🙂 SUPERB! FANTASTIC! AMAZING! Scaring the lions on foot in front of us!
🙁 Hairy moment between buffalo and an elephant and her calf on foot!
Reggie drove us the circa 2.5hour trip to Mana Pools Shoreline… the scenery changes to that of a forest – stunning. We stopped at a stunning baobab.
Mana Pools is an almost 500,000 acre national park and one of the most iconic in all of Africa. A photographer’s paradise, its beautiful setting of endless Ana forests along the Zambezi River provides a scenic backdrop for a huge variety of wildlife that congregate here in the dry season.
As we drove through the forest we saw three different elephant calves with broken legs – a rather strange phenomenon?! Reggie dropped us at the Mana Pools official offices where we met our Guide Karl – what a legend – a mini Jaco in the making – cannot recommend him highly enough – so knowledgeable and we had such a good laugh too. He is freelance but was contracted via Natureways who also provide canoeing down the Zambezi – the other campers did this activity and loved it – we need to come back to do it too! We could have done 3 nights but we opted for 2 and a 1 night stay at another ABC Lodge called Nyamatusi. The camps are mobile and are incredibly well set up and the food was great – again, highly recommended!
After meeting at the office we headed to LOng Pool where a number of crocs were basking in the sun.
Chissasiko Pool was stunning. An elephant wallowed accompanied by egrests eating the lush vegetation covering the pool.
In the background buffalo were doing much of the same
A curious hippo popped up to take a look, and then another … Simply splendid!
Karl pointed out the difference between the male and female yellow billed stork – the female has a yellow ring around the pupil and the male eye is black. The male also has yellow wattles.
We drove on to camp where we met our fellow guests who were canoeing. They teased us we we had been so busy talking that we had completely failed to spot two male lions at the side of the road! Our mobile camp was very comfortable with bucket showers which were warmed prior to us showering. Karl showed us the apple ringed acacia seed – you can see where it got its name from!
We enjoyed a tasty lunch with a beer and a glass of wine and then headed off for our afternoon walk, eager with anticipation and hoping that we would find the legendary Boswell!
We had not ventured very far at all, when Karl spotted him – and quite close to the road so we did not even have to walk that far – what a stroke of luck! He was with his two askaris called Grumpy (with a collar) and Ed – they did not seem at all bothered by our presence.
All the larger tuskers are collared in an effort to deter poaching. It was not long before Boswell obliged and put on a fine show for us! He stood on his hind legs several times reaching for the uppermost branches, while his two askaris waited patiently for him to leave them the scraps! We spent about 2 hours with them – just ourselves enjoying this wonderful and unique behaviour. AMAZING.
At one point he broke and ENORMOUS branch which was incredibly high – like it was a toothpick! The askaris kept approaching him and rumbling begging for leftovers but he was having none of it and refused to share this juicy branch! After the moved off we lifted the really heavy branch and noted the soggy wood still covered in his saliva… what a wonderful experience!
Some more pics…
I think he knew he was putting on a show!
What a privilege to witness this all to our selves… Boswell had developed an infection on his tail and it was treated a number of years ago, hence why part of it is now missing.
The perfect way to get the best leaves!
What a treat! THIS is the joy that is Mana Pools….
We left him to it feeling utterly overjoyed! Even Karl was beside himself! A we were leaving another Guide called Stretch Ferreira arrived and who has been a professional in the area for over 30 years – Karl told us he was a little bit crazy but that the elephants knew and recognised him so you can get so close to the bulls that you can touch them – he asked whether we’d like this opportunity – I would have LOVED it but was adamant that it was too dangerous … next time!
We headed off for a celebratory sunset dink … we felt very pleased and enjoyed every sip!
Back at camp we had a quick warm shower and enjoyed dinner with our fellow campers who had also enjoyed a very successful afternoon on the waters of the Zambezi navigating elephants, hippos and crocodiles!! Verity was from the UK and Andreas was Australian. Richard, Sue and their daughter were from New Zealand. Mark and Manu were their canoe guides. It was really a lovely sociable group.
We had an early night and headed to bed after a drink around the campfire. We soon fell asleep to the roar of lions and cackle of hyenas. We were up at 05h30 and it was a stunning sunrise which just got better and better. Some delicious oat porrdige
We drove off to the spot where we were to start our walk. WE found an old hippo skull. YOu could see how worn the molars were. A Hamerkop was fishing.
Some hyena poo…
Karl showed us evidence of a hippo – who had dropped some grass
There were plenty of Myers parrots
We went to the forest in the hope of capturing the blue mist… but the colours were not really complying! We did however find Boswell again!
We were really pleased as the canoers were also there and they had been hoping for a sighting of Boswell. Paul tried to hide behind an ant mound to take photos … lol … as a point of interest all the termite mounds at Mana Pools are west facing
Boswell was not in the mood to stand on his hind legs so we left them and his 6 elephant friends in peace and continued with our walk … we startled a lioness and a young sub adult male lion who were resting under a tree in front of us and they shot off in shock! Not the best photos as they ran off too quickly … and you can see peace returned almost immediately as the general game relaxed again and started feeding. You can see the tree under which they were sleeping, probably 50 yards ahead of us when we startled them!
We walked on and found another hippo skull – this time with tusks in tact – you can see why they are so dangerous!
The trees are also very interesting. Wild mango (80-100 years old!) ! There is also a mistletoe which is tree specific and eventually kills the host tree. It is pollinated by birds. We also found evidence of the pin cushion wood borer.
We found the remnants of a Tonga spear and some pottery left bt people who had lived here in years gone by.
The red-billed quelea birds are found in huge flocks. These migratory birds are a type of weaver and weigh only 15g-25g but can do untold damage to farmers crops. They are referred to as Africa’s feathered locust. The usual pest-control measures are spraying or detonating fire-bombs in the enormous colonies during the night but this has proven to be largely unsuccessful as they are migratory and simply move on to next food source while breeding. The total post-breeding population sometimes peaking at an estimated 1.5 billion individuals. It feeds in huge flocks of millions of individuals, with birds that run out of food at the rear flying over the entire group to a fresh feeding zone at the front, creating an image of a rolling cloud. They are quite amazing to witness and make a wooshing sound as they pass by.
As we walked on, we had a close encounter with a Cow and a small calf! We had not seen her and she was circling past a large termite mound which we hastily scrambled up – but it was really not high enough to give us clearance. Fortunately, when Karl calmly tolder her to move on, she obeyed! Phew. Close call!
We stopped at the river for a well earned lunch followed by a nap in the vehicle as ellies and the canoers passed quietly by next to us.
WE had enjoyed a good 10.4KM walk – so rewarding!
It was time to enjoy a sundowner after our little afternoon nap! Divine.
The mobile camp had changed location and we arrived just in time for a shower and to join everyone for another delicious meal. It was a bright full moon! The sound of lions could be heard across the river.
We arose to another beautiful dawn chorus. We left at first light and did not disturb the others.
We were rewarded with some nice sightings. A water buck, jackal and a hyena and cub… gorgeous.
We parked the vehicle and set off on foot. Think we may jut almost have captured the blues of the misty forest … we spotted a gymnogene (African Harrier Hawk).
Some lovely elephants and aherd of buffalo.
We were heading back to the car when it just got better – this is Boris!
I loved this light from my camera!
What a high to end on … But there was a littlemore to come!
Karl pointed out the carpel spurs on the white crowned lapwing which the males use when fighting – vicicous!!
We enjoyed a final coffee next to an ellie enjoying a drink before heading back to camp to say farewell to the rest of the guys. What a MAGNIFICENT time we had enjoyed – we will most certainly do this again! Thank you Karl and the Natureways Team!
Go to: Zimbabwe
