Mana Pools National Park

Mana Pools is a World Heritage Site on the Zambezi floodplain in northern Zimbabwe, a park of albida forest, four permanent pools and the river itself, with the Zambian escarpment as the backdrop. It is the park that allows walking without a guide, which no other in the region does, and its elephants standing on their hind legs to reach the albida pods are its best-known image. Canoeing, walking safaris and wild dog sightings are the draws; rhino were poached out and buffalo, lion, leopard and hyena remain. It is reached by 4x4 from Harare or by air, with campsites on the river and a few lodges, and the season is about May to October. It is a malaria area.