Mana Pools: a magical place

Everyone talks about the Mana Magic. But what does it mean? First of all, there is the Acacia Albida forest, harboring a mystical atmosphere. The dust and the light create a blue haze in between the trees, which feels quite unearthly. Add to that the warm sun rays which bathe the forest in a golden light, then you’ll know what they are talking about when they mention Mana Magic.

The large mahogany and fig trees are very impressive too.

The Zambezi escarpment on the Zambian side, across the Zambezi river, forms a beautiful backdrop with often a blue haze as well.  The park has been declared by the UN as a World Heritage site.

Unprecedented photographic opportunities

The fact that you can get out of the car makes Mana Pools special for photographers! You step closer towards the animals, you can take lower positions by lying on your stomach or you can follow tracks leading to hunting wild dogs. Say goodbye to the bird’s eye view perspective that you get when taking photographs from the jeep.

Matusadona National Park

The Matusadona National Park is one of the Zambezi valley’s wildlife and wilderness treasures. Remote, rugged and accessible only by air charter, 4 x 4 or boat, this wonderful park encompasses Lake Kariba’s most beautiful southern shorelines, creeks and bays, a vast flat bush-covered plateau cut by numerous riverlines and the wild, wide, 600m-high Matusadona mountain range which divides the Zambezi valley from the upland farmlands behind. The Park lies about 20km across the lake from the town of Kariba, and is bounded by two spectacularly beautiful rivers, in the west, the Ume, which meets the lake in a wide estuary and in the east, the Sanyati with its magnificent, steep sided, rocky gorge.

On 7th November 1958, just prior to the completion of the Kariba Dam wall in December of that year, the Matusadona Park was declared a non-hunting area. This was important as the fast rising waters of the Kariba Dam meant that thousands of people and animals would need to move from the river’s banks. The famous “Operation Noah”, orchestrated by Rupert Fothergill, moved the bulk of the wildlife into the safety of this park. In 1963, the wildlife area was declared a game reserve, and Operation Noah was completed in 1964. Only in 1975 was Matusadona made a national park under the Parks and Wildlife act of Rhodesia.

The lake is characterised by dry dead trees – called petrified forests – these are remaining woodlands that were flooded and drowned as the water rose once the  Zambezi River was dammed and turned into Lake Kariba.  These trees make an excellent backdrop for photgraphy

What makes this photography trip so special?

Is this photography tour something for you?

If you are into photography, you will have the time of your life. Mana Pools is every photographer’s dream. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced photographer, that does not matter for this trip.  Carole will help you according to your level of photography.

If you are not into photography, you will also have the time of your life!  You will be immersed in the bush, walk with elephants, sit with lions and wild dogs…  Every day we come across new things.  So don’t think this trip is not for you. Mana Pools is all about the experience of being one with nature.  Away from city life, back to the roots.  You will love it!

Come and experience the Mana Magic yourself.

Rhino Safari camp

On the 15th of October we take the boat back to Chirundu.  There we take a minivan to Lake Kariba.  By motorboat we cross Lake Kariba to Matusadona NP.  We will spend 3 nights in the wonderful Rhino Safari Camp, on the shore of the lake.  Every day we will explore the park either by car or on foot.  The petrified trees in the lake offer a wonderful backdrop for photography.

Transport

The international flight is not included in the price, but we can recommend which flight to book that best meets up with the trip, and if you like, we can book it for you. If you wish to arrive a day earlier we can arrange a lodge in Harare for you.

Transport from and to Mana Pools is by minivan. We drive from Harare to Chirundu, where we take a boat to go into the park.

In Mana Pools we use a safari jeep, which is spacious but which we will leave at regular intervals to go and take photographs on foot.  Same for Matusadona.

Climate, clothing and equipment

This time of year can be very hot. Appropriate clothing is recommended.

Sturdy walking shoes are a must, because we will walk a lot in the park. A light pair of trousers is essential because we often sit on the ground or lie down, which is not always so comfortable. Light shirts or tops, and a light sweater for the evenings, or at least a shirt with long sleeves.

Be sure to bring your camera, wide angle and telephoto zoom lens, tripod or monopod with you. A beanbag is always useful when taking pictures at ground level.

More information will follow one month before departure.

Itinerary

We arrive in Harare on the 8th of October, early morning, where our minivan is picking us up to bring us to Chirundu.  We’ll arrive there around lunchtime. The drive through Zimbabwe will be quite the adventure. In Chirundu we will board a boat to bring us into the park.  On the Zambezi we will see our first wildlife!  Hippo’s, elephants… We will arrive in camp in the late afternoon.

We will be sleeping in a comfortable tented camp along the Zambezi river for the next 7 nights. We will get up early every morning and after some coffee and a biscuit we will head out to try and find something to photograph in the beautiful morning light. And this is when the fun begins! We get out of the car, and head into the landscape on foot to capture the best images. This way we can choose our own point of view, according to the light. Our guide will safely take us to get closer to the animals. We will return to the camp for brunch at about 10 – 11 am.  Afterwards there will be time to discuss our photographs and to rest. At about 4 pm we will head out again in search of new adventures. After sunset, we will drink a sundowner around the camp fire while the cook prepares our evening meal.

On 15 October we will take the boat back to Chirundu, where a minivan will pick us up and bring us to Lake Kariba.  There we will board a boat which will bring us to Matusadona NP.  We will spend 3 nights in the wonderful Rhino Safari Camp on the shores of lake Kariba.  The next 3 days we will explore the park by car and on foot.

On 18 October, Today we take the boat back to Kariba, where a minivan will pick us up to drive back to Harare for our evening flight.  If you wish you can add another night in a lodge, before flying home.