LOWER ZAMBEZI - ZIMBABWE

SEMI-LUXURY CANOE SAFARI SAFARI

WHAT TO BRING

1. Please keep your luggage to a maximum of 10kg per person, packed in a soft bag not a suitcase.

2. We recommend you pack the following for your safari:

Shorts

Personal toiletries

Towel

Well worn sneakers or lightweight boots for the walking

Light sandals to wear at night and in the canoes

Lightweight bush coloured clothing

Beanie and sleeping socks for cool months

A hat with a wide brim

A jacket or cardigan for the evenings

Good light weight binoculars of 10x or less power

Camera/video – we can charge batteries with the necessary 12-volt cigarette lighter cables

Personal insect repellents and sunscreen

Shirts (including a long sleeved one for sun protection)

A kikoi or length of cloth to cover your legs to protect them from the sun

3. Natureways Safaris will provide all other camping equipment and canoeing equipment.

4. Please ensure that you have begun a course of anti malaria tablets before your arrival in Zimbabwe and that you continue the medication for four weeks after arriving home.

5. Please ensure that you advise Natureways Safaris or your travel agent of any dietary preferences or requirements at least one week before your trip departs. Please ensure you advise your agent or Natureways Safaris of any medical disorders, which may require special attention.

(4 Days 3 Nights)

DAY ONE

1. You can either air charter into Mana Pools or road transfer from Kariba or Harare to the National Park where you will be met by your guide with ice cold drinks.

 

2. Your group is then driven to the first nights camp, a distance of approximately 30km. This is a leisurely game drive through the spectacular Mana Pools floodplain. The vehicles are open Toyota Land Cruisers with tiered seats and good all round views. This area has some of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Zimbabwe and the drive through is usually very productive, enabling the guide to give guests an overview of the various animals, birds and plants that make up this unique floodplain habitat.

3. On arrival at "Vundu", the first camp, you will be met with the welcome smiles of our support staff and a lunch of cold meats, a variety of salads and freshly baked breads.

After a refreshing lunch break you will be taken on a short drive to our launch spot near the confluence of the Ruckomechi and Zambezi Rivers.

4. While the support staff prepare the canoes, the guide will give a full safety briefing, this includes pointing out where all the equipment is kept, such as radio and first aid kits, as well as explaining what to do in the case of an emergency. He will also run through the basic ideas of steering and controlling the Canadian style 18 ft canoes.

5. After the briefing, we depart in the canoes to Vundu, the first nights camp. This is a slow paddle giving guests time to get used to the canoes and the different steering techniques. We should also start to see some of the multitude of animals and birds that are attracted to the water’s edge; Hippo, buffalo, elephant and crocodile as well as a variety of antelope species may be seen.

6. Arrival at camp is around sunset. The camp is fully prepared and there will be an opportunity to sit back and relax with sundowners, snacks, tea, coffee and hot showers. A campfire is already burning and this is invariably where we will gather to discuss the day’s events and plan for the morning. In the background the support staff and resident chef are busy preparing a three-course dinner.

DAY TWO

1. On the first morning you will be awoken just as the dawn breaks. Hot water is placed in raised basins outside each tent, while tea, coffee, muffins or home made biscuits are already waiting by the campfire. While everyone gets their personal kit together the support staff load the canoes with everything that will be needed for the day. Guests need only worry about a small daypack carrying the essentials such as sunblock, camera and spare film, hat and binoculars. A large dry bag per canoe is provided.

2. We try to be in the canoes and on the water in time to watch the sunrise. This is one of the most magical times of the day and you will be enchanted as you drift along quietly, listening to the sounds of the African bush wakening to a new day.

3. You paddle for a further one or two hours before stopping the canoes to breakfast under a grove of acacia trees. After breakfast you will be taken on a walk into the floodplains and surrounding woodlands. This is a great time to try and catch some of the predators before they hide up for the day. You may even be lucky enough to spot one or more of the diurnal animals making their way down to the river. This walk offers an opportunity, not only for game viewing, but also a chance for you to explore some of the smaller more interesting aspects of the environment. You will spot a variety of animal spoors, and may even find yourselves engrossed in tracking down a particular species. You will be fascinated by strange insects and spiders as your guides share a wealth of knowledge about this miniature world that forms such an integral part of the bush. You will listen to the sound of the many brightly coloured birds and marvel at the beauty and tranquillity of this unique area.

4. Returning to the canoes you head downstream to an area renowned for its huge, old elephant bulls. We try to time our trip to catch them swimming or wading out to the grass islands, where you will be able to glide quietly alongside these awesome giants. Their age makes them so placid they tend to ignore us, probably realising that we are no threat.

5. Our break for lunch coincides with the heat of the day. To find an escape we pull up our canoes below a grove of mahogany trees whose dense shade provides a welcome relief. The campstools, tables and lunch are all offloaded from the canoes. Lunch consists of cold meats, freshly prepared salads, pizza or quiche and cheese and biscuits. After we’ve eaten and refreshed ourselves with ice cold drinks you have a choice to either take another short walk through the mahogany forest or to just relax and enjoy an afternoon siesta.

6. The late afternoon and evening is spent drifting down to camp and enjoying the game and birding on the river’s edge. Once again we reach the camp at sunset where we arrive to the smiling faces of our support team.

7. This night’s camp, Chessa, overlooks a small channel, with a large grass plain separating us from the main Zambezi, 500 meters away. Frequently the plain hosts buffalo, waterbuck, elephant and hippo in the evenings.

DAY THREE

1. This follows the same basic itinerary as day two, with a predawn wake up and sunrise whilst drifting down the Zambezi. However, this is the day that you will enter the "Wilderness Area" of Mana Pools National Park where there is limited access to people and vehicles. In fact the only road is 3 to 5 km in-land and is the one that our support team will use. From here on it is a much more remote environment with very few people.

2. Breakfast may be taken on the Mbera River floodplain, which comprises stunning acacia woodland with large patches of thick "Adrenaline" grass – a habitat much favoured by all the predators. Towards the end of the dry season it also hosts large groups of female elephants with their babies.

Today you will paddle through a maze of small channels before once again joining the main Zambezi River.

3. For a change lunch is on one of the shallow sandbanks in the middle of the river, where we set up table and chairs in ankle deep water with the whole width of the river stretching out on either side of us. This afternoon is your last of canoeing. There may be time (depending on water levels) to explore Chikwenya Island on foot, a unique Island which is the largest island on this section of the Zambezi river and host to a prolific bird population and a number of interesting mammals species. In the afternoon you will paddle into Ilala camp to spend your last night.

DAY FOUR

1. On this last morning you have the choice of getting up a little later if you prefer or you can choose to take a last early morning walk before returning to the camp for breakfast.

2. Sadly, it is then time to bid farewell to you all. If flying out, you will be driven to the Chikwenya airstrip close by, or if you drove in, back to the Mana Pools Warden’s Office. Arrangements can also be made to drop you off at any other safari camp within Mana Pools if you are booked to continue your safari there.

• This is a generalised itinerary and as such, all timings are dependent upon arrival and departure of charter aircraft, fitness levels and the wishes and interests of clients, as well as weather and game viewing conditions.

 

• Overnight campsites and routes described in this itinerary may vary due to river levels, accessibility and National Parks’ instruction.

 

• This is a leisurely canoe trail and not a marathon, enabling all people who are moderately fit and over 14 years of age to take part. We have planned our days to have ample time to explore on foot as well as by canoe without having to worry about making the distance to our next camp.

 

• All dietary preferences must be sent to us well in advance.

 

• Guests are asked to be in Mana no later than 11h30 on the first day. Anyone arriving after this time cannot be guaranteed of canoeing on the first day.

 

• These trips only run between 1 April and end November.

 

• The standard trail length is 4 days, 3 nights

 

• Minimum number is 4 and maximum number is 6.

 

• Guests can either air charter into Mana Pools directly or Overnight in Kariba or Harare before road transferring in to Mana Pools.

 

Once payment has been made then the following cancellation policy is applicable:

1. Professional Guide.

 

2. All camping and canoeing equipment

 

3. All meals and drinks (drinks are local wines, soft drinks, beers and spirits).