Mana Adventure No 4. The Dogs came out to play.

[Big Andy]

@@Zim Girl Yes I'll be at Chitake next week for three nights followed by four on the flood plain.

[Marks]

The crested guineafowl are gorgeous; not sure if I've seen photos of that species before.

[Safaridude]

The crested guineafowl are gorgeous; not sure if I've seen photos of that species before.

 

 

I second that!

 

@@Marks @@Zim Girl

 

Please keep it coming.

[TonyQ]

@@Zim Girl

How wonderful to see the elephant shrews so clearly in daylight, and the rock art is stunning -the animals are beautiful (Do you know how old it is?)

The scenery in the hills is wonderful.

 

And then to Mana and caracal and dogs already- amazing. I have never seen the crested guinea fowl before - very appealing

[panamaleo]

Love the Amalinda photos and those of Matopos. Will be there next July for 3 nights. Quite sure my bad back won't be up to the boulder-bashing you did, but equally sure I will enjoy the spectacular scenery....and maybe my first glimpse of a rhino.

[Sangeeta]

Whoa - all amazing already, @@Zim Girl - the elephant shrews are a standout! Caracal? Dogs?? We got a fleeting glimpse of the crested guinea fowl in the thick jesse, but yours was a grand show! I think Mana is rewarding you for your loyalty, and you deserve it

[johnkok]

Everyone's sighting caracals (or so it seems). More than 10 years worth of safari and I have yet to see one. I am so envious :-)

A room inside a cave sounds (& looks) so inviting.

[Zim Girl]

@@Zim Girl

How wonderful to see the elephant shrews so clearly in daylight, and the rock art is stunning -the animals are beautiful (Do you know how old it is?)

The scenery in the hills is wonderful.

 

And then to Mana and caracal and dogs already- amazing. I have never seen the crested guinea fowl before - very appealing

@@TonyQ - I seem to remember Paul saying possibly around 4000 years old.

 

@@Safaridude @Sangeeta @Marks

 

It seems the Crested Guineafowl are a bit of a hit. Sadly, non-birder that I am didn't appreciate them enough or I would have taken more pictures as they stayed around right next to camp for a while!

[Zim Girl]

For the Mana floodplain I had booked 2nts at Ilala campsite, 2nts at Croton and 3nts at Mucheni 4. We found out on our way to Ilala that Zimparks had allowed Zambezi Lifestyles to take our Croton booking at the last minute. Natureways did their best to question this with Zimparks while we were still at Ilala but there was nobody available from Parks to make a decision!!

 

As luck would have it, we found out that Mucheni 4 was currently empty so we had 2 extra nights there instead.

 

 

On the way to the Nyamatusi Wilderness area where the Ilala campsite is located, we passed a beautiful green pan called Sapi pan and then stopped at Njiri pan for lunch.

 

So we spent the next two days exploring the Nyamatusi area. It is always very peaceful here, we didn’t see another soul on any of our walks. It was a bit hotter than normal this year and the sun was blazing by around 10am. The light was very harsh and I did struggle a bit with photos after that time, however, here are a few from the wilderness area. As usual, all photos have been taken while on foot.

 

Sapi Pan

 

 

Ilala Campsite

 

It was Eland central on this trip, they were absolutely everywhere.

 

Yellow-billed Kite

 

Sunset at Ilala

 

 

 

 

[Zim Girl]

More pictures from the Nyamatusi area.

 

[Zim Girl]

The next morning we were dropped off back at Njiri Pan so we could go for a walk from the wilderness area to beyond Croton.

 

While walking we stopped to scan the vetiveria grass stretching out in front of us. Then all of a sudden 2 female lions sprang out and ran off into the trees behind us. Nothing like a mild heart attack first thing in the morning!! Although it didn’t stop there, I was looking through the binos to follow where they went when there was a loud growl right to the side of me, ok, a good few metres away, but it felt like it was right next to me, anyway, I junped a mile, much to Mark’s amusement. So there was still one lion left hiding in the long grass. We waited and waited but she wasn’t for showing herself. We walked around the grass and carried on towards the floodplain, we had only gone about 5 minutes when we heard a roar in the distance behind us. Mark said lets go back and see if we can find her, so we walked quickly back and just as we were getting close we saw her walking off, she turned to look at us and for a few seconds we stared at each other, then off she went, we didn’t bother her any further.

 

We were picked up after a few hours walking and had lunch at the Trichelia campsite which was empty.

 

It is always a joy to be back on the floodplain. Elephants were everywhere, all looking in good condition and many with young babies. Eland were still plentiful, lots of Impala and Waterbuck and Kudu. I think I saw more male Kudu on this trip than any other.

 

Camp was already set up by the time we reached Mucheni 4, so a quick recharge then off for another walk. That evening we had an elephant walk through camp. This was to become a regular occurrence with ele’s turning up for lunch every day, and that night we saw a leopard come down to drink at the gully that runs alongside camp.

 

 

Can anyone ID this bird for me please?

 

 

Evening visitor - we can see you!

 

 

Having a drink....

 

 

Then checking out our tent

 

[Zim Girl]

Buffalo near camp

 

 

 

 

[AfricIan]

Great to see Matopos looking as splendid as I remember @@Zim Girl - its been many years since we were there and its so reassuring to see the park, wildlife & monuments in such good condition - here are a few images from 1997(!!) to compare with yours

 

One thing I do remember from back then was how much respect there seemed to be for Cecil Rhodes, is that still the case?

Edited October 22, 2015 by AfricIan

[AfricIan]

Who taught the dogs the "Green Cross Code" - this still makes me chuckle, even after 18 years!

 

[Zim Girl]

@@AfricIan

 

It is always nice to see old pictures of places you have been to, thank you for posting. Is the first one near the Maleme Dam? The Worlds View site was spotless and the plaques on the gravestones obviously cleaned regularly. We didn't come across any negativity towards Rhodes. Talking to the barman at Amalinda, his view was history is history, and these sites bring in much needed money to the area.

[Game Warden]

@@AfricIan Those photos and trip deserve a report all of their own here...

[AfricIan]

@@Zim Girl - I think it might well have been Maleme, I do remember driving over the dam wall (in our rental VW Polo). We stayed in NP accommodation which, though basic, was absolutely fine.

 

I hear you @@Game Warden - Once I've done my TR from our latest (Kafue) trip then my Kwando 2007 & Selous/Ruaha 2009 retrospectives!!

Edited October 23, 2015 by AfricIan

[Marks]

@@Zim Girl Lots of great photos in a gorgeous setting. I especially like the ele checking out your tent. You have to wonder what they're thinking, sometimes.

[madaboutcheetah]

@@Zim Girl - absolutely love the report. Having not been to Zim yet, the landscapes and the sights look amazing!!!

[Atravelynn]

Thanks for a return to Mucheni #4! Great stuff! Floodplain full!

Edited October 25, 2015 by Atravelynn

[KaingU Lodge]

@@Zim Girl

Great report and some brilliant pictures and sightings.

 

I have always wanted to see Matopos (the landscape here is likened to it on a smaller scale) and now your pictures are really stoking the urge. Thanks for the great report.

[Zim Girl]

We were up early this morning with a mission to find the dogs. We set off in the Vundu direction and it wasn’t too long before we spotted them just through the trees some distance from the road. They were chasing a baboon. We got out of the vehicle and set off into the bushes. As we got closer we could see some of them tearing apart the baboon.

 

 

Almost immediately they gathered up and were on the move again. It was the entire Vundu Pack and they were not hanging about. We saw a young kudu ahead of us and they started to chase it. We kept up with them for a short distance, then as we were losing them we broke away back to the road in the hope that we may be able to pick up their trail by driving further round and walking in again.

 

 

We drove up the Firewood Road and walked in to the pans at the back of the Old Ndongus. Amazingly, after about 10 minutes walking we found them all under a tree. No sign of the kudu. We watched them for a couple of minutes but they were still in hunting mode and got up and trotted off. This time we were just able to keep up with them. We had a great view of the whole pack but it wasn’t that easy to take photos while running.

 

 

They didn’t have a clear objective and seemed happy just to trot around, the puppies started playing and the pack started to split. At one point they were all around us, taking no notice of us and just watching for a hunt opportunity.

We stayed with them for a while and then decided we would leave them to it.

 

This was the first time in Mana we have been able to watch the dogs on the move and not just lying up under a tree and what a fantastic experience it was - Dog Day No 1.

 

 

When we first spotted them.

 

 

Finding them again after the initial chase.

 

 

 

 

 

On the move again.

 

 

Blurry photo, but just to prove we were having to run to keep up.

 

 

Puppies playing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where to go next?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Zim Girl]

Some more photos from the morning walk.

 

 

 

 

 

[Zim Girl]

A few pictures of camp at Mucheni 4.

 

 

 

 

Another yellow-billed kite, just sitting above us.

 

 

Isaiah, the cook, preparing dinner.

 

[Atravelynn]

The dogs gave you a workout!