Misty Mountains of the Vumba & the Vast Wilderness of Gonarezhou

[offshorebirder]

On 1/24/2023 at 7:10 PM, Atravelynn said:

Buluwesi is awaiting your booking.  He'll find you an African Spotted Creeper.

 

And so Zim jumps to 3 or 4 on the Bucket List!

 

[Atravelynn]

13 hours ago, mopsy said:

Thoroughly enjoying this twin report so far, looking forward to following along!  Thanks, and I will be providing some "Cliff Notes" for guidance in following along.

 

11 hours ago, offshorebirder said:

 

And so Zim jumps to 3 or 4 on the Bucket List!  Which makes me wonder, what is your #1 and #2?

 

 

[Atravelynn]

Before moving on to Gonarezhou, Andreas is in the spotlight once more, not for a birthday, just enjoying the out of doors in a clearing of the Vumba Mountains.

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by Atravelynn

[Atravelynn]

From mountains to cliffs.. We left Seldomseen in the Vumba Mountains at 7:15 am and arrived at the entrance to Gonarezhou at 12:30 pm.  While it was the same vehicle and the same Doug Macdonald, once we got to Gonarezhou, we could say we were officially traveling with Bush Bound Safaris.  Bush Bound is the part of Doug’s company that specializes in Gonarezhou, and that was the name and logo that Doug wore on his shirts.   (https://bush-bound.com/)

 

Once in Gonarezhou, Doug drove us to a scenic spot at Chipinda Pools where we all had lunch. Doug's leftovers were superb.  Then Doug attended to the paperwork while the three of us enjoyed the area.

 

 Red-backed Scrub Robin at Chipinda Pools, after lunch

 

 

Yellow-billed Hornbill at Chipinda Pools, after lunch

 

 

African Monarch at Chipinda Pools, after lunch

 

 

White-bellied Sunbird at Chipinda Pools, after lunch

 

 

Chipinda Pools, after lunch--our lunch, at least one hippo is still at lunch

 

 

Chipinda Pools, after lunch--our lunch, the Pied Kingfisher is mid-lunch

 

Pied Kingfisher at Chipinda Pools, after our lunch

 

Pied Kingfisher at Chipinda Pools, after our lunch

 

 

Cordon Bleu at Chipinda Pools, after lunch, a common but pretty bird

 

 

Firefinch at Chipinda Pools, after lunch, another common but pretty bird

 

 

Bearded Woodpecker at Chipinda Pools, after lunch

 

The gentlemen may have encountered some other Chipinda Pools inhabitants or scenes in their post-lunch wanderings.

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by Atravelynn

[Atravelynn]

Map Time

 

 Here is Gonarezhou in relation to Zimbabwe as a whole.  You can see it is second in size to Hwange.

 

 

 @BRACQUENEhas a good map of the park in his report.  In fact, his report along with ours, and of course the others posted here over the years, can be useful in deciding where and when you go to Gonarezhou.  Also who you'd like as a guide, if you hire one!

 

 

Gonarezhou Park, 1,951 mi² or 5,053 km²

 

 

 

The area where we spent our 8 nights in Gonarezhou

 

 

 

 

Driving in...Our 1st stop at Chilojo Cliffs Tented Camp for 4 nights. 

Our 2nd stop at Massasanya Camp for 2 nights. 

Our 3rd stop at Chilo Gorge Nhambo Cottages for 2 nights...Flying out

 

This map shows what small part of the park we saw in our 8 nights and how much more there is to explore.  Setting the stage for a return, perhaps?????

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Atravelynn

[offshorebirder]

9 hours ago, Atravelynn said:

Which makes me wonder, what is your #1 and #2?

 

Alaska, Sangha Lodge, and Ecuador (including Maquipacuna for Spectacled Bears) had been #s 1, 2, and 3.   But the list is fluid with constant updates and changes.

 

[John M.]

As I've suggested elsewhere, I wish Gonarezhou had been in my sights when I was younger!

[madaboutcheetah]

You did well with the Cordon Bleu - look forward to more!! 

[Atravelynn]

3 hours ago, John M. said:

As I've suggested elsewhere, I wish Gonarezhou had been in my sights when I was younger!

I understand. We all have destinations that would have been great to visit when at our prime.  But opportunity, time and funds unfortunately don't always coincide with youth. Plus there are just so many worthwhile places to visit.  It seems you have a lot going on in your "backyard" even without leaving home!

 

We left Chipinda Pools, near the park entrance, about 3 pm to make our way to the cliffs and then to Chilojo Cliffs Tented Camp.  Enroute, I took these shots and the gentlemen may have more to add.

Rufous-crowned Roller under attack. It escaped and flew off.

 

Not sure if this next baobab made it into Andreas’s collection of baobab photos.  He was quite particular and discerning as to which of these giant trees merited a spot on his memory card.

One of many interesting baobabs

 

 

We had one lion photo op during our time in Gonarezhou and it came on our first day in the park.  (We saw two at a distance later in the trip while on foot, but too far for photos.) Doug explained that the lion population seemed to remain at low levels of around 120.  More studies are needed to find out why the lion population is not growing when the habitat and prey species would suggest more lion prides with greater numbers could be supported.

Young male lion, the only photo op for lions on the trip

 

 

My first of many kudu photos

 

 

Gonarezhou has a reputation of ornery elephants, whether deserved or not.  We did not experience this. Our first elephant was a little feisty but not aggressive.  All the other elephants we encountered were fairly to very relaxed, as I recall.

First of many elephants

 

 

My only photo of zebras

 

To reach the cliffs in good light before the sun went down, we had to hustle the last kilometers.  We did halt briefly for this shot of antelope in front of the cliffs.  The long shadows show the optimal viewing time will not last much longer.

Antelope in front of Chilojo Cliffs before sundown.  Taken from the road.

 

  Cliff Notes 1

 

Afternoon and sunset provide the best light for the cliffs.  Sunrise is behind the cliffs and not usually optimal for cliff photos.  Once the sun falls to a low angle in the evening, the cliffs are in shadow, so it is important to arrive at the Chilojo Cliffs viewing points well before sunset for nice photos.  That's why we were racing to get there on our first evening.

 

Just before sunset at Chilojo Cliffs, seen from viewing point

 

 

Spoonbills in front of cliffs at sunset, viewing point

 

 

 

As the sun sank, the outline of trees along the edge of the cliff is silhouetted behind a herd of elephants.  The light is nearly gone at the viewing point.

 

 

The afterglow of sunset reflecting in the clouds and water, but the cliffs are now dark.  From a viewing point.

 

Early morning light behind the cliffs can give an interesting effect.  Taken from the road.

 

 

Early morning shot emphasizing the lush green foliage in front of the cliffs.  Taken from the road.

 

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Atravelynn

[BRACQUENE]

Thanks a lot Lynn for your reference to my TR  Most importantly it puts Gonarezhou on the radar of other safaritalkers and readers of this topic : I agree with you that we only saw a small part of the Park and the surrounding area :  the Save conservancy looks also promising so I am considering another visit in the future 

[Atravelynn]

16 minutes ago, BRACQUENE said:

Thanks a lot Lynn for your reference to my TR  Most importantly it puts Gonarezhou on the radar of other safaritalkers and readers of this topic : I agree with you that we only saw a small part of the Park and the surrounding area :  the Save conservancy looks also promising so I am considering another visit in the future Good for you!

Save was outstanding for wild dogs, viewed with a researcher (at an extra cost). 

49 minutes ago, madaboutcheetah said:

You did well with the Cordon Bleu - look forward to more!!   Thanks, we have 8 more days in Gonarezhou, so much more to come.  Hoping this is not a spoiler alert, but no cheetah.

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Atravelynn

[John M.]

22 minutes ago, Atravelynn said:

I understand. We all have destinations that would have been great to visit when at our prime.  But opportunity, time and funds unfortunately don't always coincide with youth. Plus there are just so many worthwhile places to visit.  It seems you have a lot going on in your "backyard" even without leaving home!

All historical now, I'm afraid. But it's still fun going through the archives. The "backyard" (that's why we call it the Outback) filled in a lot of very enjoyable time between Africas  

 

[madaboutcheetah]

6 hours ago, Atravelynn said:

Map Time

 

 Here is Gonarezhou in relation to Zimbabwe as a whole.  You can see it is second in size to Hwange.

 

 

 @BRACQUENEhas a good map of the park in his report.  In fact, his report along with ours, and of course the others posted here over the years, can be useful in deciding where and when you go to Gonarezhou.  Also who you'd like as a guide, if you hire one!

 

 

Gonarezhou Park, 1,951 mi² or 5,053 km²

 

 

The area where we spent our 8 nights in Gonarezhou

 

 

Driving in...Our 1st stop at Chilojo Cliffs Tented Camp for 4 nights. 

Our 2nd stop at Massasanya Camp for 2 nights. 

Our 3rd stop at Chilo Gorge Nhambo Cottages for 2 nights...Flying out

 

This map shows what small part of the park we saw in our 8 nights and how much more there is to explore.  Setting the stage for a return, perhaps?????

 

Lynn,  My geography of the area isn't great .... but, am i right to assume that the Southern section of the park is close to Save' ?  or atleast that's how you enter the park if one comes from Save'?

[michael-ibk]

58 minutes ago, madaboutcheetah said:

but, am i right to assume that the Southern section of the park is close to Save' ?  or atleast that's how you enter the park if one comes from Save'?

 

I don´t think so Hari. Savé is farther North from the park, so I assume you would enter Gonarezhou at the same place we did (Chipinda Pools).

[Atravelynn]

10 hours ago, madaboutcheetah said:

Lynn,  My geography of the area isn't great .... but, am i right to assume that the Southern section of the park is close to Save' ?  or atleast that's how you enter the park if one comes from Save'?

Your geography may not be great, but I am the one who got lost on the first day of this trip in Mukuvisi, the small urban park in Harare, and ended up in a herd of eland!  In fact on the maps above, Michael alerted me that my depiction of our route swung wide of where we actually went, so I re-drew the fat yellow lines.  At least I had us in the northern part of Gonarezhou and not somewhere in Gorongosa!

 

 

You can see how far north Save' Valley Conservancy (shown in green) is from Gonarezhou (shown in brown).  When I visited, to get to Chishakwe, where I was staying in Save' Valley,  it was 4.5 hours from Harare.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Atravelynn

[michael-ibk]

On 1/25/2023 at 3:24 AM, Atravelynn said:

Michael on piano with Tony looking on.  Notice Michael is wearing his binoculars just in case a bird flies by.

 

 

I have to protest - I did not, just the harness!

[Atravelynn]

27 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

 

I have to protest - I did not, just the harness!

Harness and gaiters.  The attire of every maestro!

[michael-ibk]

A few more snippets from our drive from the Vumba to Gona:

 

 

The Birchenough Bridge - a pretty impressive piece of construction. According to Wiki, the bridge is widely considered by Zimbabweans as being one of the country's finest pieces of engineering, and as such, it appears on the twenty-cent coin.

 

 

The Save River from the bridge.  We did not actually cross, but took a turnoff to the East just one or two kilometres before. But Doug thought it would be cool to see the bridge and river, and he was right.

 

We crossed the pretty high-end Malilangwe Wildlife reserve (where Singita Pamushana is) on the way to the park. Did not see much, it was pretty dry here, and since it was getting close to noon hot as well.

 

 

But it was nice to see Giraffe - I love them, such cool animals!

 

 

 

The gate - Chipinda Pools reception. We did not wait here for Doug to change cars, and clear formalities. He first took us a bit into the park to the Runde river where we had lunch and waited for him. Very nice spot. Lynn showed you the river view, here´s the other direction.

 

 

 

 

 

My friend, the Hoopoe. They are doing well in Gonarezhou, we saw it quite a bit.

 

 

The first of many, many (Smith´s Bush) Squirrels.

 

 

The Hornbills were very interested in our lunch leftovers. Yellow-Billeds are very bold, more so than their Red-Billed cousins.

 

 

The White-Browed (or Red-Backed) Scrub-Robin was super-chilled about us. And singing his heart out:

 

 

 

The Runde River seen from the hills. Note the "Broken Bridge" - which is actually its name. A memorial of the terrible Cyclone "Eline" that ravaged Zimbabwe in 2000. This catastrophe and the extreme drought in 1992 wiped out a lot of wildlife in the park. It´s recovering, but is still nowhere near carrying capacity.

 

 

A vast wilderness indeed!

 

 

Sharpe´s Grysbok - tricky little buggers. Still easily my best sighting so far of this little Antelope. With more to come, it´s relatively common in the park.

 

 

Green-Winged Pytilia, always a nice one to see. But not easy to get a photo on a game drive.

 

 

The weather was definitely changing to the better. It had been very hazy and cloudy all day, now the sun was getting out - nice!

 

 

 

Getting Lilac-Breasted Rollers in flight is not the most difficult thing in the world, but I think this was my first PRIF!

 

 

We saw a lot of animals up here on the hills, many Impala, Kudu, a couple of Zebra and a good number of Waterbuck.

 

 

 

Our one photographable Lion. We actually had a pride of nine IN camp this evening, very close to Lynn´s tent. But never seen again after that.

 

 

 

Gonarezhou is a real Baobab paradise - @AndMicloves them.

 

 

 

"Gonarezhou", translated from Shona, means "The Place of Elephants". The official park website says there are more than 11,500 of them now.

 

 

Brown-Crowed Tchagra. Tried to hide from me, but no bird escapes my camera. NONE! *laughingmaniacally*

 

So cool to finally see the iconic cliffs then and enjoy a super-cold beer here. Life is wonderful!

 

 

[michael-ibk]

 

Our first full day! Of course (this being a slavemaster Doug MacDonald safari) we started early and left camp at 5 o´clock in the morning.

 

 

 

The flood plains were pretty empty. It had rained heavily while we were in the Vumba. To the point our mobile camp could not be at the spot Doug had planned it to be. Apart from the one main road pretty much everything becomes impassable when it rains like this. And of course the animals are moving inland, away from the river, with fresh shoots to enjoy in the Mopane and many water sources to choose from.

 

Well, if the animals are not cooperating you just have to do with flowers. Of course Lynn takes her flower photography very seriously!

 

 

Not sure, really worth it basically bathing in Elephant dung and Impala poo for that?

 

 

 

It was cool to see Nyala. Never have been to parks where they are common, and only had two or three fleeting sightings in Mana so far. A good-looking bull.

 

 

This seemed to be his home turf, we´d see him here every morning.

 

 

 

The flood plains. Very nice looking now with the fresh carpet of grass.

 

 

Hm, cannot think of the name of this bird right now.

 

 

Crested Barbet - always quite common in Southern Africa.

 

 

Same here - Puffback, you hear them all the time.

 

We crossed the Runde River to the Southern side. I´m glad Doug did the driving here - not sure I would like to try this myself!

 

It was beautiful now, the sun coming through now and then. Just a few days ago all of this would have been dry and brown I suppose.

 

 

 

We went for a walk, around two hours or so. Nothing super-thrilling showing up, so we focused on small things.

 

 

Pretty little Golden-Breasted Bunting.

 

 

Gonarezhou Orange-Winged-with-White-Bars-and-Black-Spots Butterfly (I am a Butterfly ID expert!)

 

 

Rainbow Skink

 

 

 

We slowly made our way back to the river.

 

 

 

Plenty of tracks, and a couple of bones and rotting carcasses. Certainly more drama happening at the river when the park is bone dry.

 

 

 

Just to prove, yes, we did see some Mammals on our walk. ;-)

 

 

Time for a very late coffee break. Our safari car was very comfortable. Doug has a fancy new thing, he uses a mike in the car (speakers under the car roof). Nice in the back rows, much easier to actually hear stuff.

 

 

Time to get back to camp!

 

 

[michael-ibk]

 

Camp was absolutely wonderful! Spacious, very airy tents with good beds. Fancy for a mobile camp.

 

 

Even a flushing toilet - I was almost shocked not to have to do the long drop sand bucket thing here.

 

 

 

Good old bucket shower. We mostly were happy with non-heated water - it was so hot anyway that it was nice to cool off, and the water was far from cold even when they did not heat it.

 

 

 

Oh, food, mjjammmjammmmjaaam. We´ll definitely have to talk more about his. Best food on safari ever - we were anticipating each and every lunch and dinner with excitement.

 

And such a cool spot to just sit and watch. I was tempted to just skip a game drive and stay in camp more than once. But FOMO always got the better of me.

 

 

 

Plenty of birds to keep me entertained.

 

 

This Osprey was a surprise, apparently not a common sight here.

 

 

Wahlberg´s Eagle, OTOH, was a regular.

 

 

The birdbath attracted a lot of visitors - Kurrichane Thrush

 

 

An immature Black-Headed Oriole

 

 

Tropical Boubou. Or was it a Southern? We never were quite sure about this one. Even its song was weird and did not fit either species.

 

 

 

 

Yellow-Bellied Greenbul

 

 

Greater Blue-Eared Starling

 

 

Southern Black Flycatcher

 

 

 

White-Fronted Bee-Eater

 

 

Lauging Dove

 

But we could not stay in camp all day - of course the Cliffs were calling us.

 

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by michael-ibk

[TonyQ]

It looks really beautiful, and the camp looks ideal

[marg]

 X5   hope this is not too late.  Very much enjoying the trip report!

[Treepol]

x6 I am really enjoying your shared TR and marvelling at the wonders of Gonarezhou. Chocolate cake and Chilojo Cliffs in the same trip - what a spectacular combination. The contrast with the greenery of Seldomseen and the red sand of Chilojo is sure to deliver a varied safari.

 

 

[Atravelynn]

In your post I am re-living our journey to Gonarezhou after leaving the mist and drizzle of the Vumba Mountains.  Also re-living one of our river crossings, available to me on youtube anytime I want to go for a "paddle." 

 

I'm so glad you have photos of our walks and the camps.  You also documented our meals as I recall.  They do deserve a special section of the trip report, which you allude to.

 

I remember you bird nerds (Michael and Doug) in deep discussion and debate about the Tropical vs Southern Boubou.  Would a rose by any other name...?

 

" no bird escapes my camera. NONE! *laughingmaniacally* "

Thank you, Michael, for refraining from laughing maniacally throughout the trip as you photographed every bird!  I will make that a condition of any travels we may share in the future!

Edited January 28, 2023 by Atravelynn

[madaboutcheetah]

13 hours ago, Atravelynn said:

Your geography may not be great, but I am the one who got lost on the first day of this trip in Mukuvisi, the small urban park in Harare, and ended up in a herd of eland!  In fact on the maps above, Michael alerted me that my depiction of our route swung wide of where we actually went, so I re-drew the fat yellow lines.  At least I had us in the northern part of Gonarezhou and not somewhere in Gorongosa!

 

 

You can see how far north Save' Valley Conservancy (shown in green) is from Gonarezhou (shown in brown).  When I visited, to get to Chishakwe, where I was staying in Save' Valley,  it was 4.5 hours from Harare.

 

Thanks Lynn .....  great info!!