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Fairly tame: A 4 day shoreline trail from Ruckomechi down to Chikwenya. It’s the full Mana Pools stretch in the World Heritage Site. The trip starts from Ruckomechi, the Wilderness Safaris’ 4 star premier lodge with first class hosting. You move onto fairly basic backed up camps for 3 nights. They’re 1 star. Encounters en route, land, water and otherwise are 5 star.
Adventure: We start from Kariba or Chirundu to do 4 or 6 days worth of canoeing. Your 19 foot Canadian canoe is well laden with provisions and camping kit. Your paddle will hold a mosquito net over a warm bedroll en route. In the wet season you’ll even have a small tent to keep you dry. Irrespective of season you probably won’t sleep much! The days are full and active, you’ll see a million stars at night.
Intrepid: We can include premier lodging at the start and end of this bucket list experience but we get back to basics on these canoe safaris. We delight in doing all 230km camping style. The Kariba-Chirundu stretch is epic but quiet. The Chirundu-Mana leg is first-class wildlife. Fewer than 200 souls canoe the remote lower stretches through Sapi and Chewore each year. The full 10 day trip down to Kanyemba is worth a gazillion stars.
The from price shown is for the green season. See tips and notes below for high season prices.
Day 1 - Kariba departure for Crocodile Rocks Camp (18km) | Kariba rendezvous 07:30 for a briefing and walk down into the Gorge. Demonstration and paddle to lunch, siesta over the heat of the day, paddle down to Crocodile Rocks Island to overnight camp. |
Day 2 - Paddle to Twin Logs Island (27km) | Early rise with tea/coffee and biscuits, paddle, then breakfast, setting off again till lunch and a siesta. Paddle on once its cooler to your overnight camp at Twin Logs Island. |
Day 3 - Paddle to Chirundu and Kakomarara Island (28km) | Early rise, breakfast and paddle to Chirundu for a resupply then paddle on after a light packed lunch to overnight at Kakomarara Island. |
Day 4 - Paddle to Lone Acacia Island (27km) | Early rise and breakfast before a paddle for a well-earned lunch and siesta before a paddle mid afternoon to overnight camp on Lone Acacia Island. |
Day 5 - Paddle past Ruchomechi River to Trichelia Island (23km) | Early rise, breakfast and then paddle, lunch, siesta and mid afternoon paddle onto overnight camp on Trichelia Island near Mucheni in Mana Pools. |
Day 6 - Paddle past Nyamepi to Chikwenya Island (20km) | Early rise, breakfast then paddle, lunch and siesta. The trip passes Mana Pools HQ at Nyamepi, paddle on to overnight camp on Chikwenya Island in Mana Pools. |
Day 7 - Paddle into Sapi to False Gorge near G Camp (25km) | Early tea/coffee, paddle breakfast en-route to lunch, siesta and paddle on to overnight camp at False Gorge. Near Shamashanga G Camp. That's the old hunting and fishing camp in the Sapi Safari Area. |
Day 8 - Paddle into Chewore to Mupata Gorge (20km) | Early rise, paddle to breakfast on the river bank en-route to your lunch and siesta. paddle exploring shoreline of Chewore (home of Great Elephant) Overnight camp at Mupata Gorge. |
Day 9 - Paddle through Mupata Gorge to Red Cliffs (35km) | Today is spent mainly in the austere Mupata Gorge, viewing many endemic species of wildlife, taking in its spectacular geographical features. Night’s campsite will be at towering Red Cliff. |
Day 10 - Paddle to the take-out point at Kanyemba (7km) | Early rise, breakfast and paddle to the take-out point at Kanyemba. This is the end of the full 10 day canoe trip. A hot and dusty 7 hour drive back to Kariba follows. ETA in Kariba is 16:00 |