Proof that camps don’t need to be fancy to pull a punch – and that simple charm wins over everything. One of my favourite camps.

When we stepped off the little plane at the landing strip, there was a small group waiting to depart. They were shouting “Kanga!!” and jumping up and down. What was all the fuss about?

I’d been to Mana many times but always stayed on the Zambezi River – a mesmerisingly beautiful setting. Kanga is far inland from that, in the vast, flat Zambezi Valley. Looking out from the plane window you see endless light woodland, studded with the occasional baobab. Driving from the landing strip to camp I wondered some more, had we made the right choice by choosing to be far from the river.

We arrived to a warm welcome with lunch laid out on the deck beneath the shade of a giant tree, and elephants everywhere, just metres from the deck. Kanga is on the only waterhole for miles and miles, and in winter this means that everything comes to drink. All day there are processions of elephants, as well as antelope, zebra etc. At night, just flash a torchlight around and it lights up with eyes – genet, leopard, lions, honey badgers.

The borehole comes out just below the deck, and as elephant will seek out the freshest water, they wait in turns to  slurp it up right in front of you (but you’re on a deck, so perfectly safe). It’s extraordinary. So close you could touch them, you watch their eyes up close, their interactions, the babies close to their mothers, the pecking order as each waits to drink

The camp is super simple – the deck is where you can lounge around in comfy chairs and eat meals, the tents are a short walk away, also on the pan. There are no fences, no walls. The tents are simple and perfectly comfortable, and you step outside to use the bathroom or take a shower. It all feels so natural, so close to the elements.

If you’re apprehensive about being too close to nature, do this for 2 or 3 nights, and then treat yourself to a lux camp on the Zambezi like Nyamatusi. A fabulous combination.

Mana Pools is a national park open to the public, but Kanga has an exclusive area around it where you won’t see other people, and anyway you’re far from the river where the public mostly go. We set out early one morning to first drive and then walk to a wild dog den, an incredible sighting, and didn’t see another soul.

Despite its tiny size and utter simplicity, this is one of Africa’s great camps.

Little Rukomechi

My mother’s side of my family hail from Zimbabwe, and Mana Pools is hallowed ground for all of them. It’s one of only few national parks where walking is allowed, camps are unfenced, and you get really close to big game as they move through camps to get to the water. It has a wild, raw feeling.

The Zambezi River has come down Victoria Falls, over Lake Kariba’s wall, and now it speeds into a wide expanse of water moving through the valley it carved out over millennia. The valley here is about 30 miles wide, and hot and dry, and animals are drawn to the waters of the mighty river from far.

Rukomechi and Little Rukomechi both stand along one of my favourite view sites in Africa. Lots of water in front, flanked by greenery, mountains as backdrop, At sunrise and sunset it’s just magnificent, one of Africa’s great backdrops.

Elephants walk into the water to drink and swim, and on land they stretch up high to reach the tasty pods of Mana’s massive trees – they’ll even stand on their back legs. If you’re lucky, you’ll see elephants walk deep into the river – I’ve watched them swim across to the other side, just the tips of their trunks visible above the water.

I can sit on that river bank day, and I have – sketching the scenes.

The 2 sister camps are run by Wilderness Safaris who are quality operators, with big, comfortable walk-in tents, nice touches like hammocks around the pool to chill and take in that view. Little Rukomechi is the smaller camp, but both have a close-to-nature, small-camp feel.

Mana is great for elephants, good for lion and wild dog, and excellent for seeing water birds. I’ve walked really close to elephant, crocodiles and hippo. There aren’t any more rhino there, and giraffe don’t occur there.

The downside is that you’re sharing the park with the public, so on game drives you will likely see other visitors, but in small numbers – it’s far from cities, and those that venture all the way to Mana are hardy types in 4x4s.

On the banks of the Zambezi River, looking out towards the hills of Zambia, this is one of the loveliest safari views. The camp makes a serious design statement too.

Nyamatusi is contemporary and sophisticated but feels light on the earth, with use of light materials like grass and wood, and the central lodge open to the fresh air. There are beautiful design details throughout, and the suites are fabulous, with plunge pools. Just slide back the big windows, and lie in bed looking out over the Zambezi, it’s incredible. Suites all face the river of course, and it’s not unusual for elephants to move right through camp, between the buildings.

The main lodge is double story, with a gorgeous upstairs deck for sitting, and an underground wine cellar (beautifully cool down there on a hot day) and there’s a pool.

The suites are quite far from the main lodge, on account of it being an open floodplain with not many trees for screening – the trees are beautiful though, old ana trees (acacia albida) which carry the pods so loved by the elephants at Mana Pools that several of them have learned to balance on their hind legs to reach them.

Mana Pools is a wild place and if you haven’t been, it should definitely be on your list. It’s the only national park in southern Africa that allows visitors to walk unaccompanied, so the game has become quite habituated to walking humans. You can also see far (in winter) so it’s pretty safe. I recommend asking your ranger to walk more than drive – this is what makes Mana Pools so special. A walk along the river front is especially productive, watching crocodiles and hippo, and other animals coming down to drink.

You are in a national park so expect to see outside visitors in regular vehicles. If this bothers you, my recommendation is to walk, and ask you ranger to take you further from the roads.

Nyamatusi Mahogani is almost an mirror image of Nyamatusi Camp, located just to the east of it, also facing out onto the Zambezi River, designed so that it can be booked out on an exclusive use basis. It also has a double story main lodge, and separate suites, but the suites are slightly differently configured to accommodate families traveling together.

This will be a fabulous location for a trip with friends and family – it’s a fresh, contemporary design in a remarkable setting in an incredible national park. Give yourself enough time to enjoy it all – walking, driving and spend time time in camp – all three deserve your attention!

If you’re traveling with children, remember that the camp is completely unfenced and the suites are spaced quite far from the main lodge.

Please read my review for Nyamatusi for more details on the experience.

Rukomechi

My mother’s side of my family hail from Zimbabwe and Mana Pools is hallowed ground for all of them. It’s one of only a few national parks where walking is allowed, camps are unfenced, and you get really close to the big game as they move through camps to get to the water. It has a wild, raw feeling.

The Zambezi River has come down Victoria Falls, over Lake Kariba’s wall, and now it speeds into a wide expanse of water moving through the valley it carved out over millennia. The valley here is about 30 miles wide, and hot and dry, and animals are drawn to the waters of the mighty river from far.

Rukomechi and Little Rukomechi both stand along one of my favourite view sites in Africa. Lots of water in front, flanked by greenery, mountains as a backdrop, At sunrise and sunset it’s just magnificent, one of Africa’s great backdrops.

Elephants walk into the water to drink and swim, and on land, they stretch up high to reach the tasty pods of Mana’s massive trees – they’ll even stand on their back legs. If you’re lucky, you’ll see elephants walk deep into the river – I’ve watched them swim across to the other side, just the tips of their trunks visible above the water.

I can sit on that river bank day, and I have – sketching the scenes.

The 2 sister camps are run by Wilderness Safaris who are quality operators, with big, comfortable walk-in tents, nice touches like hammocks around the pool to chill and take in that view. Little Rukomechi is the smaller camp, but both have a close-to-nature, small camp feel.

Mana is great for elephants, good for lion and wild dog, and excellent for seeing water birds. I’ve walked really close to elephant, crocodiles, and hippo. There aren’t any more rhino there, and giraffe doesn’t occur there.

The downside is that you’re sharing the park with the public, so on game drives, you will likely see other visitors, but in small numbers – it’s far from cities, and those that venture all the way to Mana are hardy types in 4x4s.