IMfolozi Park and Mana-Pools Park

This article shall briefly describe two national parks in Africa where guests can see plentiful wildlife and enjoy the best of an African safari.  The two national parks are Hlhlulhuwe-iMflolozi Park in South Africa and Mana-Pools national park in Zimbabwe.

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park is one of South Africa’s best-known, most evocative parks. Covering 96,000 hectares, the park is best visited in winter as the animals then range widely without congregating at water sources (the White iMfolozi and Black iMfolozi Rivers flow here), although the lush vegetation sometimes makes viewing difficult. However, summer visits can also be very rewarding, especially in the open savannah country areas.

The park has lions, elephants, rhinos (black and white), leopards, giraffes, buffalos and wild dogs. The Centenary Centre, a wildlife-holding centre with an attached museum and information centre, is in the eastern section of iMfolozi. It incorporates rhino enclosures and antelope pens, and was established to allow visitors to view animals in transit to their new homes.

The wildlife drives here are very popular. Hilltop Camp offers morning and evening drives, while Mpila Camp does evening drives only

The second National park where guests will enjoy great safari packages in Africa is Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe.  A special paradise for game viewing is Mana Pools National Park. As the name implies it is a place where there are a number of large pools. The magic of this national park stems from the pervading sense of the wild and also in the park’s relative remoteness.

The word ‘Mana’ means four, in reference to the four pools around the park headquarters: Main, Chine, Long and Chisambik. They are actually on the mainland, in an area of deep and good quality alluvial soil, along a portion of the southern bank of the Zambezi. They owe their existence to the scouring action of the flooded river that created a number of elongated troughs which retained water long after the flood had subsided.

The area has a park-like appearance. Massive acacia albida trees tower over what appears to be, from a distance at least, a carefully manicured lawn. Further away a border of mopane trees and combretum scrub begins and there is visible a line, like some extraordinary tide-mark, a browse-line that exactly demarcates the height to which browsing animals of the area can reach.

It is not only by Land Rover or on foot that the excitement of the area can he enjoyed. Canoe safari companies organise guided canoe trails down the Zambezi from Kariba in the west, to Kanyemha in the east or any portion in between. Each trip is accompanied by well-trained, competent and experienced guides and is an incredible way to experience the river at first hand.

In conclusion, these two national parks are great places to visit for guests who wish to experience the best of Africa.  Here they will see abundant wildlife and beautiful picturesque scenery.