Mana Pools offers everything a photographer can wish for. The scenery is magnificent, centered on the mighty Zambezi River. Mana Pool’s incredible nature, abundant wildlife and surreal light that filters through the forests gives this national park its distinctive magical atmosphere.

During this trip you get the chance to capture Mana Pool’s spectacular nature and wildlife together with Swedish conservation photographer Tom Svensson. Mana Pools is an UNESCO world heritage site that extends about 2,196 square kilometers and with no physical boundaries, the wildlife is free to roam throughout the area. The park is also one of the few places in Africa where you can see wild elephants feed off the tree canopy while standing on their hind legs and catch a glimpse of the rare African wild dogs. Here you will be able to photograph everything from the mighty lions and leopards to spotted hyenas, hippos and crocodiles. Mana Pools is a prime location for both walking and jeep safaris so you will have plenty of chances to get intimate photos of the wildlife from unique angles. A paradise for any nature and wildlife photographer!

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• Tutoring and workshops by photographer Tom Svensson during the whole trip.
  
• 14 safaris in Mana Pools National Park.  
• Capturing the surreal light of the park.
• Intimate encounters with elephants and the chance to capture them feeding off the canopy while standing on their hind legs.
• Chance to photograph the rare African wild dogs.
• Encounters with wildlife on foot during walking safaris as well as jeep safaris.

Mana Pools offers everything a photographer can wish for. The scenery is magnificent, centered on the mighty Zambezi River. Mana Pool’s incredible nature, abundant wildlife and surreal light that filters through the forests gives this national park its distinctive magical atmosphere.

During this trip you get the chance to capture Mana Pool’s spectacular nature and wildlife together with Swedish conservation photographer Tom Svensson. Mana Pools is an UNESCO world heritage site that extends about 2,196 square kilometers and with no physical boundaries, the wildlife is free to roam throughout the area. The park is also one of the few places in Africa where you can see wild elephants feed off the tree canopy while standing on their hind legs and catch a glimpse of the rare African wild dogs. Here you will be able to photograph everything from the mighty lions and leopards to spotted hyenas, hippos and crocodiles. Mana Pools is a prime location for both walking and jeep safaris so you will have plenty of chances to get intimate photos of the wildlife from unique angles. A paradise for any nature and wildlife photographer!

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• Tutoring and workshops by photographer Tom Svensson during the whole trip.
  
• 14 safaris in Mana Pools National Park.  
• Capturing the surreal light of the park.
• Intimate encounters with elephants and the chance to capture them feeding off the canopy while standing on their hind legs.
• Chance to photograph the rare African wild dogs.
• Encounters with wildlife on foot during walking safaris as well as jeep safaris.

TOUR ITINERARY • September 14-21, 2019

TOUR ITINERARY • September 14-21, 2019

International airfare to Harare, Zimbabwe is not included. Since many of our costumers prefer to book their flights on their own, we have decided to not include the airfares in our price. But if you wish, we are more than happy to help you arrange all your flights.

DAY 1 – SEPTEMBER 14, 2019

We will meet up at Harare International Airport in the morning for a flight with a chartered plane directly to Mana Pools National Park. Here you are greeted by Tom followed by transport with jeeps into the park and to our camp which will be our base for the upcoming week of adventures. After we get settled in at the lodge we’ll be served a late lunch and Tom will give some general photography advice for the coming safaris and photo walks. We will also have a safety briefing by one of our rangers. Next, we head out in Mana Pools to catch the magical evening light as the sun slowly sets over the Zambezi River, hopefully with some elephants in the foreground. In the evening, we will have a great welcome dinner where we get the opportunity to get to know each other a little bit better. (L, D)

DAY 2-7 – SEPTEMBER 15 – 20, 2019

We will spend six full days in this photogenic paradise with safaris both in the morning and in the evening which with no doubt will provide us with some amazing photographic opportunities in the unique Mana light.  There will be a lot of time to photograph the wildlife of the park, both from jeeps and on foot. The best thing about Mana Pools is the fantastic light and that the large mammals are accustomed to humans moving around in the park on foot, which means that you get the opportunity to encounter them very close and thus can get exciting and different angles, often lying on the ground. The combination of jeep safaris, and walking safaris with endless possibilities of creating images with interesting angles makes this a one of a kind prime location for photography in Africa. Each morning our skilled rangers will plan out the safari arrangements of the day,  depending on weather conditions and where the animals are located in the park. Between the safaris and in the evenings, we will work with image processing of today’s images and we will also look at and evaluate each other’s pictures. Tom will also have photo talks and presentations on the theme of conservation and we will get to know more about how the rangers work with everything from anti-poaching to information about their conservation. During our last night in Mana Pools will have a delicious final dinner together and Tom will pick out the best photograph from the trip.  This photo will automatically go on to the finals of Zoom Photo Tour’s annual competition “Photo of the Year.” (B, L, D)

 DAY 8 – SEPTEMBER 21, 2019                                             

After our last morning safari for this trip we will have breakfast at the lodge before our jeeps take us to the airstrip for flight back to Harare international airport and the flights back home. (B)