Participatory Canoe Safari

4 Day Tamarind Safari, Lower Zambezi, Zimbabwe
Your briefing will be held at Kariba Breezes Hotel at 18h15 at the lower pool terrace the evening before your trip departs. After the briefing you will be asked to sign an indemnity form. Canoeing Safaris will collect you for the briefing and return you to your hotel afterwards.

Day 1 (18 km)
1. Canoeing Safaris will collect you on the morning of your safari in time for a check in at the Canoeing Safaris office at 08h00 to hand in extra luggage and valuables. Please do not take your passport on the river with you.
2. Your safari will depart from Kariba Breezes at 08h30 for shopping to purchase any extra drinks for your trip. Your group will leave the shop at 09h00 for the start of the canoe safari.
3. Your group will be transferred by open land cruiser to the village of Chirundu, arriving approximately 11h30. The canoes and kit will be unloaded.
4. A safety talk and demonstration of how to paddle a canoe will be given to your group.
5. At around 12.00, paddling will begin until 17.00.
6. Lunch is a packed lunch taken on the River.
7. At approximately 17.00 you will set up camp on an island named Kakomarara, there is time to bath, relax and have dinner after a brief safety talk on camping.

Day 2 (27 km)
1. Your group will be woken up at sunrise for tea, coffee and biscuits before paddling from 06h00 to 08h00 when you stop for breakfast.
2. At approximately 09.30 the group will resume canoeing until you reach the lunch stop at 12h30 hours. After lunch there is a siesta and time to catch up on reference books until14h30 / 15h00 depending on the weather.
3. Canoeing continues until approximately 17h00, when the second night stop is made at Lone Acacia Island.

Day 3 (23 km)
The programme is as per day two, with the night stop being made at Trichelia Island.

Day 4 (7 km)
1. The group is woken up at sunrise for tea, coffee, biscuits and breakfast before paddling starts at 08h00.
2. The group arrives at Mana Pools at 10h00 where the canoes are loaded on to the trailer for the return trip to Kariba. Arrival time in Kariba is approximately 14h30.

Please note that this is a camping safari and there are no fixed ablution facilties along the way. All times given in the trip description are approximate, they will vary from trip to trip.

General Information
Most of our safaris are self-participatory which means that camps are not already set up and that everyone helps set up their tents each evening (very easy to set up two-man dome tents). We have one fully backed up trip where there is a back up vehicle and extra staff to set up camp on the mainland.
We can take a minimum of 2 pax and a maximum of 8 pax.
We have a minimum age limit of 15 years - there is no maximum age limit but discretion must be used.
No previous canoeing experience is necessary but we do require our guests to be reasonably fit and healthy.
We have a luggage room and safe facilities for any extra luggage - the maximum luggage limit on the River is 10 kgs.
We prefer guests to be in Kariba the day before and the day after their safari.
There is a pre-trip briefing the night before a safari at Kariba Breezes Hotel lower pool terrace at 18h15.
Animals seen on the trip usually include elephant, buffalo, impala, waterbuck, hippo, crocodile and plenty of birdlife. Lion and leopard are more difficult to see but they are certainly in the area. We do not guarantee that plenty of game will be seen on safari.

What costs include
1. Road transfers to and from the safari - eg from Chirundu to/from Mana Pools.
2. All meals - three full meals per day plus biscuits in between. We do cater for dietary preferences, such as vegetarian or diabetic - please could guests let us know in a advance if they do have any preferences.
3. Drinks - cordials not minerals. There is no alcohol, except for a bottle of wine with dinner each evening. If guests would like to take their own alcohol or minerals we do supply a cooler box which will carry quite a few tins.
4. All canoeing equipment - the canoes are two man Canadian style canoes, and the paddles are American Carlisle paddles.
5. All camping equipment - two man dome tents, sleeping bags, liners, mattress, mosquito net, fly sheet, ground sheet and tarpaulin (in case of rainy weather).
6. A fully qualified canoe guide.

Please note that costs do not include National Parks fees which are USD15 per person payable directly to Parks enroute.

What to bring
1. Canoeing Safaris provides all camping equipment and food as well as cordials, and wine for dinner. Should you wish to take any hard liquor, beer or carbonated drinks, we will take you to a shop in Kariba to purchase these.
2. We recommend you pack the following for your safari:
Swimming Costume
Shorts
Personal toiletries
Towel
Canvas shoes or rafting sandals
A hat with a wide brim
A jacket or cardigan for the evenings
Shirts (including a long sleeved one for sun protection)
A kikoi or length of cloth to cover your legs to protect them from the sun
A torch or flash / flashlight and extra batteries
Film and spare camera batteries
Binoculars
Sunscreen
Insect repellent
Socks for winter nights
Warm clothes to sleep in for winter nights

Please keep your luggage to a maximum of 10kg per person, packed in a soft bag not a suitcase.

3. Please ensure that you have begun a course of anti malaria tablets before your arrival in Zimbabwe and that you continue the medication for four weeks after arriving home.
4. Please ensure that you advise Canoeing Safaris or your travel agent of any dietary preferences or requirements at least one week before your trip departs. Please ensure you advise your agent or Canoeing Safaris of any medical disorders, which may require special attention.

Other sample itineraries
>4 day Canoe and Walking Trail, Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe
>3 day Lodge to Lodge, Zambezi River, Zambia