The Amazing Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe, Part I
Since we started our overlanding journey in late 2019, we have wanted to visit this iconic National Park in the northwestern corner of Zimbabwe. In mid-October, 2023, we finally had the chance!
When we first started planning a trip here, our plans were abruptly cut off by Covid-19. Then, last year (2022), our roof conversion project took so long that the time window closed again.
So far, we have always been in the vicinity areas at the wrong time. And it was only in mid-October 2023 that we finally had the opportunity to go. So, we grabbed the chance with both hands and turned our bonnet towards Mana Pools.
After our Hwange National Park Game Counts, it was a logical route to head off to Mana Pools because this was the prime time of the high season to visit this park.
Our Game Counts team member, Christa, also joined us on this journey as she had always wanted to visit Mana Pools, too.
We started to write this post, and soon it turned out to be a looong post, so we decided to split this into two “bite-sized” parts, so it’s not a one “marathon” post for you to read.
So here is the first part, which contains mainly some practical information and other practical stuff about routes, permits needed, etc.
Then, in the second upcoming part, we’ll concentrate more on our own bush adventures inside Mana Pools National Park.
We hope you enjoy these pieces and find them helpful!
Our Route from Hwange to Mana Pools
After our time in Hwange National Park, we started from Masuma Dam and headed to the dreaded Binga road to Lake Kariba. Locals said that we were “adventurous” to drive that route. It was horribly corrugated, yes, but it didn’t make even in the “Top 5 Worst Roads” we’ve driven over the years of our African overlanding adventure.
First, we headed to Maabwe Bay and along the way we spent a night in a beautiful wild camping spot where we could see elephants roaming on the other side of the river. This place may have once been a functioning campsite, but now it was abandoned and ruined.
Local fishermen knew the place, too, and a few of them walked to the shores on the paths going through this place, waving for us as they went. Zimbabweans are very friendly people and we always felt perfectly safe when wild camping in the country.
From this wild camping spot we drove to Maabwe Bay and spent three nights recuperating at this beautiful little campsite. Leaving Maabwe Bay, we made a short detour to Binga to fuel up and buy groceries.
Heading towards Gache Gache campsite meant that we had to spend one night wild camping on the way again, as it was too long a stretch to cover in just one day.
Finding a suitable spot to wild camp on this road was difficult. Yes, there were stretches without any villages or people, but very little space on the roadsides where you could have driven off from the road and camp.
It was already getting dark when we finally pulled off to a clearing on the Tashinga road, which leads to the Matusadona National Park. We only slept there and left early. We heard the sounds of a nearby village, but nobody bothered us there. However, as it clearly was a spot that local herders use, we don’t disclose its coordinates.
Gache Gache campsite was at the end of fun, little gravel roads and turned out to be a beautiful yet quite deteriorated camp “in the middle of nowhere.” Still, we enjoyed the unobstructed views of Lake Kariba and the lion’s roars and elephants trumpeting in the dead of night.
After one night in Gache Gache, we drove up to Kariba town and again rested at the great Warthogs Safari Camp for a few days before doing all the grocery shopping and fueling up in town for Mana Pools.
The last fueling station before Mana Pools is in Makuti. There is no fuel available in the park!
So, remember to fill up to the brim. If you come from Zambia’s side, you can fill up your tanks in Chirundu (Zambian side).
As you will want to do a lot of game drives inside Mana Pools, it’s best if you have a long-range fuel tank or several 20-liter jerry cans. We have 120l tanks and one 20l jerry can, so when full we have 140 liters of diesel and a range of roughly about 1200 km (depending on a bit, of course, of the terrains driven, as using low-range gears consume more diesel per 100km).
Our almost daily visitors at Warthogs Safari Camp in Kariba, Zimbabwe.
The Gates and Permits to Mana Pools National Park
First, you must get your permit from the Zim Parks & Wildlife Office on road A1 (GPS -16.22311, 29.16141). You don’t need to pay anything here. If they ask, you can just tell them that you will make bookings in the main camp inside the park.
Then, you can drive to the first Nyakasikana entrance gate (GPS -16.05596, 29.40940), only about 8 km from the Park’s office. But – if you want to enter the park on the same day, ensure you are there before 3 pm! Otherwise, they won’t let you drive through anymore.
We opted to stay the night at this first gate after asking for permission to overnight from the friendly rangers (who kindly granted it), and then we drove through early the following morning. This way, we maximized our time inside the park.
The driving time from the first gate to the second gate was about one hour. The road was pretty corrugated, so it took some time.
On the 2nd gate (GPS -15.89222, 29.37443), you’ll again write your details in their book, and then you can drive to the main camp, which is 42 km from the 2nd gate and will take approx. 45 minutes.
This is the only official entry road into Mana Pools! And this should be used by all visitors. If someone tells you otherwise, it’s not true. You can exit via another road called the “security road,” which goes to Angwa Bridge and towards the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe. But these two are the only exit roads from Mana Pools!
The “river road” that goes from Mana Pools to Chirundu is NOT an allowed exit, as it is strictly for maintenance/security/emergency use only for the Park’s personnel. This was told to us by the manager of the main camp.
You also cannot visit Chitake Springs unless you pay for a day visit permit (obtainable from the main camp) for $35 per person. But, in our opinion, it’s not worth it. To really experience Chitake Springs, you should spend overnight there. It’s a special place, but you must spend more time there.
We were lucky to be able to book one night in Chitake Springs (on campsite 1) as a walk-in. We’ll tell you more about it in the second post of this Mana Pools series.
The Camping Fees and Park Fees of Mana Pools National Park
The Park fees and camping fees of Mana Pools have recently changed (and may change again without prior notice), so be sure to check the current rates from a few different sources before traveling there to avoid surprises.
These were the prices we paid, and they were valid in mid-October 2023. All prices are quoted in USD. All the fees could be paid in the main camp office in Nyamepi with a card. However, it seemed that only VISA cards worked (and Mastercards were declined.)
Prices as a “walk-in” guest (with no advance bookings):
Camping in Nyamepi (Main Camp) $30/pppn1
Camping in Exclusive campsites (i.e., The Old BBC, Mucheni, etc.) $50/pppn
Camping in Chitake Springs is $70/pppn
In addition to the camping fee, you pay:
Conservation Fee $20/pppd (international) or $15/pppd (SADC residents)
Vehicle Fee: $3/day
Prices if you book in advance:
The price is $120 per campsite in Nyamepi
(Exclusive campsite’s prices we don’t know, as we didn’t ask them)
$300 per campsite in Chitake Springs
They usually always have space at least in Nyamepi (Main Camp), as there are several allocated “walk-in” campsites, so we’d say that you don’t need to make an advance booking. It’ll be more expensive, too, unless you have a bigger party. They allowed max. of 6 people on one campsite (and maybe max. of 3 cars).
Mana Pools is not a cheap National Park to visit, but it will be worth it.
Do You Have Network Coverage in Mana Pools?
The simple answer is: no. However, there is a pretty good wifi at the reception office in Nyamepi camp.
But you won’t get coverage with either of the biggest network providers of Zimbabwe, EcoNet, or NetOne. We had both SIM cards, but neither of them worked.
That said, why would you even want to spend much time online while being in one of the best National Parks in Africa? You should be out there enjoying the bush! 😄
We hope this practical information post will help you while planning your own 4x4 adventure to the magical Mana Pools National Park (or if you just want to know some facts about the park).
And if something is missing, don't hesitate to leave a comment and let us know what more you’d like to know. We’ll be happy to update this post, too!
And as said, in the next post, we’ll tell you more about our bush experiences in Mana Pools, areas of interest, etc. We had plenty of extraordinary sightings, so we cannot wait to tell (and show!) you more! 🤠
But until then, Stay Wild,