Last stop on our African safari: Nyamatusi Camp in Mana Pools Zimbabwe
After two nights in Victoria Falls, we made the 2-hour flight in a 4-seater airplane, with just us and the pilot! It was a bit unnerving, but we’d been building to smaller and smaller planes throughout our adventure…
The final stop on our African safari, organized by Go2Africa, was at Nyamatusi Camp, another African Bush Camp lodge. Nyamatusi is nestled along the banks of the Zambezi River in iconic Mana Pools National Park, along the northern border of Zimbabwe. Mana is the Shona word for four; thus the park name means “Four Pools.”
When we arrived at Nyamatusi Camp, we were greeted by the warm hospitality of the camp’s staff and the breathtaking natural surroundings. The camp’s design effortlessly blends into the landscape, with spacious tents crafted from natural materials and elevated decks that offer panoramic views of the Zambezi. Each tent is furnished with modern amenities, including a super comfortable bed, en suite bathroom with both indoor and outdoor showers, and a private plunge pool.
The main lodge had a beautiful open-air main floor and upstairs, with couches, swinging chairs, and a full bar; a perfect place to relax mid-day between safari drives. The large central campfire was surrounded by camp chairs, where we would unwind after an adventurous day, drinking wine, and learning about the stars from the local guides.
The pools, for which the park is named, are places for wildlife to congregate, and we had fantastic visibility for wildlife across the floodplains. Safari drives through Mana Pools National Park, by our guide Rinz, offered up-close encounters with hippos, zebra, lions, eland, warthog, southern hornbills, and baboons.
One thing Mana Pools is known for are packs of African wild dogs, which we searched for far and wide, to no avail. We did, however, have an incredible encounter with a rock python climbing a tree in search for nesting hatchlings. Another thing Mana Pools is known for is a unique behavior of the elephants standing on their rear feet to reach high branches at the very end of their trunk’s reach.
Back at camp, the personalized experience continued, with gourmet meals, prepared with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. The team created special moments for us, with one dinner presented under the starlit sky, at a private table set close the river’s edge. Another private dinner was served in a romantic wine cellar. The staff truly went above and beyond.
After three nights in Mana Pools Zimbabwe, we flew on to the capital city of Harare. We stayed at The Meikles Hotel, a historic hotel with iconic architecture in the heart of the city. It sits across from Unity Square and offers a rooftop pool, fitness center and on-site dining.
This quick overnight stop gave us a glimpse into their city life and was a stark contrast to our previous two weeks in the bush. It took some adjusting to get used to traffic, noise, people and wifi again, after being completely removed from the day-to-day hustle of life… We recalibrated at our hotel for a night and relaxed by the pool, before starting our long trek back home, and immediately started daydreaming of our next African safari…
Check out our post on packing tips for an African safari!
And contact Go2Africa for your next safari adventure:
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