Hi all,
Before I start with my report, just wanted to thank all of you for your advise during the planning, especially for advising to spend more time in Mana than in Hwange!
I am not much of a writer so will stick to the highlights, some photos and general impressions.
Itinerary –
Our trip was organised by Bill at The Wild Source. All the transfers and flights worked on time and exactly as planned.
London-J’burg-Vic Falls
Road transfer from Vic Falls to The Hide
4 nights The Hide
Flight from Hwange airport to Kanga airstrip (Safari Logistics)
3 nights Kanga Bush Camp
Road transfer to Goliath
4 nights Goliath
Flight from Mana airstrip to Vic Falls (Safari Logistics)
1 night Illala Lodge
Vic Falls – J’burg - London
Hwange – Frankly, we were very disappointed with Hwange. I suspect a lot of this was due to our experience at The Hide (see below) but overall, we didn’t see much except for large herds of elephants who come to drink at the waterhole at The Hide. We saw large herds of roan and sable. On our last day we saw a pride of lions who had just feasted on a baby elephant near the Main Camp.
The Hide – I had read good reviews of this camp and hence decided to go here over Somalisa. That was the worst decision we made on this trip (another bad decision was the dinner at The Boma!!). The camp is more like a hotel, can host up to 32 guests. The waterhole is amazing and the tents are comfortable. On our first morning, we found out that the morning activity (walk or a drive) ends at 8 am when the guests are supposed to return to the camp for the breakfast. They head out again around 9-9.30 am and stay out until 1.30 pm. We requested to miss the breakfast and stay out and come back before 1.30 pm. This was flatly refused. Every morning from around 11.30 am, we heard the guides mentioning how we can’t see anything as all the animals ‘have gone under the shade’. The management still insists on wasting an hour and a half of prime viewing time for breakfast! The fellow guests we met here were mainly there just for a quick safari experience while visiting Vic Falls. As a result, most guests were happy to miss out on many activities and were not interested in anything that was not a lion or an elephant. Guiding at The Hide is mediocre at best and my advise to anyone planning a visit to this camp is to avoid it and look at other options in Hwange if you must visit the park.
A train line runs very close to the camp and you can hear them at least twice per night. On out last night, they were expecting a group of tourists arriving on the Rovos (sp?) Train and we heard a diesel engine going the whole night. Certainly not what one expects on safari. We had booked to spend one night in their tree house (Dove’s Nest). It is a beautifully built place. However, the atmosphere was spoilt when we noticed that we could actually hear people talking and laughing at the main camp! The train line runs even closer to the Dove’s Nest than the main camp.
I am so glad that I took your advice and booked more nights in Mana than in Hwange.
Kanga Camp –It is a lovely camp situated around the Kanga Pan. Very comfortable yet simple tents with open air showers and toilets, all overlooking the waterhole. Great to shower while keeping an eye on ellies! The camp has very informal atmosphere, we really liked it. The game drives were not very productive due to very thick bush but you really don’t need to go on game drives when all the animals come to see you J. Elephants could be seen on the pan any time of the day or night, small families with very young babies, bulls. That led to some very interesting interactions at the remaining water supply.
On our second morning, while having the morning coffee on the communal deck, a pack of wild dogs came running to the pan to drink. What a start to the day! As the dogs were leaving, a family of guests also left on their game drive and saw the dogs hunt and kill an impala barely 200 meters from the camp. We were still finishing our coffee when the dogs returned for another drink, all with bloody mouths!!
The final evening at the camp was extra special – We decided to miss the drive and spend the evening on the deck. Just after the sunset, there were four of us (2 guests from the US, my husband and I) and the camp manager, Tammy, enjoying sundowners, when suddenly 2 dogs chased a female kudu into camp. They chased her around the communal area. The kudu came rushing through the camp and fell into the plunge pool. Tammy, my husband and a couple of the kitchen staff rushed to get her out of the pool. She struggled out and ran towards the thick bush at the back of the camp, to be again followed by the dogs. They chased her a couple of times around the deck area, she ran in and fell into the pool for the second time. This time it took a lot more effort to get her out as she was exhausted by now. We managed to get her out. However, the dogs were on their guard and picked up the chase as soon as she was out of the pool. Finally, they caught her about 10 meters from our tent! All this happened so quickly and so unexpectedly, no photos L. My husband badly hurt his back while trying to pull the kudu out and suffered throughout the rest of the trip. Apparently, this has happened before with an impala. There was no one around to rescue the impala from the pool straight away and apparently the dogs didn’t leave until the impala was helped out, almost half an hour later.
While we were recovering from the adrenaline rush, a leopard came to drink! Half an hour later, our dinner was interrupted by another leopard!!!
We loved the camp, the people, the atmosphere and of course, the pan.
Goliath Camp – We had read and heard a lot about Stretch Ferreira and he was the reason we chose Goliath. The camp is a semi-permanent camp. It has got a permanent location but is taken apart at the end of the season and rebuilt in April. The camp itself is very simple, Meru tents on the ground in a Ebony grove by the river with lovely views towards Zambia.
Morning 1 – Followed 3 lions on foot (Granny, her daughter and a cub). This was followed by a walk amongst some bull elephants and resulted in watching Boswell (one of Stretch’s favourite bulls) standing up on his two feet and sitting down about 10 feet away from a couple of young bulls feeding on acacia pods. I thought this was way too close! Flo, Stretch’s partner did warn me that we couldn’t go any nearer as these ellies were not too relaxed and that I should wait until Stretch finds his ‘friends’! We then heard about 2 male lions found by another guide from the camp and rushed to meet them, spent 15-20 minutes with them from about 20 meters away on foot.
Morning 2 – Stretch found one of his old ‘friends’, a massive bull elephant, ‘Old Vic’. I must confess here that I am absolutely petrified of elephants, of any size and shape. We have had a few hair rising encounters on previous trips and as a result, my heart rate goes through the roof as soon as I see any elephant, even if it is 100 meters away. I had told Stretch about this. His response was to hold my hand and to lead me to Old Vic ahead of everyone else. It was very hard not to run away!! Old Vic was feeding along with a younger bull. We sat on a termite mound, completely motionless, me with fear and others in awe! Old Vic turned around as soon as he heard Stretch’s voice. Stretch kept talking to him in a very calm, soothing voice. He calmed down and went back to feeding on the pods. Over the next 10-15 minutes, as I sat completely unable to move even a muscle of my body, Old Vic came closer and closer until finally when his trunk was no more than 3-4 inches away from my husband’s feet who was sitting next to me. We were sitting literally at the feet of this giant. He soon ran out of pods and decided to move away. It took me a few more minutes to stand up and realise just what had happened. I was expecting this encounter it to be scary but what I wasn’t prepared for was how incredibly emotional it was! I think the fear was over when he chose to come to us. There was no escape plan, no plan B. I don’t know if we could have done anything if he had decided to take offence. I will never be able to describe this experience in words. It was extremely humbling to realise how much damage this giant was capable of and still chooses not to. I wish I had better command of words to express my feelings. I was shocked that my fear had turned into such an emotional experience over 10-15 minutes.
Evening 2 – Stretch had found a pride of lions after tracking the whole morning. We walked and then crawled to within 20 meters of 2 male lions and then to 8 lionesses and sub-adults. It was incredible how they completely ignored us. However, the mood started to change just before the sunset and it was time to retreat.
Morning 3 – I could hear the footsteps of someone coming towards our tent for the wake up call at 5 am. The next moment, there is a huge roar, from what seemed like just next to me! The guides later showed where it had come from – two male lions were lying about 15 feet from our beds! Although we have heard roars before from a close distance, this was two lions roaring together and you could feel the sound reverberating through the tent and your stomach!!
The morning only got better. Within the next 5 minutes, the guide came running back saying the lions had killed a warthog just behind the tents. Off we go in our pyjamas! There were those 2 males on the warthog kill feeding and others just waiting for their turn. The ‘others’ included 2 cute little cubs (which the guides were seeing for the first time), 3 sub-adult males and 6 lionesses. They spent the entire morning around the camp.
Morning 4 – we heard the lions roaring the entire night near the BBC campsite. I bet no one could sleep at that camp site! Stretch was on a mission to find the dogs for us. After over 2 hours of tracking, he found them in the dry river bed in Nyamatusi wilderness area. My husband was still suffering from the kudu rescue mission and hence had to stay back while we went crawling and then literally sliding on our tummies towards the dogs. It was amazing to watch them from such a close distance. We may have crossed their comfort zone at a certain point when we got a couple of growls and then they moved on. Amazing!
Goliath is a beautiful, simple rustic camp yet very comfortable. Along with Stretch, there are 3 junior guides, 2 qualified for walking and one for canoeing. The camp offers a variety of activities. We really liked to camp but Stretch’s guiding style is not everyone’s cup of tea.
General observations –- The country is just about finding its feet after the mess that Mugabe has created. Ordinary people have had their livelihoods and savings wiped out. People are warm and friendly and need tourists to go there and spend money. There is still fear of the future so one needs to
keep an eye on political developments. However, the safari areas should remain largely unaffected. The logistics ops are still a bit rough round the edges but dependable
and should remain that way as long as the US dollar is the working currency there.
- Personally, we think LZNP is more beautiful. Mana seemed a lot busier with a large number of self-drive vehicles. We were there end August-early Sep. Not sure if this is the case earlier or later in the season.
- Thanks for your advise re Tsetses. We were prepared this time with a ‘pen’, anti-histamine tablets and cream as well as sprays. We were bitten dozens of times, especially around Kanga but also in some areas near the river e.g. Nyamatusi Wilderness area. The reaction wasn’t too bad this time.
- It was quite shocking to see self-drivers walking casually up to the lions or elephants. It looked dangerous. We were told about numerous incidents where tourists had been fatally injured, mostly by elephant cows. I appreciate that Mana is the only park where this is allowed. I would like to hear the views of the experienced people here who had been to Mana many times and who know the park far better. As evident from mine and so many other reports, there are a number of very experienced guides who led their guests very close to these animals. A number of these activities are visible to the self-drive tourists. I was wondering if that has an impact on the tourists, giving a false sense of confidence/security and encourages them to take on similar walks themselves. What do you experts think?
MATT - I am not sure how to move this topic under 'Trip Reports'.Could you please help?
Also, couldn't post photos from my laptop (without posting them first on a website).
