"I'll set you a target of 112 birds in 4 days" says Rick as we land at the Gonarezhou airstrip. We have come to this National Park in the southwest of Zimbabwe, along the Mozambique border, with our guide, Sean Hind, who was a brilliant bird-spotter when we were on safari with him in Mana Pools in 2018. That year we spotted 124 birds in a week so Rick thinks that 112 is a fair challenge.
Gonarezhou is the second largest park in Zimbabwe (5000 square kilometres) and we are exploring the area near the top, along the Runde River. The topography is very varied with hills, flood plain, mopani forest and areas of baobab forest and palms. We are much lower than northern Zimbabwe - only a few hundred metres above sea level - and this is reflected in the flora and fauna. You find giraffes here as well as a number of smaller antelopes that we rarely saw in the north. The park is a joint venture between the government and Frankfurt Zoological Society and appears very well managed. The roads are in pretty good condition and the facilities that we used were excellent. There is also a strong anti-poaching presence reflected by a population of over 30 black rhino, recently re-introduced.
Chivaliva falls on the Runde River
Baobab near the Chilojo cliffs, boulder field and hillsides
Sean is waiting to meet us as our Piper Navaho lands after a 90 minute flight from Harare. The airstrip and gate are on the north side of the park and we have a four hour drive - with frequent game and bird viewing stops - to reach our camp. The gate is on a flattish plain but we are soon climbing into hills covered in boulders, trees and bushes. Elephant and kudus graze, raptors sit on top of trees looking for their next meal and hornbills, beeeaters and rollers flit from bush to bush. Our bird count is under way!
Near the top of one hill we stop and climb out of our vehicle to join a well made sandstone path. This leads to a lookout over the spectacular Chivaliva falls. The Runde river flows over a sandstone barrier between the hills and pours through great faults in the stone to the river below. Just upstream of the falls large herds of elephant and waterbuck are grazing obliviously.
We drop down the other side of the hills and after another hour or so the Chilogo cliffs come into view. These impressive sandstone cliffs run for about 30 km and form a barrier turning the river from flowing SE to NE. They are still a long way off and it is another hour or so before we reach the river again and start passing signs for camps. There are a variety of camps managed by the Gonarezhou Camp Trust as well as a few exclusive lodges. Tented camps provide serviced tents that can be booked - drive up with your family and food and off you go. Wilderness camps are popular with trailer towing South Africans - toilets and washing facilities are available but you bring everything else. We are staying in an 'exclusive camp' which Sean has booked in advance. Chilojo bush camp has six tents and a staff of four who greet us as we arrive. Brighton is the experienced camp manager and Gorgeous is a very capable trained cook. Isaiah and Alfred provide the rest of the support. Finally we meet Alec from the park authority who is to be our assistant guide. Although still learning, he knows the park well and is a great spotter.
Chilojo bush camp - dining area and tent
We are soon back into safari routine - 5am wake up call, a spot of tea and porridge and then into the Land Cruiser as the sun is rising. The birds are singing away and the impala have survived another night without being eaten by lions. Gonarezhou is a newer park than Mana Pools, has fewer visitors and a history of conflict. We notice that the animals are more skittish and wary of humans. In particular we give the elephant a wide berth, particularly when mothers and babies are in the road - Cindy tells us of being charged by several elephant who damaged their car. Sean is happy to be very cautious.
A leopard, which Cindy has christened Nigel, has been around the camp so we are keen to spot it. We also want to see a rhino as the area where they have been introduced is nearby. In fact we are unlucky with both - the closest we get to the leopard is the photo captured by my camera trap in the middle of the night behind our tent! We do see a lot of smaller game - we have named a drop in the road near the camp Dassie Gully as we see so many dassies (Rock Hyrax) there soaking up the morning sun. We also see a number of klipspringers - very pretty small antelope that I don't think I have seen before. There are lots of squirrels and mongeese including the dwarf mongoose who seems to be less shy than the other varieties. Because of all the trees and bushes you need to look for the game but we still see big herds of huge elephant, lots of kudu and some big herds of zebra. When we cross the river and climb to some luscious green plain we find big families of giraffe. Sean explains how you can tell the males as they lose the hair on their horns (osicones) - it is not just human males that go bald on top!
Rock hyrax (dassie), Klipspringers, Dwarf Mongoose
Kudu buck, Southern Giraffe
The bird count is going well as we look for more opportunities to find new species. There are over 400 in Gonarezhou so getting a hundred shouldn't be so difficult! A causeway over the river provides a great selection of water birds like the squacco heron, open-billed stork and hammerkopf, and the birdbaths in the camp's dining area are brilliant - during one lunch we get a load of small colourful visitors. Then a real stroke of luck when Cindy goes for a loo stop behind some trees and comes back shouting "there's a big brown owl back there". We follow her back and a rare Pel's Fishing Owl flies out of a big tree and heads off to find a more peaceful spot in the distance. Learner guide Alec also has keen eyes and spots a little Pearl Spotted Owlet on a high branch - another very cute little bird.
Spotted Thick-knee, Pel's fishing owl, Red-necked Spurfowl
Pearl spotted Owlet, Speckled Mousebirds, Martial Eagle
Squacco heron, Green-winged Pitilia, Spectacled weaver
Like much of Africa, there is a serious drought in Zimbabwe. Many of the pans (lakes and ponds) have dried up and the river is lower than normal. One day we do a long drive to the northeast corner of the park where the Runde river meets the Save river at the Mozambique border - the 'confluence'. It takes a long time to get there and we are expecting great expanse of water so are a bit disappointed when we find a lot of sand and a trickle in the distance. We then head for Tembwahata pan, usually very large and full of wildlife. We find a lot of dried mud with a small pool in the middle crammed with hippos. They are probably doomed to be trapped in the mud if they can't extract themselves and move to the river. The plains are also very dry and dusty. Normally covered in grass at this time of the year they have hardly anything for the grazing animals to eat. The animals are going to have a tough time for the next couple of months until the rains arrive in November.
As we drop out of the hills approaching the main gate of the park we spot our 126th species of bird - breaking our record from Mana Pools in 2018. Very satisfying and a credit to our great guide, Sean. Despite the drought we loved our first visit to Gonarezhou. The low veldt scenery and wildlife provide quite a contrast to Mana Pools in the north which we have visited many times. The drive back to Harare is also interesting. Good, straight, empty roads take us back to the high veldt. We pass sugar plantations, farms and villages and then climb past kopjes, outcrops and granite domes. Our careful driver Lionel points out overladen private taxis and trucks carrying lithium ore to be shipped off to China. The villages are mostly comprised of small, circular huts with some smarter buildings in various states of construction. Signs for schools appear in the middle of nowhere. We also pass though some hub towns set up by Mugabe to stimulate economic growth in different parts of the country. Eventually we reach the outskirts of Harare where the traffic slows down to a crawl after a smart section of motorway. Back to York Lodge, our lovely little hotel, for a day of relaxing before setting off on the next adventure. For more photos checkout my Lightroom page.
Zebra going to drink
Sunset by the Runde river