggage: I was only reunited with my bag 10 days into our trip but thanks to Ant's superb assistance that inconvenience did not interfere with our experience in anyway ;) During our stay at the Sunbird guest house before hitting the road we got a complete brief on the car and on the dos and don's while on the go: we used every recommendation as we went and genuinely loved every minute of our adventure. The set up of the cars is really well thought out, the car itself was very reliable. The whole team is dedicated and warm. We loved Zimbabwe and most probably the help we got from the whole team who provides a superb service altogether. I cannot recommend the country enough nor going with Mana Pools Tourism services for the trip.
DE
Email Timon | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well-equipped 4x4, very supportive and trustworthy rental company!
We rented a car for our 2-weeks road trip and couldn’t have wished for a better rental experience. Ant is very supportive in everything you might need. The car is fully equipped with high quality camping gear - we missed nothing. Huge recommendation and would definitely rent there again!
FR
Email Vanda Mourao | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent
We rent a 4X4 with 2 tents and fully equiped, which was very convenient. The vehicle was very well equipped and we were able to visit the park independently, in complete freedom. We had a precious help from Bevan, we really recommend him. Bevan drove us in security and he knows everything about Mana Pools. First morning, he brought in front of the lions, which was very excitting for a start and then, he could give us all explanation we needed throughout our stay. He's also a good cook! Everyday we enjoyed Bevan's company. We stayed by the river and we could enjoy the sunset and the campfire. We had a great time watching the animal, elephants, antilops, crocodiles and the baboon's circus. Monkeys was also trying to steal us our food which was part of our distraction...
Reply from Mana Pools Tourism Services
Posted on Jun 16, 2024Thanks so much for taking the time to review us Vanda. We are so glad you enjoyed Zim and look forward to welcoming you back for more fun in the sun.
Best Regards Ant Bown for the Manapools.com Team
Email Jane & Dave Greenslade | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Brilliant!
If you’re thinking about a Zimbabwe self drive adventure this is the company to contact. Ant is very communicative, helpful and has lots of good advice and local knowledge. The vehicle was ideal for the self drive safari, well equipped with everything you need, and the handover with Kosta was informative and useful. We loved our time in Zim, people are really friendly, roads are challenging, scenery and animals amazing and Kariba ferry great fun with a swim stop mid lake! Wished we could have stayed longer…
Reply from Mana Pools Tourism Services
Posted on Jun 16, 2024Dear Jane and Dave,
Thanks so much for visiting, you were an absolute pleasure to work with and we hope to welcome you back again soon.
Best Regards
Ant Bown
for the Manapools.com Team
DE
Email Martin | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Everything smoothly and without problems
Vehicle was in very good condition, no complaints. They showed us all functions and introduced us to the camping equipment. also vehile return went very smoothly
Reply from Mana Pools Tourism Services
Posted on Jun 16, 2024Thanks so much for taking the time to review us Martin, we are so glad you had fun exploring Zim. We really do think it is the best country in the world and are glad you could experience it.
Best Regards
Ant Bown for the Manapools.com Team
Email WJ | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Manapools.com - Just incredible!
We had the most incredible trip in Zim thanks to Ant and the team at manapools.com. It was brilliantly planned and we were very sad to wave goodbye to our 4x4. Cannot recommend them enough!
Email Oli Morgan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing service from start to finish providing an epic adventure
Manapools.com delivered a unique "holiday" experience for us that i will remember for the rest of my life. From our first enquiry they provided an excellent service giving invaluable insight into what was possible in the time we had and understanding what we wanted to get out of the trip. Ant came up with a great itinerary that was challenging but rewarding in the most amazing way. The vehicles were great and dealt with everything we did without missing a beat. The roads are as bad as they say, don't underestimate that part! The B&B at the end was the perfect place to de-compress and get ready for our flight home. All in all an amazing trip that i'd like to again only with more time. Great value for money too.
Reply from Mana Pools Tourism Services
Posted on Jun 16, 2024Thanks so much for taking time out to review us, we thoroughly enjoyed meeting you both and are so glad you enjoyed Zim.
Best Regards
Ant Bown
For the Manapools.com Team
Email Carol H | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
An excellent tour provider - every effort made to ensure a wonderful and trouble-free holiday
We made a return trip to Zimbabwe 25 years after last going there. Our research suggested that this time we needed to partner with a tour company and Mana pools.com proved a good choice. A whatsapp call with Ant Bown established an itinerary which was refined with a further call and messages - 4 nights camping at Mana Pools and a further 2 days sailing on Lake Kariba. Ant provided us with a fully equipped 4x4 vehicle and linked us with a driver who would also manage the logisitics of travel, setting up camp and catering and generally trouble shooting. This worked very well. We were able to relax and watch the countryside roll by while our driver negotiated the potholes and traffic. At Mana Pools we camped by the Zambezi in a comfortable tent with basic but adequate amenities near by. The camp is unfenced and we were visited by an elephant investigated our dinner table on the first night and every night by grazing hippos. We also had to watch out for monkeys stealing our food and belongings. We woke at dawn each day to go for a game drive and we would go out again at the end of the day. The game was plentiful and we saw most of the larger animals in the park, inluding many elephant, a pride of lions, and a pack of rarely see wild (painted) dogs. During the middle of the day we relaxed in camp, watching birds and the life of the river. As we visited in early March, we were ahead of the main safari season and had the camp almost to ourselves. It would have been more crowded in subsequent months. We also had hotter weather than during the winter months, with temperatures well into the 30sC during the day. For the last part of our trip we transferred to Kariba to spend 2 days sailing on the lake in Greg Hall's catamaran Biriwiri. Being on the water was cooler but we had to watch out for sunburn from above and below (reflected off the water). Highlights of the trip included camping on an island with dinner on the beach and barefoot walks, game spotting from the boat with wonderful sightings of a baby elephant with it's family group and a parade of bull elephants crossing from an island to the mainland ahead of us, a swim in the lake (well away from the crocodiles) and sleeping under the stars on the deck of the boat. We spent a night at each end of the trip in the Sunbird Guesthouse in Harare, headquarters of Manapools.com, the first night incuding an alfresco dinner with Ant and our driver to run through the itinerary. Manapools.com did a great job for us.
