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Mana Pools, Zimbabwe

Mana Pools National Park is one of the most untouched parks in Southern Africa and is therefore considered to be one of its wildest. It’s a Unesco World Heritage Site and a Ramsar Wetland, with Zimbabwe’s largest populations of hippo and crocodile. The campsites in this wild world aren’t fenced off so you can hardly find yourself closer to nature. Book a spot in the main camp, where your tent can stand high on the edge of the mighty Zambezi River, with hippos floating around everywhere in the water below. Even though you camp so wild over here, you’ll still have neat ablution facilities with warm water. It’s a good thing the riverbank is steep and high, though, because at night your torch will find the glowing eyes of countless crocs everywhere in the river. Elephants regularly walk through camp and you have to be very alert when going to the bathroom (especially at night) because lions regularly come to drink water from the toilets.We found a moody female laying in the tall grass a mere 50m from the ablution block one night. In the rest of the park you’ll enjoy daily sightings of impala, kudu, eland, buffalo, more crocodiles, hippos, elephants, waterbuck, and a long list of bird species. Mana Pools is paradise for any sort of nature enthusiast. Just don’t try to smuggle fresh products into this park.There are even warnings not to leave your shoes outside your tent at night, because the hyenas will steal them and chew them to bits!