Mana Magic and Hwange Highlights

[michael-ibk]

I really enjoyed the drive through the country. It was a good opportunity to get acquainted with Doug, and he told us a lot about his beloved Zimbabwe, politics, people, education, economics, wildlife, nature - we learned a lot. Of course we talked about Safaritalk, too. Lots of the areas we passed to had been good farmland once, but now most of it lay waste. What also struck me was the lack of people. Driving around in Kenya, there´s a non-stop number of people always walking somewhere (I often wonder where from and where to). Not here, once in a while some guys are offering "Anaconda worms" (fishing is popular), but that´s about it. Of course Zim is much more sparsely populated than East Africa, and since a lot of people have left noone really seems to know the exact number of its inhabitants.



Somewhere on the way Doug bought us some meaty specialties at a local butcher - Biltong and some very saucy, spicy sausages. Loved those, we all felt very carnivore when moving on.

After a while the countryside became noticably drier and more hostile, we were entering wildlife areas because nothing could be cultivated here anymore.



Lots of trucks passing us by. As Doug told us (and as seen in several TRs) many accidents happen here, and there are more than just a few truck skeletons lying roadside.



Baboons, crafty creatures as they are, have learned that a lot of good stuff falls of these big metal monster animal thingies, and so a lot of them are around on the roads, looking for delicacies.



Which brings us to one of THE surprises of the trip. My heart literally skipped a beat when a different animal entered the road. Certainly ... it .. can´t be ... but it really looks ... can I believe my eyes?

WILD DOG!!!!



Doug was as surprised as we were, he hadn´t seen one here in this area for many, many years. We came to a screeching halt as he hit the brakes. And the dog, bless him, lingered for just a few moments.









And so, even before entering a park, Doug introduced us to the beauty of a Zim safari - see something cool, stop, get out of the car and go after it! That´s just what we did, the dog disappeared in the thickish though and went down to a dry riverbed. More dogs were there, I could see two puppies even. Farther more in the background a few more dogs were running on the hills. But clearly they were not comfortable with our presence, and so Doug decided that we shouldn´t push them and let them go.

No more photos - it was all scrubbery, and they were too far away, but how cool was that? Not even into the park yet, and an African Wild Dog sighting! I had been quite anxious if we would see them at all, they were my "Nr. 1 wishlist" animal for this trip. And contrary to what one might think after reading the action-packed report by @@Zim Girl they are by no means a given in Mana Pools, it´s entirely possible to miss them. And now here they were, a pack with puppies, just next to the road. To say that we were happy with this would be quite an understatement!

Doug was grinning all over, too, delighted that a pack was obviously making it out here, maybe going after all the Baboons, and he was hoping that they would stay mostly clear of the road, which is of course a death trap.

And now - "down in the oven", Doug said, we were driving down into the Zambezi Valley.

[SafariChick]

Wow @@michael-ibk ! That is so cool that you saw those dogs, what luck! Wish I'd been on this trip with you and @@AndMic ! But next best thing is reading about it - go on, please!

[michael-ibk]

We arrived at the first gate at 11:45. The road into the park from here has often be described as "the road from hell", and it certainly is not in a very good state, you will get a thorough African massage. But it was not too bad, Doug went with a steady 60 km/h, and so we made good progress.



Nyakasikana Gate. Go to the right to Chitake Springs for here where we would be a few days later, but for now we were heading North (to the left), in the direction of the Zambezi.



No, we would never ever eat an apple on our walks, we did not, I swear!

I confess that I felt a bit of unease on our way to the gate and further up to Kanga camp. Yes, I was aware that the place should be very dry now, and that animals would move to areas with water. And that they would seek shade at this time of the day. But boy, this place not only looked dry, it looked absolutely lifeless. On the whole way in and up to Kanga we would not see one single mammal, and only a few birds here and then.







Has all life gone here?

But we had a very cool sighting from the smaller side of the life and death spectrum - a Rock Monitor with a Scorpion Kill:



We finally got to Kanga Camp at about 13:30.



And all my fears were unfounded. The camp waterhole was just teeming with life. Wonderful to see after all the broken and battered earth we had passed through, almost unreal:





Elephants were always present, and came very close to the deck.



I was delighted with the number of Kudus, one of my very favourite antelopes, we would see here.



And even more delighted that a Saddle-Billed Stork pair was resident. Stunning birds, yellow-eyes is the Lady btw.



A Grey Heron also called camp his home.



Broad-Billed Roller, a new species for me. Every bit as beautiful as their Lilac-Breasted cousins, and much more striking than the rather dull painting in my bird book had suggested.

Kanga Camp itself was very enjoyable, a really good way to start a safari. Friendly staff, a beautiful lounge and dining area with elephants all around, very good food, cold drinks - what´s not to love?



Don´t think the pool is used too often, but the elephants have learned to drink out of it over the fence. We were also told that it can be the setting of much drama. The local Wild Dogs have chased animals into it more than once, Kudu and Bushbuck (I saw one photo). Pretty sure I remember one TR where such an incident was described here, where the guests had to help to get a Kudu out of it.



Really liked the tents. Very roomy, very airy, spacious - but still being tents and not little palaces.



The facilities are outside.



Might not be to everone´s liking (what, go out in the night where all the wild animals are lurking?!?), but I enjoyed it. And of course outdoor showers are one of the best things ever on safari.



And who can argue with a bathroom view like that?

[michael-ibk]

@@SafariChick

 

You know you are always invited to come along with us! Thanks!

[Big_Dog]

Wild dog on the roads...what a start! Glad they're breeding, but it worries me them being so close to a road.
Though apparently a pack in Mana does actually hunt baboon - fascinating!
Really surprised by what Harare looks like too.
Loved the little rock monitor too.

[SafariChick]

@@michael-ibk cool - next time tell me about the trip beforehand then

[michael-ibk]

We quickly returned to the "deck" after we had settled in.



Kanga camp waterhole. It´s not a natural one, they pump up water here. In the dry season when all water has evaporated in the heat this place becomes a wildlife magnet, every antelope, bird and predator has to come here sooner or later - and they all do.



We watched some Zebras when Doug told us that watching from up here was for sissies - "Let´s go down there." Where?

There:



And here we sat then, below the deck, no other guests present above us (all on a game drive) and were absolutely mesmerized with the Elephant show we were about to get. Pice of advice: I love Elephants, they fascinate me to no end, and I could watch them for hours. And that´s just what we did, so a LOT of Ele pictures to follow. You´ve had fair warning.



Lots of families came to drink, only metres away from us, and totally unconcerned about our presence - this was magic!









Once in a while, one elephant would check us out and gave us a very piercing, probing look. You only appreciate just how damn big an elephant is when you are sitting at their feet. It´s a long way looking up.



But they never bothered too much about us, they seemed trustful that this place was safe for them. One thing Doug said to us in a slightly sad, melancholic tone will stay with me: "We haven´t earned their trust." He told us that they would behave quite differently when they would meet humans just a few 100 m away, a lot of them migrate through the nearby hunting areas and can be very wary. But here at Kanga the laws of ele - human interaction are different. Magic, like I said.















Just for diversity´s sake, two Dagga Boys wandering in from time to time:





A Fish Eagle also lives at Kanga Camp. A royal bird, an enblem of Africa, dignity personified, that´s what I´ve always thought of them. Doug thought a bit differently, and it will become clear later on why.





Finally other guests had arrived, and enjoyed watching the Grey Giants from the tent´s decks:









The number of birds present was astonishing. Lots of beautiful species (Waxbills, Sunbirds, Bee-Eaters, Weavers, Rollers, but mostly out of reach for my camera), but especially impressive was the never-ending armada of doves coming down to drink. Laughing Dove, Emerald Spotted Wood-Dove, Red-Eyed Dove, Cape Turtle Dove - their numbers were without limit.

[elefromoz]

The butchers shop is simply not tempting me at all, the Dog on the bitumen is just all wrong, the Lizard eating the Scorpion..brrr, and the place looks like a bushfire has razed it to the ground, what a great collection of photos. Wow, that Camp looks nice.

[Big Andy]

What a great run you had up to Mana, wild dogs you lucky devil. That's a great capture of the broad billed roller, I failed miserably in my attempt to get them.

[Atravelynn]

Wild dog on the road! What an unbelievable surprise. Good thing you had your camera ready and not stowed for the ride.

 

You had the welcome sign rolled out for you at Guinea Fowl, literally! I don't remember that. Maybe @@Blue Bird or @@wilddog saw it.

 

What an impressive bird that broad billed roller is. Equally impressive is your shot of it. Gorgeous colors.

 

I'm guessing Doug's views on the fish eagle stem from their call or their feeding habits.

 

Love the eles with water dripping.

 

That monitor and scorpion is a unique find. Very cool.

 

@@SafariChick, not only are you invited to join Michael, but I'm looking at a late Sept/early Oct return to MP for canoe again and some walking, hopefully with Doug. You're invited to join me too. Nothing set in stone yet. The invitation extends to other ST members. I won't use any more of the Mana Magic and Hwange HIghlights report as an invitation and will attend to this in a separate thread, but wanted to respond.

 

It's good the eles don't trust humans, as noted by Doug, if they are often in areas where humans are hunting them. But those smart beasts may learn to differentiate between areas where humans are lethal and where they are not.

 

How exciting you got to meet @@Big Andy.

 

Excellent report!

[Atravelynn]

What a great run you had up to Mana, wild dogs you lucky devil. That's a great capture of the broad billed roller, I failed miserably in my attempt to get them.

But it's great you saw them.

[michael-ibk]

A few videos of our Elephant afternoon:

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

When the light started to fade, we went up on the deck again. Doug had hoped for the resident pack of Dogs or pride of Lions to show up but they preferred to stay elusive during our stay. A few distant roars, that was it.

When the other camp guests arrived it got quite lively. Camp was fully booked, a group from Belgium and a very nice couple from the Netherlands. So 12 guests in total including us. It´s communal dining in Kanga, and I always enjoy these minglings, all the "Where have you been - where will you go - what have you seen - what do you do"s. Doug, of course, was the star of the evening with lots of stories told. I´m afraid that he did not gain future clients because he might have slightly overdone the "wildness" factor of our upcoming stay in Chitake, some of the others were honestly terrified of all this talk about lions in camp and walking around barefoot. Doug probably finally lost them when he expanded the barefoot part to without clothes.

And of course life at the waterhole did not come to a close just because it got dark. Interestingly, in the last hour before sunset, most animals would vanish, it was predator hour according to Doug. (The predators did not know, though.) But the elephants stayed, and when camp activated the water hose under the deck, they all came there, and it was wonderful sitting with them, at eye level, less than a metre away at times, and hearing and smelling them.

Birdlife faded, too - but just after sun had set thousands of Sandgrouses appeared for a few minutes, only to disappear in the darkness again quickly.

Dinner was interrupted several times because we had a few special guests at the waterhole. Buffaloes, yes, Elephants still would come, but also several Civets:





Doug had quite a white torch, camp a more yellow one. I kind of wished that they would use a better spotlight, but it still was magical having dinner, enjoying our drinks (lots of them, I´m afraid), only for all conversation to stop, and everybody go whispering "What´s there?".

The number of Civets really surprised me, I had only got a glimpse of one on safari in Botswana, and this evening I saw seven!

We were absolutely delighted to even see a Honey Badger show up who looked more like a Mud Badger - he really enjoyed his spa. He didn´t come straight to the water and never stopped moving so I didn´t even try with photos.

Also, a clan of Hyenas showed up, no less than 10 of them, and we could watch some interesting "Wahoooos" and interaction with the Buffaloes a bit further down, pretty much right in front of our tent.

But the main attraction, the undisputed star of the evening was the Prince of Stealth:

 

 

Incredibly, 4 (!) Leopards would show up over dinner, three males and one female. (At least Doug said so.) What a fantastic way to have dinner!

 

When Doug escorted us back to our tent finally he saw another two Leopards right in front of our tent, I still glimpsed them. Probably the same animals as before, 6 Leopards would just be too much.

 

We immediately went to sleep, dead tired from this wonderful day so full of different sensations and experiences. Work, Home - that seemed like a thing of the far past now, totally irrelevant - we were back in Africa!

 

Wonderful as it is, though - Africa decided at 03:30 that I had had enough sleep and all critters of Kanga united to wake me up:

 

[Big Andy]

A beautiful set of Elephant pictures Michael, they were an endless source of entertainment and I fully appreciate your love of photographing them as they make such great subjects with their antics and wonderfully textured skin.

[AKR1]

Michael

The cheetah in water photograph is exceptional. I understand it's rare to even see cheetahs in Mana. You had amazing sightings. Thanks for posting this report.

[Big_Dog]

Ridiculous amount of predators! 10 hyaenas you say, I'd heard Mana was good but I didn't know the densities were that good. Sounds like a top night!

[michael-ibk]

A beautiful sunset heralded our first full day in the African bush:

Doug took us on an early drive, checking out the area.

 

As a private guide, he could just use the cars of Kanga camp. Very comfy and spacious vehicles.

 

I had read that the best thing about Kanga is its waterhole, and that proved to be very true. We (=Doug) found some Lion tracks, but hardly anything else. A few Impalas, really not many. One or two Kudus jumping off in the distance.

 

 

The landscape was quite beautiful, and I enjoyed being "out there". But it´s quite telling that the only mammal shot I took is that of a Squirrel.

 

And we photographed Baobab blooms ...

 

... and Sausages

 

Some interesting birds were around, I remember a Crested Barbet and some Red-Headed Weavers. And these Scimitarbills which I was happy about - new species for me.

 

The highlight of the morning was finding Aardvark ... tracks! Well, it did not matter, one can find good stuff around Kanga but needs luck for it, but we decided to return to camp soon (before 08:00). What´s the point of driving around when you know there´s lots to see at the waterhole, always something going on there?

 

And so we were more than happy just to sit on the deck, cold drinks at hand, skipping through the lodge books, and watch life unfold at the waterhole. Doug used the time to try to repair his car, the "road from hell" had somehow managed to loosen the rack.

 

 

Southern Grey-Headed Sparrows. Thousands and thousands of them must have been there.

 

This Warthog seemed to have a very happy day:

 

"I love my spa".

 

Elephants could often be quite the bully-type at the waterhole, and the Impala were obviously nervous about the young bulls at times.

 

Who sent them flying.

 

[michael-ibk]

Impalas and Baboons get no respect at all. Such gracile, beautiful antelopes the Impalas, such fascinating, often human-like animals the Baboons, yet we all tend to ignore them quite a bit on safari. So there you have it, an exclusive Impala-Baboon post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now to the Baboons. I mentioned their fascinating behaviour, didn´t I?

 

 

Here you have it - they love eating elephant dung.

 

 

As with many monkeys, their babies look so much more human-like (in a Gollum sort of way) than the adults.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

One of my favourite antelopes is the Kudu, and they were delightfully frequent visitors to the waterhole, boys and girls.

 

 

 

 

Apparently, boys just wanna have fun.

 

 

It was often hard to decide where to look, with so many different species around:

 

 

 

And don´t forget the sky!

 

 

 

The last surprise visitor before lunch was a lonesome Eland bull, the only one we saw at Kanga:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

After lunch we retreated to our tent to enjoy a cold shower. We had intended to return straight to the deck afterwards but couldn´t rid ourselves away from our terrace. Doug had booked us tent nr. 4, and that is probably the best one for a very simple reason.

 

 

The second water hose is straight in front of it. The Eles just love the fresh water, much more than that from the stale mudhole obviously. (The hose does not normally lie in the open like this, it is hidden under a stone. But one Ele simply lifted the stone - it´s amazing what they can do with their trunks.

 

And with that spring of water here, tent nr. 4 must be the best tent ever:

 

 

 

 

Watching their trunks in action was just fascinating:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

We then spent the afternoon under the deck again. We had all of camp to ourselves, all others guests had driven up all the way to the Zambezi. Didn´t make a lot of sense to me, since they were all going to (sister camp) Zambezi Lifestyles afterwards anyway. Why come down here at all if not for all the waterhole goodness? But all the better for us.



"Kanga" actually means Guineafowl, and indeed they were present non-stop.

Again, most Eles didn´t take much notice of us, but this one did not like us very much.





"I´m watching you pal!"



A Hamerkop kept the Grey Heron company today:





The Fish Eagle ...



... had lost its regular watchtower seat to a Brown Snake Eagle:





So, this is how Kanga Pan looks in mid-October:



And this is how it looks in the Green Season (photo of a photo from the camp book):





The Saddle-Billed Storks were very busy fishing Catfish:











"Gulp"











At one point Doug was contemplating going under the terrace, where the water hose is, to get a uniqe perspective on them drinking. But hundreds of bees were drinking there too, and we decided that this was just a tad too adventurous for us. (It made me wonder how much bees are drinking, though.)





All in all, a very relaxed and beautiful afternoon. Not so much for Andreas who asked me if the big fat green caterpillar crawling around our feet was venomous, and I, in my best dead earnest tone, confirmed that that thingy was absolutely deadly indeed. Unfortunately he wouldn´t quite believe me when I said that I was only joking and was uncomfortably and suspiciously eying where that creature was heading exactly.

Our dinner was great fun again, sumptuous food, good wine, the odd Civet turning up now and then, and again - Leopard!

[wilddog]

All wonderful @@michael-ibk. Really enjoying this. Love Kanga water hole. You got some fabulous shots, particularly the leopards drinking. Good spot-lighting and camera work!

[michael-ibk]

We rose early again and waited at the waterhole, Doug was still hoping for his doggies to show up, but they wouldn´t play. But this business of Banded Mongoose did:

 

 

Now, why Doug has changed his view of the Fish Eagle:

 

 

King of the Skies he is ...

 

 

... a powerful, dignified raptor.

 

 

Or, as Doug would point out, nothing but a common thief, waiting for others to do all the work and then swoop in to steal!

 

 

He was always, always watching the Storks fishing, and as soon as they got something, the Eagle went into position, very alert. Now we saw why - he was preparing to attack them for their catch, stealing their breakfast. A behaviour Doug has observed quite often.

 

 

But the Storks did not chicken out and stood their ground. Quite an intense scene - and when it was over all of them had forgotten about the fish.

 

A Spur-Winged Goose had found its way to Kanga Pan, all alone:

 

 

The Hamerkop was enjoying the first warm rays of the morning sun:

 

 

As did the Doves.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

We enjoyed a relaxed breakfast.



... with this Yellow-Bellied Greenbul very interested in what we were having there. It´s interesting how some birds become so very bold around humans and others would never dare to come close.



We went on another game drive, trying to find the Lions or the Dogs, but without success. Unfortunately I was too lazy to take any notes this safari, but as I remember there is a small pride (about five or six I believe?) with a very handsome male lion. The pack of dogs is also not very big, less than 10.



Brown-Hooded Kingfisher

We saw a few Zebras and Impalas, plus a few Kudus running off, nothing particularly noteworthy.







But it did not matter all too much. Our stay at Kanga had been so beautiful in a very relaxed way, that this was quite fitting somehow, and we just enjoyed this beautiful day.



And on slow drives you really notice how good a guide Doug is. He knows when there´s absolutely no need to say anything, when just to shup up, and let his guests enjoy. But when there´s not too much around he will tell you all kind of interesting stuff, and with him I don´t mean interesting in the "that´s the polite way to talk about guides talking about trees and stuff" way but really interesting. I wish I had had a biology teacher like that, I was really impressed with his knowledge down to a cellular level.



To keep us occupied, he even showed us fun ways to take tree pictures.



So our time at Kanga came to an end, we had packed our stuff already before leaving the tent in the morning and were ready to leave. But not without another good 30 minutes at the waterhole, it simply is too beautiful there.









This nice little Bushbuck was our last sighting, and then it was a lot of Good Byes with camp staff.





Really loved Kanga Camp, it´s the perfect waterhole camp in such a beautiful setting, such a contrast to the harsh environment all around it. Just one caveat for anybody interested, from what I´ve been told it´s a great place in the dry season, best in the late (very) dry season. Which makes sense of course, with water around everywhere there´d be no need for animals to come to the waterhole, and then it would probably be much less interesting.

 

But now, as Doug would put it, no more softie stuff in biggie tents and sitting around on wooden decks - let´s get real, let´s get to Chitake!

[michael-ibk]

The butchers shop is simply not tempting me at all, the Dog on the bitumen is just all wrong, the Lizard eating the Scorpion..brrr, and the place looks like a bushfire has razed it to the ground, what a great collection of photos. Wow, that Camp looks nice.

 

@@elefromoz

 

Well, at least you like the camp. I´ll keep working on tempting you.

 

What a great run you had up to Mana, wild dogs you lucky devil. That's a great capture of the broad billed roller, I failed miserably in my attempt to get them.

 

Thanks, Andy, that really was a lucky shot just after arriving, they are so very fast! I tried to get pics of them later at Kanga for at least 30 minutes, and again at Chitake but did not manage one usable click.

 

@@SafariChick, not only are you invited to join Michael, but I'm looking at a late Sept/early Oct return to MP for canoe again and some walking, hopefully with Doug. You're invited to join me too. Nothing set in stone yet. The invitation extends to other ST members. I won't use any more of the Mana Magic and Hwange HIghlights report as an invitation and will attend to this in a separate thread, but wanted to respond.

 

Excellent report!

 

 

Many thanks, Lynn! And feel free to use this report, and let me advertise you - go with Lynn, everybody, she´s the best travel companion one could wish for!

 

 

Michael

The cheetah in water photograph is exceptional. I understand it's rare to even see cheetahs in Mana. You had amazing sightings. Thanks for posting this report.

 

Thanks, @@AKR1 - the cheetah is from Hwange though. But a lucky find even there.

 

All wonderful @@michael-ibk. Really enjoying this. Love Kanga water hole. You got some fabulous shots, particularly the leopards drinking. Good spot-lighting and camera work!

 

Thanks, Linda. I was glad I had brought a tripod (which was not too easy with the luggage limitations, but I just left my underwear ), very useful at Kanga, and most so at night.