Natureways Safaris

An artificially bloated tour designed to impress gullible foreigners.

Change of itenary well communicated but too late to make any alterations. Ground staff very eager to receive cash money for tour upon arrival. (?)Tents pitched in sun - lopsided port-a-potty attached. Long boring time between activities. Food very colonial, old fashioned and overdone (sit down, rushed, 3 course meal with no reference to Africa). Contracted guide (Andrew Smith) excellent, but should refrain from calling his guests "know-it-all's"

Amazing experience

We enjoyed a wonderful few days with Natureways in the Mana Pools area of Zimbabwe. The guides were excellent - very knowledgeable, respectful of the animals and accommodating. We saw and learned so much on the driving and walking safaris. I admit to being nervous the afternoon we went in the canoe. The food was very good. It would be nice if they could have LED lights in the tents.

Once in a Lifttime Experience

We had a wonderful trip 10 day canoe tour on the Zambezi - and we did survive all the hippos and crocodiles. ; )
Norman and Takesure are really great guides and we enjoyed the time with them very much, staying on beautiful islands, watching amazing sunsets, listening to the sounds of wildlife, watching game and elephants (also a cheeta and a leopard)... It was really an exciting and adventurous trip and T.K. continued the lessons in naming the stars that James has started.
Before we started traveling we were well well informed by Kelly-Ann about the the Safari and all necessary preparations, things to bring and so on.

An amazing experience

The tour was booked for us so we didn't have any direct contact with the office although I have contacted them since and have been impressed with the prompt reply. Our tour started and finished at the Zambia/Zimbabwe border and transfers were in place as promised and efficient.
We did the 'Tamarind' 3 day canoe safari. It was an amazing unforgettable experience from beginning to end. We travelled off season and I think this worked in our favour. The group was smaller as a result, in our case there was only us with our two guides so the full VIP treatment. During the three days we canoed at a lovely leisurely pace and we didn't see any other canoes at all during that time. We did see a little game on the riverbanks including an unforgettable herd of elephants washing and playing in the river. The guides were able to control our boats to maximise the viewing experience , it was amazing.
Our nights were spent on islands with nobody else around. We slept in open dome tents with the stars as our backdrop and the noise of the wild as our soundtrack. During the day we would stop for regular breaks and have a lunchtime siesta to avoid the heat. We were visited by a Bull Elephant during one of these stops and he was so close. It was a real privilege to be so close.
We were lucky as we had 'The Dream Team' as guides, Norman and Takesure. We certainly made them earn their money. They answered our never ending questions showing real depth in knowledge. They were good fun, very capable and Takesure's cooking was superb. How he managed to cook such a variety of tasty and healthy food using basic equipment is beyond me but we loved it all. We've now learnt all about the star constellations which are so clear due to no light pollution and we were gazing up at them whilst drinking our bottle of wine that was provided with our meal (nice wine which was a pleasant surprise). We finished our trip at Mana Pools and stayed there for our last night. This wasn't as private but the next morning we got a game drive and saw a pack of Wild Dogs which is quite a rare sighting, very happy with that. We would recommend this trip to anybody, it was wonderful.

A Truly In-the-Wild Experience!

We had a wonderful 4-day canoeing trip with Natureways down the Zambezi in Mana Pools. We mixed it up with doing 2 days on the more rustic option and 2-days on the luxury option, and both were amazing in their own ways. I've never felt more "out there" as I did on this trip, hearing lions coughing in our camp, dodging hippos for 4 straight days and having close encounters with elephants, waterbuck and crocodiles. The guides were super knowledgeable and always prioritized our safety over anything else. The food was fresh and very well done, and the amenities in the luxury version were spectacular. All in all, one of the best experiences of my life.

There was one BIG mix-up in that we initially signed up for a 2-day walking safari and 2-day canoeing safari but when we got there Natureways had it booked as a 4-day canoeing trip. But in the end, we didn't mind at all as the 2 extra days canoeing were also amazing. Still, it was a mistake on their end.

Excellent guides, back up staff and product.

Excellent tour company providing a unique experience along the Zambezi River

Natureways were fantastic from the word go. Kelly-Anne was very prompt at replying to communications, and went above and beyond helping to assist with arrivals and departure transfers. Our guides Manu and Richard were excellent, highly knowledgeable of the environment around us, and we felt very safe in their hands. Conditions were difficult with very low water levels, concentrating the hippos into the passeable channels, but Manu steered us through expertly. The experience of wildcamping on islands in the river was incredible, and the food was just as amazing. Would thoroughly recommend taking this tour! We did the 8 day trip from Chirundu to Kanyemba, and would love to some day go back to do the full stretch starting at Kariba. Thank you Natureways.

Superb!

Wonderful experience. Well-organized. Great guides.

Incredible Zambezi trip with these very experienced operators & guides

We travelled as a couple celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary. We did the Natureways Mana Shoreline Canoeing trip for 3 days. From the moment we were collected from the tiny dirt landing airstrip in a jeep by our guides it was an adventure! The organisation was incredible - with no wifi or mobile signal anywhere in Mana Pools (except the private lodges) , somehow it all just works perfectly. We were off in our canoes within 2 hours of arrival and got in a thrilling few hours before dusk - a bit wary of all the hippos and crocodiles around, but our guides, Denny & Mark were very cool and totally in control. They gave us so much confidence. Quite a fast current which helped us on our way, even with a brisk wind occasionally against us. We arrived at our first camp to a fabulous welcome from Fanta & all the camp crew. Our tents were up, beds beautifully made & hot water in the bucket overhead for our showers! Every night, a new camp with a fire lit, tents up and dinner laid. It was so tranquil & beautiful - hard to explain the peace sitting round the fire after dinner with just hippos in the river below us chatting away! The food was spot on, porridge or whatever else you might want before setting off early. Always a coffee stop mid morning and then a long picnic lunch in the shade of a leafy island in the middle of the river to avoid the fiercest heat of the day.

The best sunrises and sunsets of our whole Zimbabwe trip, lots of knowledge about the wildlife from our great guides & lots of chat and laughter. The Zambezi is a stunning river, so clean, even though the water levels were very low after a bad wet season so a drought in progress. We saw huge amounts of hippos, crocodiles, waterbuck, elephants, baboons, incredible number of rare storks and birds & eagles.

We cannot recommend Natureways highly enough. We last went with them in 2007 on the shoreline of Mana Pools. We went on this time to do other safaris in Mana Pools, staying in various lodges etc but, although all incredible in their own way, none had the peace & utter unspoilt magic that Natureways gave us in the Shoreline safari. Almost everywhere we went to on land shared the wild animal viewings with several vehicles: on the river in the canoes it was just us, the guides & guests & the animals. We cannot wait for our grandchildren to be a little older so that we can take them & share this incredible time on the Zambezi with Natureways.

Magical adventure

Our African safari with Natureways was absolutely amazing. Everything we hoped for and more! Our guides, Mark and Manu, were extremely knowledgeable and a lot of fun to be around. They taught us so much about the animals (and great picture taking advice) hopefully we can remember it all! Fanta and the gang ran a great camp. The food was amazingly delicious considering there is no electricity or running water. Everything was done over a campfire. The tents were spread out enough where you thought you were on your own, which made the nights that much more exciting. The sounds of the animals all night were awesome. We had a great canoe trip, with close up encounters with hippos, crocodiles and elephants. The water was low and it was quite windy, which made for harder paddling, and some portage of the canoes. The next day we were supposed to continue our paddle, but were so exhausted we asked if we could do a land safari. The guides happily obliged and off we went! The biggest thing to remember is you are not in a zoo. The animals are in the wild and you have to go looking for them. That being said, Mark and Manu put us on so many different animals we were absolutely ecstatic. We had very close encounters, on foot as well as in canoes and trucks, with lions, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, all types of antelope, baboons, monkeys, water buffalo, jackals, beautiful birds, monitors, mongoose, and many more. It was absolutely magical, the trip of a lifetime! Bush safaris are the only way to go for us. Thank you so much!