"It's walking that makes a safari in Zimbabwe unique" says John. We have spent the afternoon walking along a very dried up Zambezi from Mucheni camp to Acacia Point. First we found a tree full of carmine bee eaters then the big bull elephant, Boswell, and two of his followers. Boswell obliges the onlookers by lifting up onto his hind legs to pull down an acacia branch. As we watch him we see another group of walkers looking the other way at a lioness stalking a warthog. Suddenly she is off in a cloud of dust with another lioness close behind. They chase the warthog over the river bank where a third lion is waiting on the sand below. When we reach the bank the three ladies are tucking into a light supper, bloody noses visible in the evening light. We nervously descend the bank and sit on the grass watching these amazing creatures who are much more interested in the warthog than in us.

This was a spectacular finale to our six days in Mana Pools. We are back at Stretch Ferrera's camp enjoying sharing the experience with friends who had not been here before. The park has changed since we started coming 16 years before. There are more camps, including a couple of more fancy lodges, and someone has finally started to fix the terrible roads. Also this year there is a serious drought and the Kariba dam is virtually closed. As a result the usually wide river is reduced to narrow channels in the sand and our camp will soon have to dig a pit to collect underground water as the river dries up. However the beauty of the place has not changed, nor has the fun and friendliness of our hosts.

Boswell does his thing

Warthog for supper

Day one in Mana is almost as dramatic. All is quiet and very dry as we drive from the airstrip. We pass by Long Pool where there is a mass of water birds before meeting the other camp guests at a tea stop. After tea we find a pack of dogs resting under trees in the shade. They are remarkably relaxed and don't disappear when I crawl up close with my camera. Since David Attenborough made a film about the wild dogs in Mana these have become hugely popular so we are grateful for a quiet sighting. Driving away we spot a hyena and jackal nearby, presumably interested in the prospect of leftovers from any kills. Later in the afternoon we find the gruesome outcome of another kill as the three lionesses that we saw later are tucking into a baby zebra. Nature tooth and claw!

Wild dogs on first morning

 

Back in camp we are shocked to see how low the Zambezi is. The drought has dried up many of the pans (lakes and pools) away from the river and as a result all the animals are coming to the river. Elephant, eland and warthogs are drinking in the channels by the camp all day and many of them are using the camp as access to the river! We are particularly impressed by Eduoardo, a fine buck eland, who appears to have taken up residence in the camp.

View from camp in 2015 and same view (more or less) in 2024

Camp bar with BMX champ Hannah, Eduardo the Eland

We haven't given up on our birding after the successes in Gonarezhou in the south. We revisit Long Pool several times including a walk there from camp in a couple of hours. On our walk we have to be careful as a couple of hippos are out of the water and you really don't want to mess with them! At Long Pool the water is shallow and murky. There is not much water left for the fish so the birds are having a heyday. Loads of yellow-billed storks, herons and spoonbills are poking the water with their bills. We watch as African Skimmers glide gracefully across the water and pied kingfishers dive for fish.

Elsewhere in the park there is a fine mix of birds. On the ground guinea fowl are scurrying around, doves pecking for food and the magnificent ground hornbill struts about. Colour in the air is provided by myers parrots, bee eaters, lilian lovebirds and rollers. Perched on trees or high in the sky the raptors are searching for prey - fish eagles, batelleurs, African harrier hawks and goshawks. We scare a fish eagle off his tree and a yellow-billed kite comes and circles close above us, perhaps to see whether he can take over the perch.

African skimmer, pied kingfisher and grey heron all catching fish

Goliath heron with glossy ibis, Spoonbills and Egrets

Ground Hornbill, Yellow-billed kite, Carmine Bee Eaters

It is not just walking that makes Mana Pools so special. Stretch's tracking skills, driving around in old Land Rovers, coffee stops under a big tree by a pan are all memorable experiences. Also memorable, if you are on the receiving end, is walking up to a gentle male elephant as he is eating his breakfast. Stretch has an amazing ability to judge when this is safe and so far has not let anyone down! There are also moments that are completely unpredictable such as when we are driving back to camp after sundown and we see a group of impala barking and mobbing something on the ground. As we round some bushes we see an African Wild Cat standing in a clearing with impala all around. She is rare and beautiful and hardly a threat to an impala as they are twice her size. The cat gives us a look and then disappears back into the night.

Each time that we leave Mana we feel sad that this might be the last time that we visit this magical place. Will Stretch retire? Will the park just get too overrun with camps and visitors? Or will we not be able to afford such an expensive luxury again? I hope that we will be back one day, perhaps early in the season when the grass is green and the pans are full of water. For more photos check out my Lightroom page.

Morning coffee stop, checking lion tracks

Land Rover driving demonstration, Close encounter

African Wild Cat