From Mana Pools to Victoria Falls

To get from Mana Pools to Victoria Falls is not so easy. You either have to take a long route on more or less good roads back to Harare, south to Bulawayo and then to Victoria Falls, which would have been 1,130 km, or you can take a shorter route along Lake Kariba of only 800 km, which is bad gravel.

We had decided to take the shorter but harder route. In the end, we did it in 5 days of driving and 2 days of rest in between, so in total a week until we reached the falls. Of course you can do it in shorter time, but with our 5,5t we are not the fastest on bad roads, looking after our house while driving over corrugation and washed out parts.

Our first stop was at the Senyati Bridge, where we stayed at a very simple campsite (only long drop toilets and no water) above the river. In the morning we had fresh elephant dung not far from our car, but no elephant to be seen.

The second day, we made it until Chizarira National Park. We had chosen this park as a stop, as the landscape is spectacular and we could camp at Mucheni view campsite, directly at a cliff.

The third day, we reached Binga at the Kariba Lake and visited the museum of the Tonga, the local tribe, which suffered with the construction of the dam, as they had to move away from the river, where they lived before. We ended that day at Maabwe Bay, where we had a fantastic campsite. We decided to stay here for 3 nights to relax.

Instead of driving the last part in one go, we stopped at the Angling Club in Deka, where we had a great spot to camp directly at the Zambezi River. The next day, it was an easy drive until Victoria Falls.

After days in the bush, it was like arriving in a different world when we reached Victoria Falls. So many tourists and so much on offer – from restaurants and souvenir shops to adventure activities, in Victoria Falls you have it all.

The road on this trip was mostly gravel, in many parts corrugated and especially when the road led up and down, it was either washed out or the trucks had made big holes when fighting their way up. But in general the road is not really a challenge, it was more the long distance, which made it arduous to drive.

But now we are here and will enjoy the falls before we drive off into the bush again.