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

[Zim Girl]

Boswell

 

Not only did the dogs come out to play with us, but Boswell decided to grace us with his presence.

On a walk straight from camp in the afternoon we found him and his entourage eating under a tree.

 

 

He wandered over towards us.

 

 

 

Then turned around right in front of us and performed a perfect handstand.

 

 

 

Not content with just the one, he proceeded to perform another five handstands!

And yes, I am afraid you get to see them all

 

Handstand No 2

 

 

Handstand No 3

 

 

Handstand No 4

 

 

 

Handstand No 5

 

 

 

 

Finally, Handstand No 6

 

 

That concludes a lesson in gymnastics from one of most popular elephants in Mana Pools.

[Zim Girl]

Dog Day No 2

 

The next day we thought we would see if we could go and find some lions. We drove out and got dropped off near BBC camp and set off walking down by Long Pool. We didn't see anything out of the ordinary until around mid-morning when we spotted vultures circling in the sky way ahead of us. We followed their direction hoping to come across a lion kill.

 

What we actually found was the Vundu Pack again! They were fighting over a baboon they had just killed and were seeing off the vultures that were trying to get in on the act.

 

One by one they trotted away, some of them holding their bit of baboon.

 

So once again we were running with them until they eventually settled in the shade under a tree very close to the roadside.

Luckily we had them all to ourselves and settled down under a nearby tree to watch them. It was really hot by then so we didn't want to disturb them and it was nice just to sit and relax. Not a single car came down that road all the time we were there which must have been about an hour.

 

On the move

 

 

Holding a leg or an arm?

 

 

If you look carefully, you can see the one in the foreground holding the baboon's head

 

 

 

Vultures muscling in

 

 

Another bit of baboon

 

 

Stop for a break

 

 

Then off they go again

 

 

 

 

Can we be bothered to chase that impala? (in the far right of the picture)

 

 

Nope! We will just fight amongst ourselves.

 

 

 

 

Had enough of that, I am off for a rest.

 

[Marks]

Really fun elephant performance!

The dogs are also great, of course.

[pault]

Just on page 2 but fantastic stuff so far.

[Zim Girl]

We have always had some really wonderful elephant encounters in camp at Mana and this year was no exception.

We had them walk through around lunchtime every day.

 

This day a small herd came down to the gully to drink then decided to come and see us.

 

 

 

They walked around the vehicle.

 

 

Then came in for a closer look.

 

 

 

 

There was a bit of a moment when the baby stumbled over a tree root that was sticking out and fell into the tent to the side. I think we all held our breath to see what might happen, but no harm done and mother and baby calmly wandered away and out of camp.

 

 

On another lunchtime we watched as a bull elephant walked around the back of camp and away from us, then turned around and walked right up to us.

 

 

 

Hang on - just need a quick toilet break first!

 

 

 

 

 

A hastily taken photo, but it shows how close he came to me. If I had leant back I would have touched him.

 

 

It never fails to amaze me just how calm and gentle and careful elephants can be around people. (Apart from the baby tripping over of course!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Marks]

What a great and intimate elephant encounter!

[Zim Girl]

Dog Day No 3

 

But you will need your imagination!!

 

Our last dog sighting was at first light behind camp at Mucheni 4. We had just got dressed and Mark said did we want to go and see what was up with the hyena. They had been making a right racket for the last 20 minutes. So off we went to investigate.

 

After about 5 mins we walked into a clearing. We couldn't believe our eyes. The entire Vundu pack were chasing about 6 hyena who had just stolen their baboon kill. We had 2 hyena right in front of us fighting over the kill while the others were being chased away by the dogs. One of the hyena finally made off with the baboon and after a few minutes the dogs re-grouped and trotted away from the clearing.

Amazing, the excitement of watching the dogs and hyena running around in front of us and the noise they were all making, I will never forget it.

Which is just as well as I didn’t have my camera with me. We had rushed off from camp and it was probably too dark for decent pictures anyway, plus it was nice to be able just to watch all the action without the pressure of photographing it.

 

We were still stood there enjoying the moment, when all of a sudden the dogs ran back in!!

 

What was going on??

 

Then we saw why. The lions had joined the party!

 

We counted 6 female lions with one cub behind some bushes. It looked like one of the lions had chased the hyena that had taken the kill, but not caught it, and had then come back. We could see her looking at us. She sat for a couple of seconds then started to trot towards us, this then turned into a full on charge!

 

Mark, suddenly threw his arms up into the air, shouted at the top of his voice and literally charged her back.

Well that did the trick and she skidded to a halt. A soon as she stopped Mark told us to start edging backwards until eventually we were out of her discomfort zone. She stayed where she was and once Mark had walked back to us we made a wide detour around them and then back to camp.

 

All this excitement and before breakfast!

This has turned out to be our best ‘dogs in action’ safari ever.

 

After we had eaten, Mark suggested we try to see if we could find the lions again. We retraced our steps back to where they had been and could quite clearly see all the running and skid marks from ‘both’ parties.

 

We had a careful look around the thickets and eventually found 3 of the females and the cub lying in the bushes. They were deep in cover and this time were not interested in us at all.

 

 

One of the female lions.

 

[Safaridude]

@@Zim Girl

 

Ahhh, Mucheni 4...

 

@@Game Warden and I did not see Boswell. I am glad he is well. And we only had close encounters with elephants while we were in the vehicle. Hippo on a walk would be intimidating.

[dlo]

@@Zim Girl

 

Wow that is some amazing interactions with the Ele's.

[Zim Girl]

@@Safaridude @@dlo

 

This year was our best sighting of Boswell. Earlier in the day he had walked across our path on the way back into camp and luckily he was still in the vicinity when we went out for a walk later. We had him all to ourselves which was wonderful.

We have always had some very close encounters with elephants in camp on all our trips to Mana, Little Vundu is another hotspot for them walking through.

 

We have bumped into hippo on walks a few times - can turn into a bit of a game of hide and seek sometimes!

[TonyQ]

@@Zim Girl

Fabulous dog encounters and great photos!

Good to see the elephnt gymnastics, and to hear about your exciting pre-breakfast adventure

[Zim Girl]

Talking of bumping into hippos

Later on that morning we were walking past this beautiful pan when this guy pops out.

 

 

 

 

[Zim Girl]

On our last day we set out for a very long walk starting from the firewood road and walking alongside the various pans there.

 

 

This guy didn't want his picture taken, we had to beat a fairly rapid retreat after this.

 

 

Change of scenery after just an hours walking.

 

 

 

By the time we reached the back of Long Pool the light was pretty harsh so this Eland is looking a bit washed out but he posed so nicely for me.

 

 

Lunchtime and another visitor.

 

 

 

Mana Mouth viewpoint

 

 

 

For our last evening in Mana it has become a bit of a tradition for us to 'say goodbye' to the Park. So we went for a long drive along every loop and road that is available. It was the longest time we spent in the vehicle the whole trip. Then we had to sneak back into camp, only slightly after dark .

 

[Zim Girl]

We had taken a trail cam with us and here are some of the pictures it took.

These are all from Chitake.

 

 

 

 

 

These were a couple of jackals checking out the elephant carcass not far from camp.

 

 

Some daytime shots from Chitake

 

 

 

 

[Zim Girl]

These ones are from various places in the floodplain.

 

 

 

 

I can't remember if I mentioned before, but we had a leopard in camp at Mucheni on 2 of the evenings. It was too dark for me to take photos but we caught these images on the trail cam.

 

[Sangeeta]

What a lovely Mana evening I've had today, @ZimGirl, thanks to your TR and the other two new ones by Michael & BigOwl.

 

Sounds like every day of this was an action packed safari. Some real fun times with the dogs inside the park! I saw your comments on Lynn's Chishakwe TR. Yes, you should def try & include both Save & Gonarezhou into your next Zim trip - you'll love both.

 

Is this the same Mark who is now at Pamushana (or at least was until last year)?

[michael-ibk]

Absolutely fantastic stuff, Zim Girl! You were so, so lucky with the dogs, really incredible encounters you had with them!! That Lion - Hyena - Dog fight must just have been insane, I guess you all needed some time to breathe normally after that, especially after the lion charge! Boswell performed incredibly well for you as well - 6 handstands, he really does not slow down. Really like the camera trap shots as well, esp. from Chitake. Interesting you mention all the Heuglin´s Robin Chats around, I saw just one.

[Zim Girl]

@@Sangeeta

 

It was probably our best safari in Mana to date, we had something going on every day that was very special. I do think our trip to Zim will be a southern experience, possibly trying to include Matopos again as we were very impressed with the walking and scenery there. No, Mark has been guiding in Mana all his life, he is freelance but guides mainly for Natureways now. We met him on our first trip to Zim in 2011 and he has been guiding us ever since.

 

@@michael-ibk

 

Thankyou. We were really lucky with the dogs on this trip. We didn't see them at all in 2013. The dogs/hyena/lion episode was unbelievable. I will never forget that scene of mayhem when we found them. It seems Boswell has been showing off all season judging by everyone's great photos - what a guy!

Honestly, the robins were all over camp at Chitake, funny how things change.

[Sangeeta]

@@Sangeeta

 

It was probably our best safari in Mana to date, we had something going on every day that was very special. I do think our trip to Zim will be a southern experience, possibly trying to include Matopos again as we were very impressed with the walking and scenery there. No, Mark has been guiding in Mana all his life, he is freelance but guides mainly for Natureways now. We met him on our first trip to Zim in 2011 and he has been guiding us ever since.

 

 

You may get a stowaway on that trip Yup, this trip really does sound very, very special - with all the animals mixing it up & with that Matopos starter. I remember how you had missed the doggies last year so it's good to see that the entire cast of characters was out in full force for you this time.

 

Thanks for the info on Mark. Shall keep that in mind.

 

So sorry @@Big Andy - I called you BigOwl in my post above The blame for that can be laid squarely on your avatar photo! In fact, when I clicked through on your photo from your TR, I was most surprised to see a human being featured in that little box

Edited November 5, 2015 by Sangeeta

[Big Andy]

@@Sangeeta Big Owl's a vast improvment on many of the things I've been called so don't worry about it . The owl incidentally does have a name, it's Turner he's in a local owl rescue center but unable to be returned to the wild unfortunately.

 

@@Zim Girl This is a great report and fascinating to compare with my own visit only a short time later. I didn't get a dog/lion/hyena three way encounter though. I bet that got the blood cells pumping.

[Atravelynn]

Nice trail cam photos. I recognize the ele carcass. Question is, did you smell it?

 

I just read your answer to the smell question in my report. Wind does make a difference. All these Mana Pools reports. Mana Marathon!

Edited November 6, 2015 by Atravelynn

[Zim Girl]

Deleted, see below

Edited November 6, 2015 by Zim Girl

[Zim Girl]

 

@@Sangeeta

 

It was probably our best safari in Mana to date, we had something going on every day that was very special. I do think our trip to Zim will be a southern experience, possibly trying to include Matopos again as we were very impressed with the walking and scenery there. No, Mark has been guiding in Mana all his life, he is freelance but guides mainly for Natureways now. We met him on our first trip to Zim in 2011 and he has been guiding us ever since.

 

 

You may get a stowaway on that trip Yup, this trip really does sound very, very special - with all the animals mixing it up & with that Matopos starter. I remember how you had missed the doggies last year so it's good to see that the entire cast of characters was out in full force for you this time.

 

 

All stowaways welcome! @@Sangeeta

 

@@Big Andy

 

 

 

@@Zim Girl This is a great report and fascinating to compare with my own visit only a short time later. I didn't get a dog/lion/hyena three way encounter though. I bet that got the blood cells pumping.

You could say that!!

Edited November 6, 2015 by Zim Girl

[Atravelynn]

My goodness those elephants were close in camp. And a baby falling onto the tent!

 

The dogs may have come out to play but they brought some impressive playmates with them--hyenas and lions. How thrilling.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Atravelynn

[marg]

@@Zim Girl...must say that we have had some great dog encounters this season. Yes, lucky us. And, the elephants in camp....a bit close. Great report!