Ruwesi Canoe Trails is a small-group canoe expedition of Mana Pools National Park conducted by Bushlife Zimbabwe--the guiding company of the nation's premier guide, John Stevens. The three-night mobile canoeing/walking safari covers about 60km of national park coastline. The camp is mobile, and each night is spent in a different location on the banks of the Zambezi River. The camp sites are the same as those used by Mr. Stevens in his exclusive and highly-coveted tented safaris.

Groups are strictly limited to seven travelers. These seven guests are supported by a staff of four, plus a professional armed guide. Guests are treated to the degree of luxury that the mobile camp experience allows--including comfortable framed tents with cots, mattresses, sheets and blankets, and high quality candlelight dining. Your staff, of course, has fully assembled camp, started dinner, and lit the fire before you arrive each evening in your canoes.

The itinerary is as follows:

DAY 1. You begin your expedition in Kariba. Your flight from Kariba arrives in the morning at the Mana Pools airfield, where you drive to the first tented camp through an open acacia woodland with considerable resident wildlife.

Shortly after midday, you arrive at the base tented camp overlooking the Zambezi River. The scenery is spectacular--a vast expanse of water interspersed with island, with the Zambian escarpment in the background. Cool drinks and lunch await you, and it is not long before your are on your way again following the winding track to the canoe launch point upstream at the Ruckomechi River mouth.

The Canadian canoes are 18ft. in length and are constructed of fibreglass. They have built-in buoyancy tanks, making them unsinkable, and they have two padded seats. After your thorough briefing from your guide, you set off down this placid waterway for your first night's tented camp--about six miles downstream.

You negotiate your way through meandering channels rich in birdlife. Hippo gaze at you from a distance, partly submerged, releasing a series of grunts as you pass by. Waterbuck graze on the fertile islands and at time you pass lone Cape buffalo, and on occasion larger herds.

As the sun becomes a golden ball hovering over the escarpment, the colours around you become quite soft. The sounds of wildlife are magnified as the breeze drops and in the distance you can make out a faint glow from your campfire. The tents are situated high on the river bank, bringing out the atmosphere of "old Africa."

As you beach the canoes, your camp staff is there to meet and assist you. You make your way to the dining area to relax and enjoy a refreshing drink. You sit gazing out across the river; the sky has reddened, flights of egrets skim the water and the familiar grunts of hippo echo across the wilderness.

DAY 2. Rising early, you have a cup of tea or coffee, with homemade rusks before setting off in your canoes. To be on the river before sunrise is a magical time. As you paddle down river, the sky begins to lighten and the dawn choruses of birds springs to life. You drift under overhanging branches entangled with wild grapes; while alongside numerous other species of riverine trees reach up to the sky. A troop of baboons enjoys the first rays of sunlight from their perches about us.

After a few hours on the river and while it is still early, you decide to take a walk and explore inland. Crossing over a vast expanse of flood plain, you study a variety of tracks that have been left in the sand the night before by passing animals. In the distance a lion communicates with the rest of its pride. The roar of a lion can be heard over a distance of five miles and the group is eager to quicken the pace to catch up. The plains become more densely wooded and the brush begins to thicken. You move more cautiously now as there is a chance that an unsuspecting elephant or buffalo may be concealed around the next bush.

By mid-morning, after paddling and walking, you stop in the shade for your safari breakfast.

You then paddle downriver, passing through a chain of sand bars known as the Nyamepi Islands. Dense reed thickets often attract groups of elephant bulls and you are able to glide silently by without disturbing them at all.

At midday, you stop in the cool shade of a grove of mahogany trees, and relax and let the African show play out before you.

The last part of the day is spent meandering through a network of channels. Aquatic vegetation hosts numerous species of birds, including bee eaters. Perched on a prominent termite mound, an African fish eagle waits patiently for an unsuspecting tiger fish...

As you round a bend in the river, your familiar tented camp comes into view. From the camp you have a commanding view of a group of islands in the middle of the Zambezi. Herds of buffalo often spend a great deal of time in these areas. It is also from this camp that we often hear lion roaring at night.

DAY 3. Leaving camp at first light, we begin paddling through the Ninesi Channels. This final stretch becomes even more scenic as the plains around you become more vast and the river increases in width. Unique to this area is the occasional herd of Cape buffalo which may number in the hundreds. Birdlife is prolific and by mid-morning we find a suitable shady spot opposite Chikwenya Island for breakfast.

Having eaten, you decide on a bit of exercise by walking inland to explore the riverine belt. Game trails are well defined, making the walking conditions very pleasant. You approach numerous animal species which are often unaware of your presence. Often, the group just sits quietly on high ground simply observing all that goes by.

Paddling beyond Chikwenya, one of the largest islands on the Zambezi, you frequently encounter herds of waterbuck grazing on the water's edge. You finally approach your last camp, and your now-familiar staff, in the golden light of sunset.

DAY 4. After an early breakfast in camp, you will drive to the Chikwenya airstrip for your return flight to Kariba.