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Zimbabwe - One Hundred %


ld1

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@@michael-ibk @@Game Warden @@TonyQ @@Zim Girl and @@Sar4h This was indeed the most amazing sighting and absolutely perfect for me as whilst gory we missed the kill and although a lot of people want to see a kill. I myself am much more comfortable arriving 30 seconds afterwards. Dogs are quite good for this as they are all over the place and chances are the first you know of a kill is when one runs past with a red face!

 

....and this wasn't even the last of it!

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@@wilddog not a lion in sight at Chikwenya. They had been there the day before we arrived. Doug said there had been some power struggles in Mana Pools and the prides had dispersed. We did see lions on the flood plains a few times but I was surprised we didn't see more. Not disappointed, just surprised. Who could be disappointed seeing dogs 7 times!

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Our last evening at Chikwenya and we are off walking and driving keeping an unsuccessful eye out for thicket-disguised Lions before heading to the airstrip where we’d followed the dogs earlier in the day. We stop the vehicle and get out and settle down in the red earth to watch the pack wake up and move out to hunt in the setting sun.

 

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I’d never have imagined we would have such a touching experience that evening. We sat cross legged, G&Ts in hand as the pack began to wake up and amble around. We were quite a distance from the vehicle and on the other side of the airstrip from the dogs. They weren’t too happy with this and came over and plonked themselves down closer to us and fell back to sleep. So we wait, then wait a little more and Doug whispers “I would have expected them to be up and about by now and heading off”. Nope, the light is fading and the red-earth of the strip is looking luminous as the sun sets. So the dogs eventually start to stir and one or two come towards us and we are now transfixed (Gin and Wild Dogs is a heady mix) as they skirt all around us bobbing and sniffing as they go, wondering what these funny-looking, pasty, bald dogs are in front of them. How fabulous was that, we are all squealing silently inside and beaming like a child on Christmas morning.

 

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They settle down again beyond us and the vehicle about half way down the airstrip. So we do that very particular to Safari half walk-crawl back to the vehicle and drive slowly down to the opposite side of the strip from the dogs. They decide to come over and plonk down in front of us, after another 15mins and with the light all gone we decide to leave them to their evening. As we pull away they start to run and play around the vehicle as if to say “hey, where are you going? Come back this is fun”. I’m overwhelmed with joy, guilt and disbelief; a bit like the feeling you get as your pet dog is looking at you with big mournful eyes as you leave the house.

 

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As we head back in the dark we drive past the road to camp, ok, Doug and Nathan have something going on so we sit back and relax. We end up on the banks of the Zambezi where dinner has been set out for us all and we enjoy a fabulous last night eating, drinking and laughing with Doug, Neels, Debbie, Nathan and Neels’ mum. I know dinners in the bush are not uncommon but it’s the first time for us and it was such a privilege that everyone at Chikwenya went to so much trouble to make our last night special and it really was.

 

What a perfect way to end the trip, I do have a final installment which takes in a bit of Harare however it would seem fitting at this point to say a final word about @@Doug Macdonald I am sure we could have enjoyed the trip without him but with him was something special. His enthusiasm for the wilderness and its wildlife, his sheer knowledge of almost any subject you care to talk about and his just-wicked-enough sense of humour make him a great guide.

 

The sun shines brightly in Mana Pools but not as brightly as Doug MacDonald and I hope he continues to shine into all his guests’ lives for many years to come.

Edited by ld1
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Absolutely fantastic wilddog encounter. Great pics. Wow.

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The finale certainly delivers...amazing dog photos. Perfectly fitting as the superb end to this trip, and well-written trip report embellished with great photos.
Also loved the earlier, dynamic buffalo photos I forgot to comment on a few days ago. ;P

You also mentioned a lebala visit...Botswana TR sequel?

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Amazing dog sightings - wow! so fortunate.

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@@ld1

Great report - wonderful experience with dogs at the end - sign me up!

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Reports like this really do serve to get Zimbabwe on the Safari radar again!

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Have really enjoyed the report - the dog experience is fabulous and unlike mine, you got some great photos of it! My experience of dogs with a kill in Bots was similar in that we had followed them hunting but lost them briefly and then arrived where they were with the warthog they had just killed and then stayed right next to them while they ate it. We were in our vehicle but literally right next to them, i.e. could have leaned out and touched them - quite an experience! But my photos were not very good so I'm glad you got some great ones!

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You're right, that was the best dog sighting. Remarkable!! I liked your conjecture of what the dogs might be thinking. I'd love to know.

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@@Africalover @@Soukous Thanks, for the kind comments the trip was definitely a wow filled trip.

 

@@TonyQ maybe we should go on that show where they swap holidays we can go to the Pantanal and you can go to Mana Pools. We'd just have to pretend to hate evey minute!

 

@@Big_Dog and @@SafariChick The sighting we had at Lebala sounds almost identical to SafariChick's I was blown away by it, very exciting stuff. I don't have a TR as it was about 5 years ago and I never wrote one. I loved Lebala though and it was that trip that gave me the confidence to go walking as we stayed at Footsteps and mostly walked at that camp, but Zim is in a different league for walking safari.

 

@GM I do hope so, I'll definitely be back there myself - now get on with your own report!

 

@@Atravelynn I know its not really the done thing to "imagine" what animals are thinking. A childhood brought up on Johnny Morris means I can't switch that off. I felt that last night that those dogs were looking at us, not a vehicle, not a reflection, not past us, but right at us and it was just breathtaking.

 

We won the dog lottery in Mana and I know we'll not see the like again when we return one day, but thats ok Mana has much more to offer and next time we'll be able to see so much more.

 

Thanks to everyone for reading I have really enjoyed writing this. Its lovely to relive it all with like minded safari junkies. I have one last section to post next week but that covers our fleeting visit to Harare on the way home so no more excitement from me!

 

I do intend to dig out a TR I wrote on Trip Advisor on our trip to Rwanda, Selous and Zanzibar a couple of years ago. I'll re-post it here with a few photos as I don't see a lot of TRs for Rwanda.

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We won the dog lottery in Mana and I know we'll not see the like again when we return one day, but thats ok Mana has much more to offer and next time we'll be able to see so much more.

 

 

How true! No 2 visits are ever the same.

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Thank you for this report, tremendously enjoyed it. When I´m going with Doug next year and see only half of what you did I will be more than happy! :)

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wow wow wow, wild dogs mingling around you, you on the ground with wild dogs digging into their dinner, how much better can it get? i am seriously jealous and need to get myself to chiwekywa (did i spell that correct? i don't think so). that's a lovely and thoughtful description of Doug.

and i know what you mean by the looks dogs give you when you leave.

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@@Atravelynn I know its not really the done thing to "imagine" what animals are thinking. A childhood brought up on Johnny Morris means I can't switch that off. I felt that last night that those dogs were looking at us, not a vehicle, not a reflection, not past us, but right at us and it was just breathtaking.

 

If domestic dogs relate to humans, why not wild dogs. I'm sure the dogs understand they are being admired and appreciated by human visitors.

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Thank you all, except @@michael-ibk of whom I am supremely jealous, you are going to have the most amazing time with Doug :-)

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One morning of dogs for us and POOF they disappeared. Guess that means I also need a return.

 

Great report @@ld1

Fabulous photos!

 

Thanks for sharing. We look forward to reading your old one as well! I have two safaris I did not write about; but I'd never be able to write them -I need to be fresh off the plane,

Yet another reason to return :D

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So we bid farewell to Mana pools and to Doug’s delight the road out had just been graded so it was fast and not too bumpy, but dusty as hell from the car in front which is of course the best you can hope for. De-tsetsed we rumble up the escarpment hoping not to hit anything bigger than us on the way down and I realised the safari was finally over when I started staring at truck skeletons instead of Buffalo ones.

 

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We stopped for a quick snack at Saucy Suzy’s which did the best bacon and egg sandwich you can imagine. Biltonged up following a visit to the Lion Butchery next door we headed back to Harare watching the ups and downs of the Zimbabwe economy roll past us.

 

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Back at Guinea Fowls we hop out of Doug’s Landrover, drop our bags, meet his two gorgeous sons, then hop into his Chelsea tractor and head to Australia vs SA at Harare sports club. We sat on the mound cold beers in hand and watched 50 overs of international cricket, what a splendid way to end the day. MrR even managed to get stung by a killer bee so the wildlife was still on hand with a surprise after all.

 

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The next day we took in the sights of Harare from the back of a taxi, with only a few hours to spare we couldn’t do the city any justice but it was good to get to Mbare market, letting a stall holder fleece us of a few dollars, see the city from on high before cruising through downtown on our way to marvel at the sculptures out at Newlands.

 

The city from on-high

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Mbare Market

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Downtown Harare

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Zimbabwe seemed full of contradictions, but it was indisputably beautiful and without exception the people we met were kind, funny and warm hearted. I urge anyone thinking about going to do so and to take the plunge with a local private guide/tour operator so you can be sure that every last penny of your tourist dollars is ending up where its needed most.

 

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I would love to go back to Zim; SO many areas we missed.

 

Wonderful report and the last day in Harare delightful to see. We chilled at our guesthouse; too tired to attempt any sightseeing :huh: Craig brought his kids over to meet us; seeing a tough and tumbled guide melt watching his children playing with the monkey moneypods was as good a sighting as any :D

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@@ld1 - well, I think I guessed right, didn't I? :D

 

Those Chikwenya airstrip encounters are magical and I am so happy that the magic happened for you too! What a fabulous end to a fantastic safari!

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@@ld1 What an experience with the dogs! I hope to have that "heady mix" someday for myself, but in the meantime I'll look at these pics again and again...just great stuff. Also, thanks for the link to the art thread - I forgot that I had seen it a few months ago!

Edited by Marks
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@@Sangeeta you did indeed guess correctly. I find it hard to believe that Chikwenya lodge is so quiet. We were the only people staying on our last night in early Sept. I thought it was a great little concession and a nice way to end a mobile Safari.

 

@@Marks thanks, should Mr R ever finish that Leopard I'll be sure to post it. I couldn't belive it the other evening, he actually handed me his tablet and said "don't you think that would make a great drawing". I squealed its a Cheetha, look at all those spots! Seems when he gets the calling, all those painful hour on the Leopard that didn't change its spots vanish!

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You know, @@ld1, now that I am in the business myself, I find it even more surprising that places like Chikwenya are not busier. And the only conclusion I can reach is that they market to a different set of people who are less interested in wildlife and more in fishing etc. Dog encounters like those airstrip encounters simply cannot be replicated inside the park so they have a huge advantage in this. But it must be said that along with the location,you also need the guide who is willing to try and make things happen, and you went with the best of the best :)

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Without loads of other people at the airstrips inside the park? I think you can luck out or with some careful tracking catch the dogs coming back from a hunt at a den inside the park, but to be able to spend a long period of time with the dogs approaching you voluntarily (for which they likely need to be someplace where they are not worried about protecting their pups) - I would be surprised to hear that happening so easily elsewhere. I am talking of dogs coming face to face with you out of curiosity, , Almost nose-to-nose. Not talking about observing them, albeit from up close.

 

This happened to us. Wilddog has had similar encounters at Chikwenya, I think, and now Id as well. I think this sounds special to the Chikwenya airstrip.

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