The Ultimate Safari – September 2003 We parked our Land Cruiser at the Mana West airstrip in the sizzling heat of the day, waiting for the aircraft with our guests on board. It would have made an interesting work of art had a painter been watching the herd of zebra at the bottom end of the airstrip. It was a dazzle of stripes through the mirage, alongside that were a family of warthogs on bended knee plucking out the few remaining succulents on what seemed to us as bare ground. As soon as the guests arrived we were off to the shores of the mighty Zambezi where we cracked open some cold refreshments and enjoyed a picnic lunch next to the tranquil flow of the river, with the grunt of the hippos as background music. It did not take long and we were on the river, beginning what would be a 4-day canoe safari. Our first afternoon was marked by canoeing alongside a herd of elephants feeding at the shoreline. They always seem that much bigger when one looks ten feet up from the lower level of your eighteen-foot Canadian fibreglass canoe. After our first night at Vundu, we went deeper into Mana Pools where we stopped for a two-hour walk. We looked at the intricately designed structure of the sophisticated termite mound, a number of animal’s tracks and signs, trees, birds to get an appreciation and education of our surroundings. Then we walked into a few buffalo bulls that were resting peacefully under the shade of the Natal Mahogany. They seemed oblivious to our presence, but yet they knew fully well of what and where we were. We snuck up to an Elephant bull and closely watched him, studying his body for his old scars, tattered ears and warn our feet as he walked from tree to tree in search of better foliage. There is no better way to know and experience the presence of such a gracious animal, other than to closely follow a big bull elephant on foot. Watching everything he does, listening to him breath, when he sounds his rumbling stomach, communicates with his own kind, watching him sleep on his feet, hearing the flapping of his ears against the thick skin of his body as he cools himself off. In the heat of the day, the vast expanse of the Mana shoreline stretches out as far as the eye can see, shaded by the perfectly groomed Mahoganies, which are a result of browsing pressure from animals. There are seemingly endless herds of Eland, Zebra, Waterbuck, Buffalo and Impala browsing and grazing in which ever direction one looks. We saw a number of crocodiles and hippos in and out of the water. Just as the animals did, we also took a siesta until temperatures were perfect to continue our days canoeing to Chessa where our team of staff had our camp up and running and ready to welcome us with drinks for sundowners. From there it was gin and tonics and sharing of bush stories and experiences around the campfire, sitting under the glittering veil of the stars. From the time we met our group, there was always joking and laughing, and now that we were in the camps at night with my colleague James, the laughter never seemed to stop. By the last day of our canoeing safari we had explored a good part of the shoreline of Mana Pools and walked some interesting areas seeing almost everything that the park had to offer. We even stopped at the top end of Chikwenya Island for a fishing excursion where we caught a number of fresh bream and Chessa. Our catch was enough to feed the entire camp that night. To end off our Zambezi river experience we stopped over at the elegant Chikwenya camp where I had spent some years guiding. It always felt like home to me and it’s friendly staff were always warm and friendly ensuring that all our guests too, felt they were at home. We had been looking forward to Chikwenya because of the unbeatable, well renown Tiger fishing. At the end of each day, my lungs and chest were only too happy to rest because the days were filled with great laughter and excitement. Everybody caught the Legendary Tiger Fish at least once, including those that were not at all fishermen/women. The excitement of hearing your line whistling as the fish takes your bait is so exhilarating that it would not matter whether you enjoyed fishing or not, as a matter of fact it gets addictive because we ended up doing more Tiger fishing than going out on game activities. From our fishing pontoon we still saw plenty of wildlife and even heard lions calling. At this time of year, there is always a herd of elephants to be seen bathing and drinking by the waters edge. As our last night’s treat, we had a bush dinner set up by the biggest Baobab tree I have ever seen. It was all candle lit, and under the stars, and if anyone has ever seen the unpolluted night sky, they will describe it to you as breathtaking. At Chikwenya we did as much as we could fit into our day, the mornings we walked, mid days we sat at platform hides and watched the wildlife come to the water, in the afternoons we fished and ended our days with night drives, there was never a dull moment. After a two-hour flight on a light aircraft we arrived at Makalolo where upon landing, we were welcomed by over a hundred elephants and at least as many buffalo, drinking at the water hole in front of our camp. It was a great start to our three-day visit. The whole night we could hear lions calling not to far from camp, and the next morning we set out tracking them on foot through the Kalahari Sandvelt. The tracks were as fresh as can be and we were no less than a mile away from our subjects. There was a big herd of Zebra ahead of us that split up and ran in different directions and you could hear the lions chase them through the bush. We stopped to hear the loud alarm calls of the stressed animals with the lions in their pursuit. By the time had crept close enough to the lions, they had smelt and seen us approaching and disappeared into the teak forests, always staying well ahead of us. We gave up the chase and walked back to the vehicle after some serious marching through the bush. Even not seeing the hunters but having experienced what it is like to be in hot pursuit of the big cats in the game of fare chase was exhilarating for all. We had a wood pile for a hide near the camp, that we sat in midday and watched hundreds of Elephants, Giraffe and Zebra come down to the water and drink only a few yards away from us. You could not get any closer to an animal than to sit and observe wildlife in an unobtrusive way behind the safety of a woodpile. Or last afternoon we were out on an afternoon game drive when we spotted an Elephant Bull with a wire around it’s neck. It would have picked this up in the surrounding communal lands or Developed area. Fortunately the wire snare had not dug deep into the animal, but there was a slight chance that it could with time present it with a problem. So I sent a radio message to a friend who is a guide in a nearby camp and in no time he arrived at the scene with his dart gun. We were now going to witness an elephant Bull being darted and put down for a while, help in the removal of the wire and then watch them bring it back up again. After the dart went into the elephant, it took about ten minutes before we located the animal lying down in a scrub of Terminalia bushes. We watched the entire operation and the fact that two of our guests were Vetenarians; they got so much value from it. We went and touched the big bull that had been at this time reduced to a heap. It was amazing to hear the deep breaths it took, the toughness of their skin and thick callused pads under their feet, it’s long elegant eye lashes, everything about this creature was fascinating to us. From the time it was injected to rouse it back to consciousness, it took a few minutes and slowly stood up and started walking away, confused at what had happened as no doubt it could smell the scent of humans having fiddled with it. The excitement of the afternoon did not mark the end of the day, as we drove back to the camp in the dark with our spot light, we followed some lion tracks that we found spread along one of the road junctions. We drove the vehicle with our hearts beating knowing that at any moment, there was a big chance that we would bump into them, the tracks being that fresh. About ten minutes from camp, spread out all over the road lay the pride of lions. There was about six lion cubs, two sub adults and the rest where big lionesses. We watched the cubs play with each other as they grouped together under the branches of a Combretum. The feeling of being surrounded by twelve super predators out at night was enough to give you chills down your spine, yet knowing that you were in the safety of your vehicle to which they seemed completely oblivious, except for the cubs that took more of a curious attitude. That night, we could hear their distinct roars, communicating with other lions far in the distance. Our last three days of the safari were at Camp Amalinda in Matobo, which is known as a wilderness of granite. An area of breathtaking landscapes and sceneries of beautiful hills with ancient rocks with vivid traces of a world, a culture and a people that has almost come to pass. Our first full day we hiked to Inanke Cave, which is known as Africa’s most intense and most dramatic rock art site. Inanke is a full days hike off the beaten track, through some fascinating rock formations and small rivers that flow all year round. This hike takes you through the very best landscapes of the Matobo countryside and rewards you with rock art that is incomparable to non, not only at the actual cave but all along the way during the hike. There is so much untold and unknown of the images depicted in these ancient sites, most of it told today is the result of human speculation, which is often far from accurate. The art on these rocks remains a great wealth and heritage to those whose eyes see them, they are images never to be forgotten. On our last activity in Matobo, we went into the Park for a game drive and topped up the safari with a white Rhino cow and her calf. We watched these two for at least an hour as they grazed through the open savannah. Other animals we saw where Giraffe, Zebra, Impala, warthog, bush buck, Rock Hyraxes, Ostrich and Wildebeest. Bidding farewell to our visitors was not an easy thing, as we had shared some great experiences and moments out under the African sun. Most of our visitors arrive as guests and they all leave as friends. Written by Professional Guide, Beks Ndlovu – September 2003