Canoe Trips Along the Middle Zambezi

Paddling down the Zambezi River as it flows between the Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe and the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia is one of the great wildlife canoeing trips in Africa.

The guided trips, usually undertaken in Canadian style canoes seating two or three, take nature lovers through some of the best game viewing areas in Zimbabwe, offering close-up sightings of elephants, buffalo, and other wildlife on the banks, and hippos in the water.

Birdlife, including fish eagles, is prolific and the scenery on both sides of the river is spectacular as the river winds its way through woodlands bordered by the steep slopes of the Zambezi Escarpment.

Safari operators offer a variety of trips, ranging from two-day excursions to five or six-day trips, covering 300 kilometres (186 miles), which begin at the rugged Kariba Gorge and end near the border with Mozambique.

Adventurous visitors choosing longer trips paddle the canoes themselves and spend each night camping on sandy islands or beaches on the banks of the river. Supplies are carried in the canoe, but some operators do arrange for camps to be set up along the banks.

Participants need to be relatively fit because paddling the canoes can be tiring, particularly if it is windy.