Victoria Falls to Harare - via Hwange, Matusadona and Mana Pools

[Zim Girl]

@@Soukous

 

I can't believe you found Boswell and the dogs on your first drive, and then to finish with a leopard, great stuff.

[Rhino Safari Camp]

On 10/26/2014 at 11:19 PM, graceland said:

@@Soukous,

 

Oh and I have been calling Steve, GEORGE...omg, thank you for correcting this. Karl and Jenny must think I really am a dumb blonde from the USA. I promise --I try to put a positive spin on the blonde thing.

No worries @@graceland - being somewhat blonde myself and with the memory of a sieve, I understand fully .

 

On 10/27/2014 at 8:01 AM, Zim Girl said:

@@Soukous

 

Lovely pictures from Matusadona. I love Rhino Camp, it's location on Lake Kariba is just stunning and Jenny is so welcoming.

 

On 10/27/2014 at 11:52 AM, wilddog said:

Some lovely Images @@Soukous. I think I need to come on one your courses/bump into you in the bush somewhere. But I have got a copy of your Wildlife Photography - A beginners guide.

 

Rhino camp is lovely and those sunsets on the lake are special. So sad the rhinos have gone

@@Zim Girl & @@wilddog - thanks for the kind words, will pass on to Jenny

 

On 10/28/2014 at 8:14 PM, Sangeeta said:

@@Soukous - sounds like it is official then - that Mvura was poached? I am truly heartsick at this news. Up until now, I had been hoping against hope that somehow she had wandered off to another section of the park, though I knew it was an unlikely scenario given how comfortable she was in and around Rhino Camp. Which was the other rhino that was poached? Her daughter? Or was it the older one - her son? All this even after they had de-horned her and kept as close an eye out for her as was possible. Did they find her or is she presumed poached? Many of us spent some lovely moments with this rhino - always scared that her trusting nature would betray her. And sounds like it did. I can't even properly express my feelings today - I am so angry and so saddened by this. Very sorry to bring this dark shadow over your TR, though, and if you have more news about her, we can take this to another thread.

@@Sangeeta - yes unfortunately the remains of Mvura and her second born Zuva were found mid last year. It was completely devastating for us, especially Jenny who had built up an incredible rapport with this wonderful animal, as we have really struggled to stay open throughout the really bad times, in order to maintain a presence in the area and try and keep an eye out for the game in the area and assist parks, etc .

 

On 10/29/2014 at 7:42 AM, Zim Girl said:

When we were at Rhino Camp last year, Mark, our guide, told us he thought there were only 5-6 rhino left. We had specifically gone there to find rhino and spent many hours trying. Every time we came back Jenny was obviously upset that we were not finding any trace whatsoever.

It is extremely sad and I do hope they are able to get the last four to safety (if there is such a thing).

@@Zim Girl - yes the idea has been floated to move them to a more protected area, but these things take time unfortunately and everyone is waiting with baited breath on this, because the rhino in the Matus are apparently genetically (?) unique in that they have resistances to a lot of things that for example the South African rhinos don't have. So it's really important that these blood lines are preserved as best as possible.

 

Apologies for the bulk multi-quote, probably not the best way of responding

 

Finally, @@Soukous, your TR is wonderful in it's depth and the great photos, being a newbie to ST not sure if this is the norm but quite something nonetheless. Was having a look at the 8 seater that took you from Matus to Mana and it doesn't look familiar and so can only assume that this was subcontracted (unfortunately Giles from AltAir has had a few technical hitches in the past 3 months getting spares for 2 of his aircraft and thus had to use the services of others, which isn't the norm and his service is normally impeccable) and hence pilot possibly landed at the wrong strip, as you were definitely at the right one . Oh yes and that pic of the leopard with a very brave or would that be silly impala ram looking on, is brilliant considering how far you must have been.....!!

[graceland]

@@Rhino Safari Camp,

 

Hi Karl! Just wanted to note for all reading about Rhino in Matusadona (and not trying to interfere with @@Soukous most excellent Mana experiences)

 

When Craig, Jud and myself were walking on September 12 we found FRESH rhino tracks in the dry sand bed in which we were walking - where we spotted the leopards - so Craig would know 'where".....we were so excited (Craig in particular!) and we did follow for quite a while but ....no luck. He felt the rhino was nearby though, and if not for the leopard intervention, we were hoping to find him/her later on.

 

Hope is a good thing - if nearby, even better.

 

 

@@Soukous, great start to Mana! You probably have a huge fan base within your vehicle and expected no less from their fearless leader and "Love".

 

Of course missing sundowners would be detrimental to your well-being if I were along......

[Geoff]

 

Our camp though, was a dream. What a location!

 

 

...and from the pictures looks exactly like my kind of camp!!!

[Soukous]

 

Finally, @@Soukous, your TR is wonderful in it's depth and the great photos, being a newbie to ST not sure if this is the norm but quite something nonetheless. Was having a look at the 8 seater that took you from Matus to Mana and it doesn't look familiar and so can only assume that this was subcontracted (unfortunately Giles from AltAir has had a few technical hitches in the past 3 months getting spares for 2 of his aircraft and thus had to use the services of others, which isn't the norm and his service is normally impeccable) and hence pilot possibly landed at the wrong strip, as you were definitely at the right one . Oh yes and that pic of the leopard with a very brave or would that be silly impala ram looking on, is brilliant considering how far you must have been.....!!

 

thanks @@Rhino Safari Camp

our flight out of Rokori was with Guthrie Aviation, as was our flight from Mana to Harare. Both pilots were very fine indeed.

[Rhino Safari Camp]

Ah yes @@Soukous - that would explain it as we don't often have guests on Guthrie's aircraft and hence the possible misunderstanding on which strip to use . Hope you didn't have to wait too long?

[Rhino Safari Camp]

 this is indeed correct. Not sure of the exact figures, but apparently the +-19,000 rhino in South Africa come from fewer genetic lines than the few hundred rhino in Zimbabwe!! And of those, the ones in the Matus are the most varied and have greater resistances. So they are definitely worth protecting at all costs.

 

On 10/29/2014 at 9:57 PM, graceland said:

@@Rhino Safari Camp,

 

Hi Karl! Just wanted to note for all reading about Rhino in Matusadona (and not trying to interfere with @@Soukous most excellent Mana experiences)

 

When Craig, Jud and myself were walking on September 12 we found FRESH rhino tracks in the dry sand bed in which we were walking - where we spotted the leopards - so Craig would know 'where".....we were so excited (Craig in particular!) and we did follow for quite a while but ....no luck. He felt the rhino was nearby though, and if not for the leopard intervention, we were hoping to find him/her later on.

 

Hope is a good thing - if nearby, even better.

 

@@graceland

 

Hi Nancy, yes this would likely be Murume (Mvura's first born) who was completely wild and fairly aggressive, which was at odds with his mother's demeanor and quite interesting to experience when he was at camp with Mvura. It is indeed exciting news, but with the delicate / precarious situation these animals face, we need to be careful where the info goes on such sightings, in order to minimise exposing them to further risk . Such a dilemma for sure.......

[Soukous]

26 September 2014

The topic of conversation when we gathered for our morning drive was noises that had entertained us during the night.

I'd heard hyaenas and lions but apparently at about 5am 2 wild dogs had run through camp chasing something or other.

The first order of business, therefore was to see if we could find either the dogs or the cats.

We followed dog tracks for about an hour without success. At various times during the morning we stopped to speak with other guides, all of whom seemed to be on the same fruitless quest.

Our morning was a bit like that. We didn't find the dogs, or the lions and ended up spending time near long pool, where there was plenty of bird life and lots of hippos.

On the mighty Zambezi

Instead of another game drive, this afternoon we'd arranged for Cloud to take us canoeing.

It was about 9 years since I'd last canoed on the Zambezi and on that occasion I'd been on the Zambian side, in Lower Zambezi NP. It had been a great trip and so I was looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with the river.

We'd be canoeing with the current so it wouldn't be too strenuous, mostly just making sure we kept clear of the hippos lurking all around us.

Apart from hippos, buffaloes and elephants we didn't really encounter much other mammal life along the river but the bird life was excellent.

There were 6 of us in 3 canoes, with 2 river guides. Cloud led the way with 2 people in his canoe and Julius brought up the rear with 2 more in his canoe.

Rena & I were left to paddle our own canoe.

It took me quite a while though to become adept at putting down my paddle and extricating my camera from its waterproof bag. The first few attempts were so inept that not only did I fail to get the picture I wanted but the canoe veered wildly off course. Rena was not amused.

The best bit, for me at least, was when we left the main channel to weave through the islands in the middle of the river. It was so tranquil.

When we were within sight of the finish, Cloud brought all 3 canoes together and we were all able to relax as Cloud and Julius did the work.

As we reached the riverbank, we saw Love arrive with the Land Cruiser to pick us up. Julius would stay with the canoes until Cloud returned with the canoe trailer.

Our drive back to camp was interrupted when we spotted a pair of lions a short distance from the road. The light had gone, so no photos, but we could see that they were engaged in mating.

The following morning would be our last, before we transferred through the park to Kanga Camp and, so we decided that we'd spend our last morning by the river, on the river.

Today we had put in just beside the camp and canoed down past the Mucheni Campsites. Tomorrow we would put in at Vundu Point and canoe with the current back to camp.

27 September 2014

We were all set to go, but we couldn't. We had to wait for Love to return from an early drive with some other guests.

A big Whinge about African Bush Camps (ABC)

This is probably my biggest whinge about African Bush Camps and the way they staff their camps.

Zambezi Lifestyles has just 5 tents, accommodation up to 10 guests.

Yet the camp has just 1 pro guide and 1 game drive vehicle.

We were a group, requiring a private vehicle for our game drives; this meant that anyone else in camp could not do a game drive at the same time.

Cloud is a qualified river guide – and an excellent one at that – but he could not transfer us to the put in at Vundu Point because there was no vehicle.

If we had not been canoeing, and had booked a game drive that morning, then any other guests in camp would either have had to go canoeing or just sit around camp.

In my eyes, this is a highly unsatisfactory set up considering the prices one pays to stay at ABC camps. Add to that the fact that the vehicle at Zambezi Lifestyles were far and away the worst of any camp we stayed at – it really isn't good enough.

In other respects Zambezi Lifestyles was terrific. Cloud was fabulous. The camp crew were first rate and nothing was too much trouble.

We didn't know quite what to make of Love. He was clearly a very experienced and knowledgeable guide but he seemed a bit disinterested or blasé. He didn't really engage with us in the way that other guides had.

In the end, we were transferred to Vundu Point by a vehicle from another camp/operator. It didn't make ABC look good and clients less easy going than we were might have kicked up a fuss.

Our morning canoe journey was less eventful than the previous afternoon's. We saw far fewer hippos but a good selection of birds.

[Soukous]

Something I omitted to mention was that yesterday, while we were taking our midday break in camp, I had a visitor.

When we arrived at Zambezi Lifestyles I had told Cloud that some friends of mine would be camping quite close by at the Mucheni 4 campsite and that they would be guided by Benson Siyawareva. I'd asked him if, at some time during our stay, we could drop by to say hello.

Anyhow, yesterday Humphrey Gumpo, owner of Tailormade Safaris, had come by to let me know that Ken & Matt had arrived. It turned out that he'd worked together with Cloud a few years back and they had remained great friends.

Our stay at Zambezi Lifestyles was almost over and we would be transferring through the park to Kanga Camp. I checked with the others and no-one minded if we made a short detour to Mucheni 4.

When we arrived at Mucheni 4 we could see a row of tents smartly arrayed along the riverbank. We were about to go towards them when one of the camp crew waved us in a different direction, to the furthest edge of the camp where we found an exclusive little satellite camp set up under the trees. There, complete with Gin & Tonic and pith helmet, was the @@Game Warden.

It was a real privilege to meet @@Safaridude and also to meet Benson. There's something special about meeting people you know in the bush. My only regret was that we did not have more time.

We stayed and chatted for about half an hour before clambering back onto our vehicle and driving to Kanga Camp.

Kanga Camp – Kanga Pan – Mana Pools NP

I'd chosen Kanga Camp as the final stop on our safari for a good reason. We'd been travelling for 2 weeks and had spent a lot of time rising before the sun and bouncing around in game vehicles.

At Kanga Camp there'd be none of that. It was by far the most luxurious of all the places that we'd stayed and, unless we wanted to, there would be no need to go on game drives. Because Kanga Pan was the only water around, all the animals would come to the pan to drink at some time during the day (or night). And we could sit on the deck and watch it all unfold before us.

I'd heard quite a bit about Kanga Pan and I was really excited to get here. With this in mind my first sight of the pan itself was something of an anti climax. It was not at all what I'd expected.

I'd been expecting to find a large waterhole, filled with water. What I got was a few muddy pools, of greenish looking water.

Over the next couple of days though, no matter how unappealing the water might have looked to me, the animals clearly loved it.

From here on in, rather than continue with a chronological report, I'll simply post photos, together with any words that might be relevant as background.

What I will say though, is that our armchair safari at Kanga Camp was a revelation and a terrific way to bring our safari to a close.

[Soukous]

Elephants at Kanga Pan

 

Our first sight of Kanga Pan did not fill us with optimism.

What we saw was a lot of mud, with a few small pools full of stagnant green water.

 

It certainly bore little resemblance to the year round waterhole we'd been expecting.

Appearances can be deceptive though, and over the course of the 2 days we spent at Kanga Camp, we saw a greater variety of game at these muddy pools than we saw at any other waterhole.

In fact the only waterholes I can think of where I have seen such variety are Vlei Pan in Madikwe and some of the waterholes in Etosha.

 

Elephants visited the Kanga Pan at all hours of day and night; emerging from and then disappearing back into the trees.

 

 

 

 

One of the things we are all guilty of when watching animals is to attribute human behaviour and characteristics to them. Anthropomorphism I think it's called.

 

Watching the elephants at Kanga Pan I just couldn't help it. The way the approached the waterhole, positively shouted out that they were happy. They didn't walk, they jogged or trotted, trunks swinging from side to side. They had a totally different demeanor to the elephants we'd seen in Chobe or Hwange.

 

Although the mud looked unappealing to us, the elephants clearly loved it and indulged in mud baths and mud showers; sometimes just lying there for ages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We noticed that there were a lot of very young calves as well, and they had an absolute ball in the mud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kanga Pan's claim to fame is that it is a year round waterhole. But it doesn't achieve this feat unaided.

Kanga Camp draw their water from a borehole and twice a day in dry season they pump thousands of litres of water into the pan to ensure it doesn't run dry.

 

The elephants know this. We watched some of the them, usually young bulls, arrive when they thought it was time for the pump to start and make their way right up near the deck so that they could drink the clean water as it came out of the pipe, rather than drink the less clean water in the pools.

 

 

 

 

while they are waiting for the pump to be started they are quite curious about who is on the deck and sniff around in case there might be some food.

 

 

When we went out on a game walk, we found trees on all the trails where elephants had stopped to rub and scratch after their mudbaths.

 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2014 by Soukous

[graceland]

Aren't they just the smartest? (and calves the cutest!) i noticed as well they'd go to find the freshest of the pumped water in the pans at Hwange, esp.. in the evenings when I suppose they felt they had it all to themselves..

 

Except we were always there being the wildlife "voyeurs" we have become ~ Africa paparazzi

 

Terrific shots! Love them all, but sheer bliss on the little ones' faces during their mud baths! I remember one who did NOT want to leave and put on quite a show before Momma insisted she stop playing around.

 

 

[Marks]

I think in the case of elephants it really is more than anthropomorphism; some of their behaviors and moods seem analogous enough to ours to be readily identified.

 

Awesome photos.

[madaboutcheetah]

@@Soukous - just catching up with your report!!! Wow - Thank You for writing this up - stellar images that I thoroughly enjoyed.

 

Sorry for that cheetah - I hope they were okay eventually. Animals have tremendous healing powers!

[Soukous]

A Lion Kill - of sorts

Lunch had been splendid and I was well into my afternoon armchair safari when Reggie, our guide, disturbed the peace. “Come on, there's a lion with a kill just a few minutes away.”

Okay, good enough reason.

I was ready in seconds, I'd been sitting on the deck with my cameras anyway, and rushed off to tell the others. It took us a bit longer than usual to get our act together as one of the ladies had been in the middle of taking a shower, but we were soon all on board.

After a brief detour in the wrong direction we found the right spot.

It was more of an event for our ears than our eyes. A lioness had caught a warthog and dragged it into thick bushes where she was busy eating it. It took us a few seconds to realise that the warthog was not yet dead. While the lioness chomped on its hindquarters, there were some dreadful sounds coming from the other end.

We stayed and watched (& listened) for a while, hoping that there might be an opportunity for a better view, but it never materialised.

When we got back to camp we spoke to the young Australian couple who had first made the sighting. They had been on their way into camp after being picked up at the airstrip and had seen a warthog, closely followed by a lioness, run across the road in front of them. As soon as she had caught her prey, the lioness dragged it deeper into the bush.

The Thirsty Lioness

Being an optimist I figured that after her meal the lioness would want to come for a drink. And there was only one place she could go. The question was, would she come before or after sunset and would there be enough light for me to get photographs.

A couple of hours later, with the sun low in the sky, I was back on the deck when out of the corner of my eye I saw the lioness emerge from the bushes.

There was a frisky young elephant bull at the water so she disappeared from view for a while as she warily skirted around to a spot further away.

We waited and watched as she approached the water, constantly looking to see where the elephant was. I could see that she was all bloody from her recent meal.

She's barely crouched down to drink when the elephant shook his head, flapped his ears and moved purposefully towards the drinking lioness.

She didn't hang around. With the elephant following behind she left the pool and went into the forest.

The elephant, very proud of himself, strutted back to the water and stood there, daring her to return.

For my part I was willing him to just bugger off. The light was going fast and whilst he was there the lioness would not return.

Finally, he got bored and moved away.

Once it was clear that he had gone, the lioness cautiously re-emerged from the trees and went back to the water.

The sun was sinking fast and she kept to the shadows so I'd had to increase my ISO from 400 to 800 and then to 1600, but I did manage a few photos.

She was still vary wary and kept looking in our direction but she stayed long enough to drink before silently slipping away into the forest again.

It had seemed like an age but the time between her first arrival and her second was only just over half an hour.

Unfortunately, even with the elephant gone, she still preferred to drink quite a long way from the camp. We noticed that it was only after sundown that lions – and leopards – would drink from the pools closer to camp.

[michael-ibk]

Love the eles in the mud, Soukous, the little ones really are having fun there!

[Soukous]

Some encouraging news.

Some of you may recall that I had a bit of a whinge about African Bush Camps (Post #64).

 

Well, last week I had the pleasure of meeting Shelley, Cox, (the Marketing Manager for ABC) at World Travel Market in London.

 

I took the opportunity to give her feedback - both good and bad - from our recent stays at the 2 ABC camps in Mana Pools,

 

I was very encouraged by what Shelley told me. Apparently ABC have recently acquired some new investors and are in the process of a major overhaul of all aspects of their operation.

Clearly I am not the first person to raise some concerns because they have purchased new vehicles for all the camps, they are embarking on a huge guide training programme to make sure that all their guides are up to the same standard - in both Zimbabwe and Botswana.

They will also be putting in place a more comprehensive and flexible staffing structure at their camps so that the kind of problem we encountered should not happen again.

 

I felt much better about ABC after my chat with Shelley - OK, I know that is her job - but it was reassuring that all the points that prevented our stay with ABC from being perfect had been addressed.

 

 

 

[Soukous]

Night time action

On our first evening at Kanga Camp we'd seen a young leopard stealthily approach the waterhole just after dusk.

One of the guides picked it out with a spotlight and we watched it drink for a while before slinking off into the night.

At the time I'd told myself that it wasn't worth a photo, simply because it was dark.

Needless to say I almost immediately regretted not getting at least some proof that we'd seen the leopard and made sure I had my camera on hand the next night.

After our lioness (see previous post) had disappeared back into the bush, more lions arrived. Young males, a cub or two and more lionesses came and went from the waterhole.

As the fading natural light gave way to a rather feeble spotlight, I balanced my lens on the back of a chair and tried to hold it steady. Even at ISO6400 I was down to 1/10th of a second at f4.

When the leopard finally re-appeared the best I could manage was 1/5th of a second.

These were just the first visitors of the night. While the leopard was drinking quite close to the deck, a pair of hyaenas were wandering around one of the other pools and then, at a small pool that was right outside our tent, a air of honey badgers scurried around. They were too far away for me to do anything but watch them. I only I'd been at my tent they would have been within a few yards of me.

And so it went on through the night. At various times I heard animals lapping gently at the small pool by our tent, but each time I tried to sneak out for a peak, they had heard me and disappeared.

At one point, while a dozen or so elephants were splashing noisily in the waterholes, we heard lions roar, followed almost immediately by another set from a different direction. The effect on the elephants was instantaneous. To the accompaniment of indignant trumpeting, they dashed away from the pan and into the safety of the trees.

With so much after dark action and no real way of witnessing it, I couldn't help wishing for some floodlights to light up the pan.

[Atravelynn]

“This trip report follows on directly from my Chobe trip report which you will find in the Botswana section.” I clicked here from there! Good continuity.

Thanks for your concern about the rhinos and what should be posted. No horns may save their lives based on past experience in this park. That little rhino just bursts with infantile energy.

 

“I wish I could remember all the stuff he told us so I could sound smart at dinner parties.” Ha ha

 

Sable is a great score for you and Stanley & Livingstone Reserve.

 

You got some worthwhile photos of that red headed weaver!

 

I like your approach to the photos. We’re seeing them as you do.

 

The Look Up is a grand success. WHAT a perspective.