Mana Pools: The fun of getting there

Getting to Mana pools is not all that easy and the the vehicle that you take has to be capable of actually driving on very hard and dusty roads. The roads in this part of the world are very tough even for the best 4x4. I think that the most important thing that you can take with you is spears for your car so that when, not if, but when you have a problem you have the ability to fix it. Down here in the Zambezi Valley there are not car shops that are going to sell you spear parts and this is very important to remember because if you can't get out of the valley, you could be waiting a very long time for some to come and rescue you. The map below show that the part of the driving is very tough and that it is important to be prepared. The adventure of going to Mana Pools National Park already starts before you get there. The best time of day to travel is early in the morning so that you dont have too travel in the middle of the day when the heat is quite terrible. You have to arrive at the first check in point at Marongora before 3pm because the park offices will not let you go to the main camp site because the raods are so bad and also the park rules state that no vehicle can be on any of the roads after 6pm, it takes 2 hours to reach main camp and so that is way the gates at Marongora will close at 3pm. The good thing is that the parks people will be very helpful and tell you the places that are difficult to access by the roads and the places that are not.