Fire, Wind, Dust and Wonder.

[Whyone?]

Following all the early morning excitement with the hyena's and vultures, we had a practical matter to deal with - our spare wheel was bouncing about in the back of the Landcruiser with a puncture - not a sensible situation at Mana.

 

We drove over to the workshop at Nyamepi and (eventually!) found a kind gentleman who had the necessary tools and skills to repair the tyre. The reason we had been unable to find him was that he had been collecting his retirement present - a sleeping bag - he was leaving Parks after over 30 years of service.

 

_MG_9799 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

Whilst he went about his work, there was time to sit and watch the Vervet monkeys going about their daily business.

 

2R4C0199 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

Mummy!

2R4C0195 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

2R4C0185 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

Whilst undoubtably cute as buttons, turn your back for a moment and they will be in your vehicle and / or tent rifling through your possessions!

2R4C0178 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

Having paid the $5 for the puncture repair, plus a tip for the soon to be retired mechanic, we were on our way.

 

_MG_9797 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

The rest of the day was a fairly restful one, just watching what happened to pass by. this fellow, we watched from a long way out and he came right by!

2R4C0525 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

2R4C0526 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

2R4C0531 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

2R4C0535 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

But with a shake of his head, his ears slapping noisily against his head, he continues on his way.

 

Helmeted Guinea Fowl behind Mucheni 3.:

2R4C0236 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

That evening, the sundowners tasted especially good:

_MG_9802 by Whyone, on Flickr

Edited December 16, 2014 by Whyone?

[RichB]

@Id1, @@Atravelynn, @@Geoff and @@RichB, many thanks for sticking with my report and your kind comments.

 

@@Atravelynn, I think you are right, I need to play down the significance of warm beer.....having said that, warm beer on safari, as @@Geoff notes, is really, properly roughing it!

 

The last couple of years have been great for Hyena - last year we had two camp regulars, who joined us for a leisurely 90 minute walk one morning which was a wonderful experience. This year, having them sniffing at us less than a yard away was certainly exceptional.

Well you cant drink real ale cold can you...at least I cant..Can you get real ale there?

[RichB]

As mentioned above, the two-brothers were kind enough to let me attach a trail camera to a tree overlooking the hippo carcass. When I retrieved the camera the following morning, it had been triggered 337 times....thats 337 20 second videos which took quite a bit of trawling through. Whilst I am sure that some will be disappointed to hear that I don't intend to post all 337 video clips, most will be relived to see just a few of the nights more interesting events.

 

The quality is poor - an infra-red light source from some distance means grainy black and white. Allied to this, and most frustratingly, the sound on the camera chose this evening of all evenings to go AWOL.

 

It was sometime shortly after 5pm that we left two lions sleeping in the bush and the hippo unattended.

 

By 6:38pm the hyena's had moved in, but are looking pretty jumpy....

 

6:56pm and the hyena are hesitantly returning and again getting stuck-in:

 

7:11pm, hyena's have backed off and one of the lions returns:

 

10:22pm. Hyena's feeding, one climbs on top of the carcass, whilst another carries some meat towards the camera.

 

10:25pm hyena's continue to look nervous:

 

10:27pm, the wind has picked up and dust is blowing towards the camera. Hyena's feeding, but looking around.

 

By 10:47pm both of the brothers are feeding again. This is the last time the camera captured the lions.

 

4:03am: strangest event of the night - a hippo arrives to witness the hyena's devouring the carcass. This is where I really cursed the sound recording failure!

 

5:10am: Dawn begins to break, revealing what little remains of the hippo.

 

5:24am: with light, vultures have arrive en-mass and squabble over scraps, waiting for their turn to get at the carcass.

 

6:02am: Hyena's chasing vultures and each other. One walks towards the camera looking like he has consumed most of the hippo single handed!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJX-clTEuJs

 

6:05: Hyena walks towards camera

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7FIBUCF0EI

 

6:16am: This hyena picked up a nasty looking injury overnight - broken foreleg?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7eraJIZtCc

Fantastic to see the camera trap shots whyone..I use one here in Tasmania for the Devils..Cant wait to use it in Africa.

[Whyone?]

 

@Id1, @@Atravelynn, @@Geoff and @@RichB, many thanks for sticking with my report and your kind comments.

 

@@Atravelynn, I think you are right, I need to play down the significance of warm beer.....having said that, warm beer on safari, as @@Geoff notes, is really, properly roughing it!

 

The last couple of years have been great for Hyena - last year we had two camp regulars, who joined us for a leisurely 90 minute walk one morning which was a wonderful experience. This year, having them sniffing at us less than a yard away was certainly exceptional.

Well you cant drink real ale cold can you...at least I cant..Can you get real ale there?

 

You make a good point @@RichB.

 

Unfortunately real ale is in short supply in Zimbabwe, though I have carried Fullers London Pride out to Mana from the UK in the past. Trust me, with ambient temperatures ~40 degrees C, even real ale needs knocking down a little!

 

@@Africalover - as I guess you have realised from all of the reports on ST - Mana is a great destination and well worth making the effort to visit. Hope you make it there sometime soon

Edited December 16, 2014 by Whyone?

[Atravelynn]

Those night videos are great. So that's what happens when we are all tucked in snuggly. Love the frog. If the windows had not been shut tightly, that vervet would have stolen your goods. The ele was really checking you out!

[Whyone?]

Good morning @@Atravelynn.

I must confess that the picture of the vervet peering into our car was very much an 'after' shot. The 'before' was when we parked up and got out to have a look around, only to find 3 or 4 vervet's in the car, delighted to have found a bag of dried apricots - I sure they must have thought that all their birthdays had come at once!! The windows were more tightly closed after that.

The ele certainly did check us out - he was a good 1km away, drinking and bathing in the river when we first noticed him. In the first picture above of him taking a sand bath, he was at about 250m, and ultimately he got to within about 4m!

Edited December 17, 2014 by Whyone?

[Treepol]

Lovely vervet photos @@Whyone? I like the intensity in the 'Mummy' shot contrasted with the mischief in the photo of the vervet peering into the vehicle.

[twaffle]

Enjoying this self driving perspective in Mana, interesting.

[graceland]

Enjoying the ride, @@Whyone? The monkeys were esp. cute and getting your tire fixed a most welcomed relief I am sure. Love your elie sidekick.

 

Though I'd never self drive - I need my guide, and other indulgences; I can only imagine frustration when something goes wrong; and all you have is warm ale.

 

My biggest complaint in Mana (though I never actually spoke it out loud), was warm, not ice cold g&t's. The scenery made up for it; as did the wildlife...though our beer was cold, so must have been less of a priority for the guys. I did carry my own lemon just in case. So dusty in Mana one needs ice cold refreshments

[Whyone?]

@@Treepol & @@twaffle - many thanks for sticking with it!

 

@@graceland - excellent. Now we are focusing on the big issues. The things that matter. Never mind the majesty of the African bush. Cold drinks!

 

Unfortunately the next episode in this report is going to do nothing to drag us too far away from this apparent obsession of mine

[Atravelynn]

That hippo & hyenas was especially cool, even in silent mode.

[Whyone?]

You may recall my mentioning that the sun-downers had been especially pleasant the previous evening.

 

I can only imagine that we had some bad-peanuts (!) to accompany them, because the following morning we were all feeling somewhat jaded.

 

The course of action was obvious. We did what any responsible, right-minded people would do when faced with such a problem. We threw, ice, tomato juice, celery, Worcestershire sauce and vodka into a cooler and headed for Long Pool for some medicinal Bloody Mary's.

 

There is always something interesting to see at Long Pool, even if it is just the permanent residents who are in about, as was the case on this particular morning.

 

Long Pool is well known for its numerous hippo pods, crocodiles and hippo-surfing Grey Herons.

All 3!

2R4C0594 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

Set in a slight tree-lined hollow, and especially on a still day such as this, the hippo's deep resonating laughter is especially dramatic - it is a sound you feel as much as you hear.

 

2R4C0615 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

New to me this year was a Little Egret hippo-surfing - this guy was a star, leaping from hippo to hippo with gay abandon.

 

2R4C0604 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

Little Egret and one extremely content looking hippo:

2R4C0610 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

African Spoonbill coming in to land as Marabou Storks look on:

2R4C0570 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

Much revived, we were now ready to face the day!

Edited December 17, 2014 by Whyone?

[graceland]

Funny you mentioned Bloody Marys, then I promise to stop talking shop. The hippo pics with the egret surfing are spectacular by the way. I think it is the white against the black background; just pops out.

And the pod of very contented ones; being in the water much more comfy than in a beach chair on the side of the river!

 

I mentioned one morning that I was in the mood for a Bloody. We were at Camp Hwange at the time. They (and Craig) told me tomato juice was uncommon in Africa so they are rarely made. Disappointed I was. Sometimes if is just something one craves. Spicy of course.

 

I guess next time I just need to jump aboard the Whyone Caravan. You seem to have it all stashed neatly in the truck and trailer.

Edited December 17, 2014 by graceland

[Marks]

The wildfires at night are unbelievable. In the wake of @@ld1's explanation, I hope they were not too destructive. But wow, what a sight.

The lions with the deceased hippo also make for an eye-catching scene. You could hardly ask for a better location to place your trail camera, for that matter. Absolutely killer footage. The arrival of another hippo was so dramatic - what a standoff!

Edited December 17, 2014 by Marks

[Whyone?]

Well, it is certainly all stashed in the Trailer @@graceland, though neatly is not a claim I would necessarily make.

 

Especially after Charlie has been rummaging around in there

 

2R4C0507 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

2R4C0514 by Whyone, on Flickr

[Whyone?]

As is always the case at Mana, the hoofy-things were spectacular.

 

Eland in particular were present in very large numbers. One herd we counted comprised more than 80 individuals. All of the the antelope seemed relatively calm about being approached on foot.

 

2R4C0589 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

Some of the grey males were very imposing indeed:

2R4C0590 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

2R4C0500 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

2R4C0498 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

2R4C0589 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

Kudu were also to be found, but not as readily as previous years. Perhaps with water and food being more readily available away from the river and the pools, they had generally opted to stay inland? Certainly we saw them in quite large numbers on the road both driving in and out of Mana.

 

2R4C0582 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

2R4C0562 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

Impala, so prolific it would be easy to ignore them, but that would be a crime as they really are beautiful animals.

2R4C0485 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

Zebra also quite amenable to being approached on foot and photographed. Indeed, they have the obliging habit of staring at the camera!

2R4C0260 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

One of the larger croc's we encountered...these guys don't hang about to be photographed!

2R4C0217 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

Whilst the smoke and dust made for some nice colours at the end of the day, the cloudless skies didn't make for the best sunsets. Still, beggars cant be choosers....

 

Quelea heading home to roost:

2R4C0657 by Whyone, on Flickr

Edited December 17, 2014 by Whyone?

[graceland]

Well, it is certainly all stashed in the Trailer @@graceland, though neatly is not a claim I would necessarily make.

 

Especially after Charlie has been rummaging around in there

 

2R4C0507 by Whyone, on Flickr

 

2R4C0514 by Whyone, on Flickr

Great ad for Lays Potato chips; you should send it to them; may pay for your next safari!

 

And new tires.....

[Whyone?]

Very good idea @@graceland!

 

Did you notice that Charlie managed to get a whole family packet into his mouth / cheeks in one go.

 

Whilst undoubtably a bit of a pest, Charlie was the consummate opportunist, and I am absolutely certain that he realised that the people were rather less careful and observant once the gold and black and green cans came out! It was a pain trawling around the bush clearing up after him.

[Whyone?]

I left the trail camera running in camp each night to see who came visiting.

 

On the evening of October 29th at just turned 11pm these three lions walked through - the camera is sat by the tents. I am reasonably confident that these lions are the 3 females we saw on that first windy morning.....but on closer inspection there is what i think is a 4th lion lagging behind them. It's impossible to tell for sure, but I have a theory who this is...more later!

 

[RichB]

I left the trail camera running in camp each night to see who came visiting.

 

On the evening of October 29th at just turned 11pm these three lions walked through - the camera is sat by the tents. I am reasonably confident that these lions are the 3 females we saw on that first windy morning.....but on closer inspection there is what i think is a 4th lion lagging behind them. It's impossible to tell for sure, but I have a theory who this is...more later!

 

Tried to watch your video, Whyone but it says its private?

[Whyone?]

Hmmm....curious @@RichB, sorry about that.

 

Have a go at this and let me know how you get along please?

Edited December 19, 2014 by Whyone?

[Geoff]

The clip worked for me albiet with a buzzing noise for audio.

[Whyone?]

Thanks @@Geoff.

 

Yes, the camera went on the blink audio-wise the evening I placed it at the dead hippo.

[RichB]

Thanks whyone..fantastic

[Whyone?]

No worries @@RichB.

 

We heard lions calling every night which was great - I love lying in bed listening to the sounds of the African night, predominantly hippo, hyena and lion, with the occasional leopard 'cough'. All of these incredible sounds seem to be amplified by the stillness of the night.

 

A couple of nights the lion were calling very close indeed, but it was exciting for me to see the trail cam clip of them walking right past the tent, just feet from where we were sleeping. One of my friends prefers to sleep on the vehicle roof-rack - it's undoubtably cooler up there, but I do wonder a little when I see lions trotting by!

 

IMG_9851 by Whyone, on Flickr

Edited December 19, 2014 by Whyone?