Activities and the real rules
Things to do in Mana Pools National Park
Walking among big game, legally and on your own permit. Canoeing the Zambezi past hippo pods. Tiger fishing, Chitake Springs, and the standing elephants. Mana's activity list is unlike any other park's, and so are its rules.
Walking, and what the rules actually say
Mana Pools is one of a tiny handful of African national parks where the public may legally walk unaccompanied among dangerous game. The common claim that you can simply walk anywhere is wrong, and getting this right matters. The Code of Conduct is explicit: unguided walking requires a walking permit from the park office, is restricted to the open floodplain (no riverine forest, no thick bush), and is entirely at your own risk.
The other binding conditions: keep a minimum of 30 metres from elephant, lion, painted dog and any den; never force a resting animal to move; maximum 12 people on foot at a sighting, moving off after 20 minutes if others are waiting; no tagging along behind other walking groups to borrow their guide; and children under 16 may not walk in Zimbabwe's national parks at all.
Unless you have considerable experience with African wildlife, hire a guide: a ZimParks ranger walks with you for $12 per person per hour, and the professional guides at the camps are among the best on the continent. Worth knowing: ZimParks once banned unguided walking entirely after a run of bad visitor behaviour, and reinstated it only under the current permit system. The privilege is genuinely revocable.
Canoe safaris on the Zambezi
The signature Mana activity, and arguably the best canoeing in Africa: half days, full days, or multi-day trails sleeping on sandbanks and riverbanks. You paddle past hippo pods and basking crocodiles while elephants feed on the islands, which is why every trip is led by a qualified river guide.
The classic long trail runs from Kariba through the gorge to Chirundu, along the whole Mana frontage and on through Mupata Gorge to Kanyemba; the shorter classic starts at Chirundu. Nearly every camp offers canoeing, and dedicated trail operators run the multi-day routes.
Game drives, within the lines
Game drives run from every camp, and self-drivers are welcome on the same terms: designated and graded roads only, no off-road driving under any circumstances, and parking no more than 10 metres from a road. Do not follow other people's illegal tracks; the fines are real (see the rules below).
A maximum of five vehicles is allowed at any sighting, with a 20-minute courtesy limit when others are waiting.
Night drives: not in this park
The Code of Conduct is unambiguous: night driving and using a spotlight to view wildlife are prohibited, and the in-camp curfew (18:00 from May to July, 18:30 from August to October, until 06:00) enforces it. Many guides imply otherwise; they are wrong.
The exceptions sit on private land at the park's edges: Kavinga Safari Camp and the Ruckomechi concession west of the boundary can run night drives legally. At Chitake, spotlights are allowed only with infrared filters. If a night drive matters to you, book a concession camp.
Tiger fishing
The Zambezi here holds tigerfish, bream, vundu, chessa, nkupe, Cornish jack and more, with Mupata Gorge the noted hotspot. A licence costs $15 per day at Nyamepi reception, the limit is five fish per licensed angler per day, no fish may be removed from the park, and the inland pools are closed to fishing entirely: the river only.
Motorboats are not permitted within the national park, so fishing is from the bank or a canoe. Motorised fishing is possible in the Ruckomechi concession to the west and in the adjoining Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas, where the rules differ.
Chitake Springs: the walking-only outpost
Some 65 km inland at the foot of the escarpment, Chitake is a different park: in the dry season its spring is the only water for many kilometres, and the buffalo and lion traffic around it is the rawest wildlife theatre in Zimbabwe. The official code puts it plainly: Chitake is a walking, sitting and viewing experience, and game viewing is not meant to happen by driving around.
Walking permits for Chitake are bought at Nyakasikana Gate, which is also where you check in. Access is strictly 4WD, there are no facilities whatsoever, and most operators will only walk Chitake with a professional guide. ZimParks has also historically run three-day full-moon walking safaris with armed staff; availability changes, so ask when booking.
Park rules that catch visitors out
- Be in camp from 18:00 (May to July) or 18:30 (August to October) until 06:00.
- No generators, and no speakers: music through headphones only.
- Drones are prohibited without a permit and must be declared at reception.
- No collecting firewood; buy it at Nyamepi for $5 a bundle, and light fires only at designated braai stands.
- Carry out all rubbish. You can be asked to show it at the exit gate, with a $100 fine for failure. Do not bury litter; honey badgers and hyaenas dig it up.
- No feeding or baiting animals, and no playing recorded calls to attract predators.
- All firearms must be declared on entry, and nothing may be removed from the park, down to seeds, pods and feathers.
- Penalties are serious: fines up to $1,000, vehicle impoundment, expulsion, and a 12-month ban from every national park in Zimbabwe, recorded on a national database.