Reviews of safaris to Mana Pools National Park

"This trip was everything we had hoped for and more. The lodges we stayed at and the whole seemlessness of the logistics to facilitate it was excellent!
What more can I say?

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I don't really have any suggestions.

This was our first experience of a tailor made safari and it has certainly made me feel confident to do this again. I had been slightly worried about how it would all link together and who would meet us and help us get from place to place and this could not really be faulted. I felt that even if I had been travelling alone I would have felt happy that someone was there to help me." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Very interesting and everything worked like clockwork with times and diet requirements all perfect. Tours Africa in Lusaka were excellent as well when we arrived early from Shiwa Ngandu.

Temperatures were a challenge at times but the itinerary worked better than I ever expected and ticked every box!

Thank you." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zambia safari

"It was our first stay in Zimbabwe but not the last. The country is very beautiful, and people are so kind and friendly! The flights (a little long), the camps, everything was perfect. A grade A pass to Expert Africa." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zimbabwe safari

"My trip couldn't have been better. Nick Hobbs did a superb job of arranging all the logistics so that almost everything went smoothly. I have to send my special thanks to managing director Chris McIntyre for sending me my binoculars after I misplaced them on a flight between Tuba Tree Camp and Lagoon Camps. I received them at City Lodge and Chris even paid for shipping them. I was truly impressed by his kindness and generosity.

This was my second safari with Expert Africa and I'm already going to another one next year. I've already been on five safaris, but I still have along bucket list of locations in Africa I want to either visit or revisit.

I love the fact that unlike it's numerous competitors in Great Britain, the United States, and South Africa Expert Africa places the emphasis as much as possible on visiting unfenced national park or concessions, and staying at lodges which aren't fenced as well. This in my experience and many other safari goers I've met greatly improves gong on safari.

I will undoubtedly take more safaris with ExpertAfrica." Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zimbabwe safari

""Wow". Words fail me when it comes to summarising our trip to Zambia and Zimbabwe.

We had done our homework before engaging the assistance of Expert Africa with Claire and the team including a lenghty chat with Chris where we asked many questions, so while we were first time safari travellers we did know what we wanted and we recognized and truly appreciated the expertise and the great suggestions offered. We planned our three week trip as our one chance to go to Africa and we wanted to do it right, and see the majesty and the wildness of Southern Africa while it was still there.

The two main areas we visited, South Luangwa in Zambia and Mana Pools in Zimbabwe provided us exactly what we were hoping for and in many ways exceeded our expectations. The grandeur of the vistas and the abundance and variety of the wildlife was impressive. The staff at each of the camps couldn't do enough in their genuine desire to make your stay pleasureable and memorable.

We were chatting with one of the other guests staying at the Tafika camp. They had a similar ideas to us a few years earlier which was to come once and make it good. They have been back many times since. I think we may also he headed down that same path. They offered up a quote I have re-used a few times since. "If you don't want to come back to Africa, then don't go to Africa."

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We returned home just yesterday from our trip.

The only hassles we experienced were due to airline troubles (delayed flights - LOST BAGGAGE!) and these had nothing to do with the great plans and logistics made by Expert Africa that made getting around remarkably simple.

Just as a side note. I am not one who is prone to exaggeration, and rarely give ratings of 'Excellent' as there are usually areas where improvements can be made. But here I have made an exception. We had the time of our lives on these safaris. It is difficult to point out where Expert Arfica could have improved our experience - and my rating reflect that.

Congratulations on a job well done. If (when) we go back to Africa, you will be the first call we make after we figure out where and when we will go. I have already recommended Expert Africa to my relatives who are considering a Southern Africa trip in 2013." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zambia safari

"The fact that we have now made ten trips with EA since 2006 speaks for itself - and this one was right up there with the best. We continue to have no hesitation recommending Chris and his team to others." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zimbabwe safari

"We enjoyed our stay in Zimbabwe and found a very warm welcome from everyone we met. There is obviously a strong desire to promote tourism and in Victoria we were thanked for going there.

Many friends questioned the safety of our choice of destination before we went and so we ended up saying safari in Africa after a while! We encountered no problems nor any hostility towards us at all. We will now be able to tell people so.

Cash purchasing is all important so take plenty of it - 4 of the places we stayed had safe facilities. No one wanted travellers cheques, and credit machines seldom worked.

In Victoria, vendors are persistent but not aggressive - just keep in mind they just want to make a $. There are plenty of tourist police on hand if need be.

The Falls are stunning and well worth the visit. We had 3 nights in Victoria. Two is more than enough if it is only the Falls that you wish to see and in fact we did that on arrival so 1 night would have been sufficient for us with more time on safari.


Importantly the game viewing is excellent and the regions offer a great deal of contrast so it is worth doing as much as you can afford! I would not recommend less than 3 nights in any camp/area if travelling between regions as the travelling is long and tiring. Travel arrangements need improving overall including communication about them.

The guiding was all of a very good standard with obvious enthusiasm.
We had hoped to do more walking, but were constrained by our travel arrangements. This is a great pity. For the nervous, think carefully before choosing Goliath as the proximity to wildlife is challenging and could be very uncomfortable for some. For those who would like the experience, it is awesome.

We would recommend Zimbabwe from the experience we had. Just plan your route carefully" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zimbabwe safari

"This was our 2nd visit to Zimbabwe. We went to Mana Pools as part of a safari to Zimbabwe in 2011. There we were guided by Mark van Zuydam. We were so impressed by the park and Mark's exceptional guiding that we asked Expert Africa to arrange a private safari to Mana Pools with Mark as our guide. This safari rates as our best anywhere in Africa.

Mark is extremely competent at what he does and was a pleasure to be with for our 11 nights. We had a fantastic time tracking lions at various locations throughout the park and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be able to spend so much of the time walking instead of being in the vehicle. We will certainly be going back in the future.

All the road transfers from Lusaka and across the border at Chirundu in Zimbabwe went very smoothly. The drivers at both sides helped us with the immigration procedures etc. The drive from Lusaka to Chirundu takes approx 2.5 to 3 hrs as the traffic in Lusaka is so busy, then the drive from Chirundu to Mana takes approx 2-3 hrs depending on where in Mana you are going.

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This is our 3rd trip with Expert Africa and will definately use them again in the future.
I can't think of anything you need to improve on. Keep visiting the camps as your 'on the ground' knowledge is the reason we use you." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 4 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Good to visit Zimbabwe at last. Discovering Mana Pools was a delight." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zimbabwe safari

"Trip was extremely well put together. Claire was very efficient and could not have been more helpful.

We had an issue with the transfer from Kaingo to Rukomechi. With hindsight had we realized it would take over 11 hours we would have probably made a different decision about the combination of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Secondly, there was a mix-up between Executive Air (Safari Logistics) and the booking for the transfer from Mana Pools Airstrip to Hwange. The plane arrived at 11:00 AM, which was his scheduled arrival according to his sheet but was an hour before we were expected to be picked up. Luckily the pilot waited for us and the two other passengers. We arrived at Hwange Airport at 2:15pm and there was no vehicle there from Camp Hwange. Again the pilot waited as he did not want to leave us at a closed airport building with no means of contacting the Camp. Finally a vehicle arrived at 3:15 pm.(the driver said he had been told to arrive for 3:30pm). The pilot Janade Krarim left with the other two passengers bound for Victoria Falls. Without the kindness of the pilot we could have been stranded." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a Zimbabwe safari