In the 12 months since Mugabe left power, Zim has seen a definite uptick in tourist numbers. Bribe-seeking Police roadblocks are gone (their hearts were never truly in it anyway!) and many forgotten corners of the country are dusting off the cobwebs and getting ready to welcome tourists back to Africa’s self-drive gem.
Mana Pools bookings have increased dramatically and we can foresee a time in the not-too-distant future when these will be hard to come by. The airing of the new David Attenborough BBC documentary “Dynasties” will no doubt bring further international interest in Mana especially. At Manapools.com, we are steadily growing our 4×4 rental fleet and opening up new and exciting self-drive routes further off the beaten track via our new site www.selfdrivezim.com.
Life at our Sunbird Guest House base has been busy with our long-standing team of hospitality professionals welcoming Godfrey Phiri to the hospitality side of the business from his previous support role. We are proud to say that we retain every single team member we have ever employed and are proud of our team’s entrepreneurial service ethic.
Zim remains a challenging country to operate in, with Fuel and Foreign Exchange crises meaning we have to use our wits and wiles to ensure that our clients experience seamless service. We believe it is this “feet on the ground” resourcefulness that set us apart from other regional 4×4 rental companies who will rent you a vehicle from a neighboring country, then essentially wash their hands of you once you cross our borders. Zim-based Zim-Specialists continues to be our mantra, there’s plenty to see here without driving around the rest of Africa like a mad-man. Believe us, we can keep you busy exploring the beautiful, dusty back-corners of this forgotten land for many months!
We wish all our clients and associates a very Happy Christmas and look forward to building our country up in the year ahead with service, commitment, class and a dash of humor!
Ant Bown and the team
Hi Ant,
Thx for the update and general info, i have been to Mana Pools before and was wondering when and how I am going to introduce this GEM to my clients. Reading this article made up my mind, thank you again, so many rubbish gets published lately about just everything. One thing that does bother me is that we were robbed at the office at Mana Pools, they charged us international rates instead of SADEC rates, I will definitely book my next safari with your assistance.
Kind regards
Andre
Hi Andre,
Thanks for your mail. Please do contact us directly on ant@manapools.com. we are Harare-based and can help with Zimparks bookings as well as updates on the dynamic forex and fuel situation in Zim.
Kind Regards
Ant Bown
ant@manapools.com