Mana Pools offers a magnificent winter escape

The best places are never easy to reach. That’s the thought drumming through my head as our Cessna Grand Caravan banks hard to the left as the pilot lines up our approach. It’s been 90 long and rather-too-bumpy minutes since we took off from a rutted airstrip in the far west of Zimbabwe, and I’m more than ready to get back on terra firma. Suddenly, the wide Zambezi River unfurls beneath us, as a forest of acacia trees disappears below the wheels in a blurred palette of lush green. A skid, a bounce and a roar of reverse thrust on the propeller and we finally tumble to a halt.

“Welcome to Chikwenya,” says Abiot, with a wry smile. He’s a man of few words, but with long experience in the bush of northern Zimbabwe, he turns out to be a safari guide adept at encouraging guests to slow down and soak up the silence of the forests that line these riverbanks.

Just minutes later we’re pulling up to Wilderness Chikwenya, one of only three lodges this acclaimed conservation-minded safari operator runs in the region. Ruckomechi and Little Ruckomechi are set within the border of the national park, while Chikwenya is pitched in the Sapi concession, one of two private conservation areas — Chewore is the other — that form part of the greater Mana Pools National Park.

My first impressions are simple: wild, utterly wild.

Unlike the heavily managed conservation areas common to SA, Mana Pools is a vast and — forgive the cliché — entirely untamed corner of the continent. One of five World Heritage Sites in Zimbabwe, it stretches across more than 670 000 hectares — 10 times the size of Sabi Sand Reserve near Kruger — to offer a wonderland home to a vast array of wildlife.

And at Chikwenya it seems the wildlife simply comes to you. As high tea is served in the deep shade of Natal mahogany trees, the Zambezi floodplains fill with animals. Waterbuck step daintily down to the river’s edge. Male impala defend their erstwhile territories from interlopers ahead of the rut, while elephants plod languorously from the mainland to islands in the stream.

There’s a similar show on the cards from each of Chikwenya’s seven elegant under-canvas suites. Strung out along raised walkways that hug the shoreline of the Zambezi floodplain, each suite — rooms four to seven offer the most privacy — serves up remarkable views across the river. In daylight hours the private outdoor lounge is the perfect hideaway with a pair of binoculars and that book you’ve been meaning to read. At night, they’re a haven, where you’ll be lulled to sleep — or perhaps woken with a start — by the sounds of hippos and elephants feeding around your suite.

Indoors, there’s a sense of contemporary calm, with décor of muted tones and organic textures that combine to create a gently stylish safari bolt-hole. And although there is a pair of family suites — boasting their own private plunge pools — the standard suites are for romantics, with oversized baths and beds swathed in billowing mosquito nets.

I’d be quite happy simply whiling away my days in camp, watching the passing parade of wildlife, but if you’re tempted to head out there’s no shortage of ways to explore further afield.

Safari drives are the starting point, and always well worth it. Forests of winter thorn acacia stretch along the river banks, supporting herds of impala and other antelope, mingling with large troops of playful chacma baboons, that combine to create a serene safari setting awash in the golden light of sunset. Visit in the last months of winter and you’ll find elephants and eland drawn to these forests too, feasting on the succulent seed pods.

Leisurely boat trips on the Zambezi offer a unique perspective on the forests and an idyllic way to while away afternoon hours. If you’re feeling adventurous cast a line for hard-fighting tiger fish, or plan ahead for a thrilling walking safari. Zimbabwe is home to some of the best guides in Southern Africa, and this is an iconic corner to explore on foot.

And you’d best not delay. Chikwenya — and most of the Mana Pools region — is only accessible during the dry winter months. When the summer rains start to fall, the black cotton soils that give life to the forests become impassable and the camps shut down. But happily, there are still months left in this year’s season, so if you’re in need of a safari escape that flies below the radar, look no further. Even if you will need to do a little flying of your own to get there.