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Zimbabwe: Chapter Two


marg

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the last full day.....just after six both guide and scout got out of the vehicle to look the place of a recent kill. Nearby is a lion with part of an impala and our first Black-backed Jackal of the trip. The lion is one of three males about three and one-half years old and not yet part of a pride. We saw two of the three. Later in the morning more lions.

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a few more photos...Lichtenstein's Hartebeest, Sable, Eland and Klipspringer

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a Red Velvet Tick

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and a few birds...Red-billed Hornbill, Yellow-billed Hornbill, Lilac-breasted Roller and Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

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another landscape

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the next entry will be our last game drive

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another day that starts out cloudy and cold. The weather forecast is 68 (20C) and rain. This is hard to believe! We did go on a drive and even found the dogs. There are twenty four, twelve adults and twelve youngsters. It is now raining. There is no roof on the vehicle and we have put on the ponchos. The dogs had killed a male impala but it was nearly impossible to see anything as they were behind bushes. And, we are getting soaked. Back to camp to dry out. It was so hot in Zambia that I wrote in my journal, for the second trip in a row, NOT to bring long sleeve tee shirts. Thank goodness I do not do as I write as I did bring one and ended up wearing it five days in a row. We were unprepared for this weather. The good news is that our villa has a fireplace and they brought us plenty of wood. We even tried to do an afternoon drive,, but we came back early. It is red wine weather.

 

The next morning we find the dogs again but got back early as it started to rain again. The roof had been put on the vehicle. Late afternoon we did find, thanks to the vultures, a lioness that had taken down a waterbuck. So, we had something to watch for a while. She was extremely skittish. Fortune continued to say raise your arms slowly to take a photo. Once I was too fast as she just glared at me.

 

The best sighting and photo of the two days...dassies in camp

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hold on as it gets better!

@@marg when were you there? We were in the tuli block at the beginning of sept when a cold front came through and I agree that the temperatures were unseasonably cold. We also had outdoor showers, brrrrr

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Love that Klippspringer photo, and good to see A Lichtenstein's - a rare capture!

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@@Tdgraves..we were there September 3 to 10. I have a weather app on my IPad and could not believe what I was seeing for Chriredzi. It happened. We have always gone to Africa at this time of the year and never had a raindrop.

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the last game drive... and I will start at the end rather than the beginning. We did see a big White Grazer and then the mother and daughter cheetah.

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the beginning at six in the morning...we spot a lioness and her partially eaten waterbuck nearby.

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She returns to eat and two gangsters arrive. She continues to eat and they join her.

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@@Tdgraves..we were there September 3 to 10. I have a weather app on my IPad and could not believe what I was seeing for Chriredzi. It happened. We have always gone to Africa at this time of the year and never had a raindrop.

Exactly the same time! We watched it come in over the kalahari and it extended all the way to joburg. It rained all night and for the first few hours of the journey north. Mashatu had 52mm of rain, which meant no game for the first two days :(

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The gangsters call in the clan, she continues to eat and things take a turn.

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There are now fourteen gangsters including the female with the snare scar on her neck. Why did she stay? Fortune moved our vehicle so that she would have an escape route. The sounds were incredible...growling, roaring, whooping and yipping.

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I cannot believe that I did it, but I screamed! Every guide's nightmare. Then her two cubs arrived, approximately seven months old. The smaller female climbed a tree. The male was fierce. At first we thought that she would be killed. Then it was the cubs. I have never been so frightened in Africa.

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so the answer to the question of what is your best game viewing...this is it! The good news is that the gangsters finally walked away and so did the lions. She was quite nicked up and had a bloody left foot. But, they lived to see another day.

 

This was not only our best drive but also our best trip!

 

The end......

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The cheetahs in the tree (and just typing that is fun and unusual, let alone seeing it!) are very cute, especially the first one.

Love the tawny lion on this page. The red velvet tick is a unique find! I don't know that I've ever seen that one before.

The lion/hyena sequence is incredibly dramatic and well-captured. At least your scream did not affect your photos. :)

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Wow @@marg

Very dramatic lion / hyena interaction! I am guessing that she is quite an old lioness - her canines looked a bit worn down?

Enjoying this report!

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@@Marks thanks! There was so much noise that I don't think that anyone heard my scream. In the vehicle there is a box between the two seats. I was perched on the box quite uncomfortable, leaning over just shooting away. We were totally into the confrontation and expecting something bad to happen. On our way back to camp at the end we did go back and there was a hyena who had returned to eat.

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madaboutcheetah

Fabulous Lion vs Hyena interaction. Thanks for the report, @@marg

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@@ZaminOz...I don't think that she is really old. I looked again at some of my other photos and her canines look to be okay. Thanks! And, we also had pizza one day for lunch.. It was at Chindeni and away from camp.

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@@madaboutcheetah...thank you! When we saw the lioness, we just pulled over to sit and wait to see what might happen. Patience is a virtue on a game drive, but it is good to be lucky as well. Must say that these are the experiences that keep us returning to Africa.

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Phew! Wow, that was intense! Fascinating interaction, and I´m glad the lions got away (relatively) unharmed.

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Wow amazing experience with the lion and hyenas - I might have screamed as well! You did well to get such great action photos of it all!

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I can understand your anxiety especially when the cubs arrived, I'd say bad judgment by the female and very lucky it all ended as it did. This has been a great report from one of the lesser known areas of Zim, lesser known by me at least.

I've been watching the weather in Zim over the last week or two and it all seems to be back to "normal" now if there is such a thing.

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@@marg

 

Excellent hyena-lion interaction. Lichtenstein's hartebeest is a very rare sight in Zim. Lucky! Thanks for an excellent report.

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Towlersonsafari

@@marg I did enjoy both legs of your report-To my shame I have never heard of Pamushana-it looks very interesting-can you sum up its good and less so good points? It looks very good value as well. Crucially-as I am a big baby when it comes to planes-what is the size of the plane to and from Ot airport? you said this was your second trip-what does it combine well with do you think?

hope you don't mind all the questions!

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@@Towlersonsafari...thanks! It is not easy to get there. Drive from somewhere or fly from Joburg to Buffalo Range. The flights are on Mondays and Thursdays on a Federal Air charter. About two hours and as i recall nine seats. Because it is classified as a private plane, they get you in and out quickly. We did hear that next year there might be two flights a week out of Victoria Falls on Air Zimbabwe. Both coming and going there we had to spend a night in Joburg. The lodge is in the private Malilangwe Reserve and is unlike any other place that we have stayed in Africa. The stone work on the main area and the villas resembles the Great Zimbabwe. It is, unfortunately, not inexpensive. The landscape is varied but for us it is about the game viewing. And, this trip it was fantastic.

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What a sighting to end a trip on! Wow

 

Lovely trip report, thank you.

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Wow - the lion-hyena interaction must have been worth the price of admission! :-)

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