An Adventure through Botswana and Zimbabwe, September 2014 - by Safaridude and Game Warden - Part 2, Zimbabwe

[twaffle]

Matt, you crack me up … a brilliant start indeed.

 

But Safaridude that first Roan bull photo is just stunning and that's my pick so far. Love it.

[Marks]

Great stuff so far...interested in hearing about the Boma restaurant, as I always used to see the ads for it in Africa Geographic.

[Safaridude]

Matt, you crack me up … a brilliant start indeed.

 

But Safaridude that first Roan bull photo is just stunning and that's my pick so far. Love it.

 

That one is as robust a specimen as I have ever seen. (The roan, not Matt)

[Game Warden]

Skimming in over the tree tops on approach to Hwange National Park Airport I look down to see a camp but it isn't ours, it's not Camp Hwange. Our pilot brings us down, he doesn't do a flypast to scare away any wildlife on the runway, (there is, zebra, a long way off, they won't impede our landing), and we are down onto the tarmac, the little Cesna perhaps an insult to the asphalt which once handled commercial jet flights, Air Zimbabwe and others. Hwange must have been a real destination back in the day and one can imagine, squinting eyes, a line of safari vehicles waiting to rush clients off to their camps and lodges: now there was only one and it was waiting for us. But, its faded grandeur gives me hope that when things pick up again, and picking up they are, once more will Hwange be a sought after park to visit.

 

Stephen from Camp Hwange awaits us, after goodbyes to the pilot we are away: a straight drive along a graded road to the park entrance.

 

 

Yellow lettering against a green background: these signs defined Hwange for me.

 

From here we drive to the park headquarters to sign in, sort paper work and then after a short break were off towards camp. I can add little more to what @@Safaridude says in the first post of this thread: we had lunch on the go, sandwiches which we unwrapped at Nyamandhlovu Pan - the incredible scene of at least one hundred elephants coming to drink, various family herds, each waiting their turn. The noise, the smell, the movement: it was quite overwhelming. At this time the car parking area was not full - it was still the lunch hour and being so close to main camp, this pan would soon be crowded with people. So we decided to continue, these would not be the last elephants we'd see... and our decision paid off as stretched out under a bush a short way on an impressive male lion, collared, relaxing. We sat with him for a while, enough time for the 'dude to capture some close up shots - he was very near the road.

 

As we arrived at the Camp Hwange concession we swung in past the pan which marked the boundary: "Dwarf Goose." Only yesterday there'd been a buffalo killed and the remnants were still scattered. A lioness meandered past the vehicle, one of the resident females and we watched her for a while before turning onto the concession and towards camp. Upon arriving I was greeted with hugs by Ashley, Julian's partner and the rest of the staff, who were all very keen to see us. They had been primed you see. In fact, they asked, Just who are you? presenting me with cards from previous guests, (@@graceland ) addressed to me and a signed copy of Craig Van Zyl's book, "The Bush Matters." I doubt that anyone usually leaves cards and letters for future guests, especially months in advance. I have to admit it brought a tear to my eye: such a nice welcome from friends that I've made through running ST. Like the chap who thought me to be a preacher, it was another moment on this trip which was outside of any safari experience but equally as important. I put my pith down on the table, flopped onto the sofa, put my feet up, tipped a drink inside me and made myself at home. Let's see what Camp Hwange would deliver...

[graceland]

Hmm.... You get a copy of Craig's book at the beginning of your safari; I had to wait until the last day.

 

I guess I had to PROVE MYSELF "safari worthy"; whereas @@Game Warden is presumably so -- I mean truly, a Pith is Official!

 

Maybe its because I questioned him on Hwange ( thinking it might be "overcrowded" LOL) - we saw maybe one or two self drivers in 4 days!

 

Enjoying your view of Hwange, Matt...we really DID have a grand time in the park and I am reliving it through you and the 'Dude

[Game Warden]

As @@Safaridude mentions earlier in the report, Camp Hwange is a recent addition to Hwange National Park and thus feels new: its straight lines are not yet subtly blurred by encroaching flora: the tent/chalets are crisp and clean, (they are "half and halves" due to the fact of the strong winds in this part of the park), nothing is tired about the furniture or fittings - it would be nice to return in a few years to see how much more the camp has blended into the surrounds. One particularly pleasing view to camp is from the other side of the waterhole, coming in at the end of a game drive, (refer to the 'dude's photo #4 in post #1).

 

Spacious, airy rooms which feel like being in a tent.

Washing hands to a wonderful view.

Every chalet faces the waterhole.

Each chalet has solar power and water heating.

Dinners were a fun affair with various nationalities present.

A comfortable lounge and dining area in the main "lodge", with its camp fire looking out over the waterhole.

[madaboutcheetah]

Just catching up with this report!!! Superb!!!!

Thanks for writing this up!!!

I have to get to Zim soon!!! I don't know if i'd be able to handle the Elephant bull rush, tho

[Game Warden]

Off topic: just to say I'll be adding more updates as soon as possible. Then the 'dude can carry on with his part and the great photos. I know I'm holding things up

[TonyQ]

A very enjoyable start from both of you - excellent writing and great photos.

The jackal pup is very cute indeed.

The lion with the blow-dried mane is a superb specimen. Wallking that close to the bull elephant - wow

[pault]

Off topic: just to say I'll be adding more updates as soon as possible. Then the 'dude can carry on with his part and the great photos. I know I'm holding things up

You sound like my Grandad. "I'll just be in the way." he used to say when invited to any family event he didn't fancy. You are not holding things up; you are priming things nicely, and I think you inspire @@Safaridude a little.

 

And for both of you.... I am guessing you did not know that Benson came direct from me to you? Well, sort of .... his stay at Kigelia Camp in Ruaha overlapped with mine. If I had known Matt would have had another postcard! Please mention his impressions of Ruaha if you discussed it - would love to know how things were after we left.

[pault]

Oops, I forgot the important bit. Great report guys. Amazing tales and more amazing pictures.

[Safaridude]

 

Off topic: just to say I'll be adding more updates as soon as possible. Then the 'dude can carry on with his part and the great photos. I know I'm holding things up

You sound like my Grandad. "I'll just be in the way." he used to say when invited to any family event he didn't fancy. You are not holding things up; you are priming things nicely, and I think you inspire @@Safaridude a little.

 

And for both of you.... I am guessing you did not know that Benson came direct from me to you? Well, sort of .... his stay at Kigelia Camp in Ruaha overlapped with mine. If I had known Matt would have had another postcard! Please mention his impressions of Ruaha if you discussed it - would love to know how things were after we left.

 

 

Small world… always… @@pault

 

Benson loved his Tanzania trip. This was his second trip to TZ, and even before this recent one, he ranked Ruaha as one of his favorite places in all of Africa.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Safaridude

[Game Warden]

"A tail of cats and dogs..." so begun my entry in the Camp Hwange guestbook. I actually worded this the night before we left, following an amazing day on foot, and returning to the concession in time to see the dogs and the "cat fight." Little did I know that the following day, during our transfer to Hwange main camp would we see another pride with cubs, and a solitary female striding confidently through the morning heat. Before we arrived the first afternoon, @@Safaridude had confided in me that he was concerned whether there would be a lot of wildlife, due to the unseasonal rains, the full pans and ground water: by the end of the afternoon, having driven round the Camp Hwange concession, that concern proved to be unfounded as we saw Roan and Sable, had the close up elephant encounter on foot which the 'dude describes photographically in post #1 of this report and during a night drive back to camp had some great honey badger sightings, (two at least, and not fleeting but really a great chance to observe their waddling gait), plus an African Wild Cat, which followed my request to see one. And did it move quickly...

 

Arriving back in camp, fellow guests had spent time with resident Aardwolves, which alas we would not get to see, but for them it was a first and in their broken English mixed with my junior school French, their enthusiasm and excitement was palpable. I related my earlier elephant experience - it was not the first time I'd been up close on foot to big game having previously tracked rhino - I was so expectant of a racing heart and butterflies in the stomach sensation, but Julian of course talked us through the approach, monitoring the wind with ash, coming in a wide circle downwind so the bull could not smell us: step by step crouching down, breathing, listening. Holding onto my pith in the wind. (Reminder... I really must get a new chin strap fitted.) And Julian brought us in close and once the elephant saw us, saw us to be no threat and that we weren't going to move, relaxed, shook his trunk, wagged his ears as if to say, I know you are there and that's far enough. We didn't move closer but crouched down to be a part of this African safari scene. One which will be etched in my memory. It was the first time up close on foot to a big elephant. At every second did I feel safe, Julian exuded confidence and a great knowledge of the elephant's behaviour, (as of course any pro guide should), made me feel comfortable. I'm grateful to the 'dude for recording it on his camera, I have to say, this for me was something to experience, use all my senses, I don't think I would have wanted to photograph it even with a great camera. It was about just being - something I'd experience many times over the course of this safari.

 

We were lucky in that due to the camp being busy, although never did it feel crowded, (with a very interesting selection of international visitors), in addition to Julian, (and other guides - Dharmesh Daya, Stephen Ndlovu and Washington Sibandi), both Dave Carson and Andy Egginton were present: Dave has a long history of guiding in Zim, (20 years +), and, with Benson takes part in the annual guide evaluations. Andy was part of Wilderness Safaris in the early days and with Colin Bell and Chris Badger helped set up the Malawi operations. So to listen to their stories was an added bonus at the end of the evening. I don't often get the chance to have face to face chats with such people and I think that perhaps my naivety and lack of experience showed through but suffice to say I was entranced by the conversations: on the ground in Africa is where I need to be...

[Game Warden]

It's so important on Safari to keep eyes open, look down at the ground, there's so much going on which doesn't involve the megafauna, something I was later to reflect upon in Mana Pools, (but more of that later), and walking back to my room with Julian and Dharmesh who was escorting another couple, I stopped to see a scorpion scuttling across the pathway in front of us. It snuck into a crack on a fallen tree trunk, Dharmesh had a UV light which he shone over it, the scorpion glowed. It was something I did not know and learnt on that pathway... From the Wikipedia scorpion article here:

Scorpions are also known to glow when exposed to certain wavelengths of ultraviolet light such as that produced by a black light, due to the presence of fluorescent chemicals in the cuticle. One fluorescent component is now known to be beta-carboline.[28] A hand-held UV lamp has long been a standard tool for nocturnal field surveys of these animals. Fluorescence occurs as a result of sclerotisation and increases in intensity with each successive instar.

 

I'd be checking my boots in the morning before putting them on... During the night, something was crunching around outside: I was too tired to get up and combined with my malarone friend the noises influenced my dreams. It was a strange night indeed. And roaring lions woke me up - it was my first full day in Hwange and promised much...

 

In Zimbabwe I fell in love with porridge again. Usually I don't eat it at home but there's something about starting the day with a steaming bowl full, a mug of black coffee and then setting out excited. There were odd antelopes at the water hole, once an elephant in the early morning grey. In the distance the tuckatuckatuckatucka sound of the borehole pump: that is the sound which most defined Hwange for me.

 

We set out for those lions, up past Dwarf Goose Pan, which demarcates the top boundary, this side is Camp Hwange's concession, that side, the NP road. On the concession one can go off road, in the NP not. Dwarf Goose proved to be a very productive place. We'd seen lionesses there the night before, as we drove up this morning, a herd of buffalo was drinking, at various times elephants were ambling around, a flock of Crowned Cranes. The lions were just over the other side of the pan - Vusi and Naxha. It's quite something to be watching a lion at close quarters, all seems calm, then, suddenly, bang, his attitude changes and Naxha charges only then to stop short. That made my heart beat a bit faster...

 

Certainly a highlight at Camp Hwange were the jackal pups. The last jackal I'd seen close up was sadly road kill when in South Africa so when Ashley told us about the black backed jackal family residing close by camp I was keen to go out to sit with them - as per usual @@Safaridude captures them beautifully in this post: they were snugged by the side of the track in a bush and were not bothered by our presence - we wouldn't see anything cuter on this trip.

[Game Warden]

The atmosphere in camp was really good and everyone was keen to converse, at the end of the afternoon with drinks, by the fire, at the communal dining table. I'd mix things up a bit and move places, try to get to know a little bit the other guests. (Plus the 'dude was probably fed up with sitting next to me.) It was good to get to know the younger guides, Dharmesh in particular was a very easy chap to get along with. Football, (soccer), is always an icebreaker and when we found out that United had lost quite badly away to Leicester he got a good ribbing from everyone. One was made to feel very much part of the family at Camp Hwange, all the staff were extremely approachable and I never felt to be intruding upon their time with my questions and chats. One thing I often feel here at the HQ is cut off from everyone, despite being able to send PMs and hook up with you via Facebook etc, so when I have the opportunity I love to talk and that is perhaps my downfall, that maybe I am too talkative. At times in the vehicle I caught myself rambling away and would suddenly stop, look out and around. Listen to the ambient sounds, it was something the 'dude was teaching me. Trouble is, I am full of questions and I assume the guide judges each client quickly, so, if they are talkative like I tend to be, they talk as well. If the client prefers to be more reserved, then they reflect this too. It's finding the balance which is important. I need to go on quite a few more safaris to find that balance and be sure No doubt the guide is also quick to assess just what they can and can't talk about with clients: there are emotive subjects which wouldn't go down well with everyone but we did enjoy some really detailed conservation discussion: the 'dude's knowledge of such matters has no limit and when tied to Julian's experience and involvement with the park's management plan I learnt so much about Hwange and Zimbabwe's conservation issues. It would have been really something to have seen rhino in Hwange like there used to be and that made me sad and cross. Interestingly though, Hwange NP was always spared from the worst of the trouble, ie the land invasions: perhaps someone with a better working knowledge of Zim can help me out - were the National Parks seen as off limits to land grabs and invasions?

[Soukous]

i was told by one of our guides that at the time of the land grabs tourism was not seen as being as lucrative a target as farming.

Most Zimbabweans could relate to being given a chunk of farmland that had been taken from a large landowner but were not really interested in having a piece of a national park or a safari operation.

[Game Warden]

After dinner on day 2 we sat planning out the route we'd take the following day. Due to the rains, the guides this season had not yet explored the Robins area of the park. In 1939, on his death, Harold Robins bequeathed his huge farm to the government to be included into Hwange NP. By all accounts Robins was a real character, a bush man of note and I guess one had to be to live out in seclusion in the wilderness back in those days. So, pouring over the maps we plotted a route which would take us out towards Little and Big Toms via Masuma and Deteema Dams: we would be this season's pioneers. It would be a full day out and Julian warned us it would be a long drive to get there, get back: and some of the mopani proved to be very repetetive, interspersed with some stunning rock formations cutting a swathe through the park. It looked to be perfect leopard country: I kept a good look out but saw nothing. Perhaps they saw me...

 

When you drive through Masuma Dam, the road cuts through the camp site area: after 6pm the gates are locked - you book the whole camp site which includes the hide, built onto a slope overlooking the wide expanse of water. We paused briefly here for coffee: we'd be stopping on the way back. And from Masuma onwards, Hwange became more wild, more undulating, the landscape changed, horizons were defined by hills, the road wound up and down to cross river beds. Whereas the Camp Hwange concession area is very flat in comparison. In fact this area reminded me a lot of Kruger, with a lot less vehicles. In fact, past Masuma, I don't believe we saw another car and the park was ours.

 

@@Safaridude recognised Deteema as we approached, he had camped here back in the '90s - from the look of things, not much had changed since. If I were a self driver, Deteema is somewhere I'd want to stay: again one books out the campsite, it's a long way from main camp so receives fewer visitors. Entering the campsite area, you drive into a small fenced circle: the fence is made up of sharpened tree trunks hammered into the ground. It's wild. It feels wild. There's a hide, an ablutions block, charred circles upon the ground suggest past camp fires. Two local rangers are on hand to provide fire wood, heat water, the rest, it's up to you. And what a view down over the dam itself. But, due to those unseasonal rains, the waterholes and natural pans being full, game is sparse. But there are lions, the rangers tell us in the night they heard them and birding is great at the waterside. There are a couple of such campsites and hides in this area, none look well patronised and if I was to return, this is where I'd want to base myself for a few days. It felt like Kruger must have been, fifty or sixty years ago. Unexplored. Unloved. Ragged. But exciting.

 

We arrived at Big Toms - Little Toms is close by: both are raised hides overlooking Toms River and Vlei. From Hwange NP's Wikipedia page:

 

Toms vlei and river, a tributary of the Deka River, named after the hunter Tom Saddler. Big Toms and Little Toms pans and hides are on the river.

 

Again, very rustic hides: we checked out Big Toms and then took a quick drive over to its smaller counterpart. It was a shame to see the hide in such poor condition. The thatched roof falling in, the wooden benches broken and rotted. I discussed with Julian how much it would have taken to repair the hide. He reckoned a couple of hundred bucks, if that - there was plenty of thatch grass growing close by. A lick of paint, new bench, new thatch. But perhaps it is because these two hides are so out of the way, rarely visited by the masses that they have become forgotten. I imagined if I had the money I'd like to restore Little Toms hide, pop up a Safaritalk plaque, make it a little bit of us. Put something of ST into Hwange. Many times in the park I wondered if there was the opportunity to do something, even if it was just repainting and repairing the loop signposts...

 

Nothing was happening at Little Toms. The stream was full with water, indicative of much of the park, there was no need for the wildlife to come here and drink so we took the decision to drive back to Big Toms. And we were glad we did as an excellent sighting of a Roan herd presented itself and they were so relaxed we were able to nudge up for some close up photographic opportunities. When you spend time in the car with the 'dude, his enthusiasm and passion for antelope rubs off on you and I am as swept away as he with this sighting. It was to be one of the many good Roan sightings, this one being much better than that the previous day in the camp's concession area.

 

I'd joked the night before with Ashley about my love of wors and how much I'd missed them. In Portuguese it's called "Saudade", a longing for something. I was longing for wors since my visit to South Africa with @@Bugs in May. No problem said Ashley, we'd have wors for lunch. To be honest I expected cold wors in a sarnie, ie a sausage butty, but no, this was Zim style sausage butties - Julian set up a grill and cooked the wors with a spicey tomato salsa, threw them in buns and handed them round: it proved to be my favourite meal of the whole trip! The sizzling sound, the cooking smells: I had to go back for more... and then just one more again

[marg]

@@Game Warden...I was going to hit the "like this" tab, but the term is insufficient to describe your trip report!

[Game Warden]

Eating boerewor rolls, spicy salsa tingling tongue, cold fizzy beer slipping down quickly and watching wildlife in the distance. I don't know how the 'dude does it but he sees, hidden in a bush on the horizon a millimeter of sable horn - whilst he hoped for the sable to approach Toms River I noticed a number of vultures circling, descending: I pointed it out Julian. He suggested we take a stroll, it was probably an old kill. The last of the wors went down, I wiped beer froth from my beard and he collected the rifle - off we went. We circled out wide, he kicked the dust to see which way the wind took it - jackals scampered back and forth from the cloud of vultures, there was something there for sure but we didn't know how fresh the kill would be. As we approached we startled off a big male lion and some cubs: they broke for cover and were gone. It was momentary deflation because there, under the bush just over the dip of the river a large lioness relaxing but already alert to our presence. Julian, @@zimproguide takes up the story better than I can here.

 

"Look for the warning signs.", he's saying, "A flick of the tail, slight movements. But you can see from the way she's lying she's comfortable, she won't get up unless she has too - we'll stay here: crouch down. But. But, if she comes we stand." We crouched down. We never stood up. She was that relaxed in our presence. But not once did she take her eyes off us...

 

We stayed with her a while, the male and cubs never came back and we made our way back via the dead buffalo: it made for some interesting photography, maybe two days old and beginning to smell. We made the decision to start heading back. We planned to break the drive at both Deteema and Masuma, the latter being more productive - we were the only ones in the hide. It feels a bit fake, almost like watching a wide screen TV display - you are sat at an angle looking down to the pan. But it's amazing to see the lines of elephants coming in to drink, zebra, there are crocs on the bank, the elephants walk round them not caring. I hear this strange noise, it's not the ginger beer fizzing up where it's shaken too much en route, like a helicopter, louder closer - "Dude, whirlwind, look." and point and from left of the hide tearing through the dust is this mini twister, it's sucking up leaves and debris into the spout, elephants and zebra etc. Well, all right, not the last two, but as the twister plots its course towards the dam, an elephant is in its pathway. You know what's going to happen. The elephant doesn't. This hoover of a dust devil envelopes said elephant, the 'dude has aimed and is firing away, (see the great result in this post), one elephant, once calm now freaking out trying to run. But the dust devil passes over it, (through it?) and is gone to fade away in a cloud of dust and falling leaves. Photographic opportunities won't get better than that and it's time to go. We still have to navigate the mopani on the way back to camp.

[Game Warden]

@@marg Mine is just a stream of conscious rambling, the dude's photos are worth way more than a thousand words...

[Game Warden]

Quite rightly, Julian has said that nothing is guaranteed on Safari, though, tells us an amusing anecdote about a client who demanded to see the most difficult animals in Hwange, which Julian then suceeded in doing, so much so that the client spent the last day in camp reading as he was done. It can be frustrating and slow and then something makes up for it, even if it is only for a few minutes. Our walk out to the lioness had been our few minutes. The Roan sighting had been another of those, few minutes. But it was enough to make us buzz, we'd be talking about it over dinner later. We slid back into camp, it was still early: the day previous I'd helped set up a camera trap at Dwarf Goose, so we set out to change the memory card, see if we'd got anything. Of course, being Dwarf Goose meant something was there, in fact two large bull elephants so we changed the card and then walked out to see them, able to approach very close on foot, but of course, safety was always paramount. In picture # 8 of this post, you can see Julian, in front of me, standing up to the bull. With this shot, @@Safaridude really captures well the power and sheer size of the bull compared to us; the detail of the skin texture. You could hear his breathing. It was a stunning moment to round the day off...

 

Or was it?

 

As we get back into the car and look to drive back to camp via the concession perimeter track, the radio crackles into life. "Julian, Julian, Dharmesh." Julian grabs the handset, "Julian, go..." "Dogs, corner pan. Relaxed." and without an afterthought, Julian slews the car round in the round and back we go at some speed hoping to get a glimpse of the wild dog pack.

 

Dharmesh is already there and we sidle up alongside, not blocking his guests view and are treated to a wonderful sighting of 6 dogs in the golden light of sunset. They are relaxed, sniffing around interacting, then one, the alpha I presume makes a bark, stands almost to attention then they are off, hunting and are lost to us in the bush. But it was a great ten minutes or so we were with them and the 'dude has got some great shots undoubtedly. It was a stunning moment to round the day off...

 

Or was it?

 

We head back to Roan Pan, it's a great spot for sundowners, a couple of lazy elephants are lounging around in the half light. It's time for a G&T, watching those elephants at the end of the day... It was a stunning moment to round the day off...

 

Or was it?

 

"Now you know," I start to say, pausing for a sip of the sundowner drink, “the only thing that would top this day off would be some lions.” half in jest. Well, it would be nice, you know, to compliment the earlier sighting. Another slurp,

 

roar,

 

grrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRRRR!

 

Dammit, I have to tip out a little of the drink so as not to slop it on myself as Julian puts the vehicle into gear and we swing round, that lion is close and sure enough just over the road in the concession, on a track is Vusi, lying down, then stretching up, roaring, displaying, then slumping again. In the distance, Naxha replies. Vusi, roars again: we are right next to him. It's such a powerful sound, you feel it in your stomach - this carries on three or four times. The 'dude gets some great low light shots with his mega ISO camera, Julian videos it. (BTW still waiting for the video...) I'm just absorbing it all. And, of course, managing to get a slurp or two of my G&T down. Eventually Vusi settles and no longer responds to the fading half hearted roars of Naxha - the light is waning, but here we are with the lions in the sunset. It was a stunning moment to round the day off...

 

Or was it?

 

Then comes another roar, much closer, from the direction of Roan Pan just beside us. It's not Naxha, he was halfway up to Nehimba by this time, no, it's one of the younger males from the Camp Hwange concession. He's heard the old boy lumbering off, so he's putting in a challenge. It's game on! and Vusi is up alert and chasing off into the bush to fight. I slop my G&T, well, it was almost finished and mostly melted ice by now, we spin round head back to Roan, scanning best we can in the fading light. We arrive at the outer most limits of Roan Pan where vehicles can go no further. It's dark. Julian palms off the spotlight on me. It's now my responsibility to keep the sighting alive. Dharmesh pulls up behind us. "Lion. Lion." he calls out on the radio. One of the males, perhaps Naxha has run between them and us, into the tree line ahead. We can hear noises. I shine the light straight ahead. 2 pairs of eyes. Dismiss first to be a bush baby - Good call says Julian for it was. Behind, the other eyes, shining. Then dark, shining then dark. Headlights on them quick, it's a lioness. She gets up at the sounds approaching in the darkness, in the trees. Suddenly this chaotic cacophony of elephants trumpeting, lions roaring, they are going for it, what the hell is happening in there? Bushes crashing, lions running this way and that, noises, shining eyes. Damn the darkness. Confusion. Chaos. Then... silence. The fight is done. The lioness has legged it, she didn't want to be in the middle of four fighting males. Julian states she is playing a game, not attaching herself to either or: she wants the victors only. As much as he loves Vusi and Naxha, he wishes sometimes they would just stay in the next concession and let these younger boys have their turn. Start new life, father cubs. But no, Vusi and Naxha are too dominant, they want it all. Julian thinks there is a third male perhaps, now if they were to line up together and form a trio, then they might have a chance... It was a stunning moment to round the day off...

 

Or was it?

 

And so we start driving out, it's pitch black now, everything is in greyscale in the headlights. All three of the Camp Hwange cars are here at the pan - by crossing headlight streams, (think Ghostbusters), we pinpoint Vusi on the other side of the pan from us. One of the cars creeps slowly towards it. The 'dude knows just what shot he wants, a sidelit view of Vusi looking round, Julian gives orders how the car is to approach, I hear the shutter firing: the 'dude has nailed it.

 

I look up to see the Southern Cross and a vivid starscape. The strong earthy smell of Africa in my nostrils. The buzzing of Zimbabwe at night. I rub hands down my damp trousers where the last of the G&T was slopped - but the faint taste is still in my mouth. In Africa it's important to use all your senses, to live the moment. It was a stunning moment to round the day off... It really was...

[Game Warden]

Food went cold at the table that night, as nice as it was, we couldn't stop talking about the lion fight...

[Game Warden]

I should live in Africa. In a camp somewhere. Not work there. Just live there. It's where I deserve to be. And thus I always find it emotional heading out and saying goodbye. Even knowing that instead of going on a game drive, we'll arrange to have an extra fifteen minutes after breakfast to get packed and ready and go. But this was only a fond adieu: we were not leaving Zimbabwe but carrying on - by going to another camp it felt like going on holiday all over again. But I was leaving behind friends - I think I bonded with Julian and Ashley: she was heavily pregnant and I wished her the best of luck, gave her a big hug and kiss on the cheek and got my wiry beard in her face and eyes. I donned the pith helmet, said goodbye to everyone trying not to leave anyone out, hauled my pack on my back, clambered up into the car and off we set. A long leisurely drive to main camp where we'd say goodbye to Julian, hello to Benson and start the next leg of the adventure. To be honest I wasn't expecting much on this drive out of camp. There was that deflating feeling of leaving: Camp Hwange had outdone our expectations: not that I really had any, but sightings had been varied, exciting, close, powerful. Think of any positive adjective and you can probably apply it to our experiences on this side of the park. So, really, the drive to main camp was a nothing drive, or so I thought. I even reckoned on getting a bit of shut eye in order that upon meeting Benson, I'd be wide awake and ready to go. But, that didn't happen...

 

A really great and unexpected sighting en route was a nesting Southern White Faced Scops Owl. (I think, am I right @@Safaridude?). It was by chance we saw it, so blended into the hole and tree bark. Julian was really pleased, it was the first one he'd seen. We'll just check down here... he said as we veered off left into what looked like a cornfield, high with grass, you never know, and of course, a majestic sable bull strolls into view with a nice sized herd: probably the biggest example we'd seen so far with horns which curved over to almost touch its back. The closer we came to main camp, the better the road surfaces were, everything looked new, the signposts freshly painted green and yellow, the loop markers freshly concreted in place. It was because of the recent SADC heads of state and government summit in Vic Falls: main camp had been given a makeover, as had the loops close by. No one had ventured as far as Little Toms. Obviously.

 

This pan can be good... says Julian as we turn right off the main road close to Nyamandhlovu Pan and we rumble down the dirt track. Suddenly stop. A big lioness under a bush with her pride of cubs, another lioness in close proximity. Looking through the binos, the cubs interact in a way, almost as cute as seeing the black backed jackal pups, (but not quite), and the 'dude gets some great shots judging by what I'm seeing through the binos. We check our watches. Still on time. Nice to see some more lions on the final drive of our Camp Hwange stay...

 

And thoughts are turning to Benson, to Little Makalolo where we'll be staying next, the awesome lion sightings: I'd heard that they'd been taking down elephants. I'd be impressed if we saw more lions than we had on this first leg of our journey. Ten minutes out from main camp, we weren't really looking, I was being lazy, thinking of family as one tends to do in quieter moments on safari, when, on our right, another large solitary lioness strolls across in our direction to slump down in the shade of a bush no more than fifty meters from the car. And we had the sighting all to ourselves. Now that really was a fine way to close out our Camp Hwange account...

[Safaridude]

Brilliant told...

[Big_Dog]

Liking every post from you guys! Partly because with so many trip reports I never quite know what to say. After using them so often on here, and justly, I feel all the positive terms lose impact with each TR I comment on!

Though a thing that bugs me on this one...no hyaenas at either location?