Mufambe zvakanaka, Nyama!
Oct 26th, 2007, 02:06 PM
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PS: Barbara, this old lady from down-under and safari newbie, was just great. Quote: "I will sleep in the hide and make the 03:00 to 04:00 watch - even if I look like a zombie on tomorrow's walk..." She also made all walks without slowing down, including the 20km marathon.
Oct 26th, 2007, 02:37 PM
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Nyamera -- I didn't plan to do canoeing because I'm always a little afraid of hippos (and nowadays crocs) overturning the canoe and possible photo equipment loss. However, I had to realize that Mana Pools is a pure walking and canoeing destination, there is no large road network available. So on most days Nick and I tracked down wild dogs in the morning and made canoeing in the afternoon. Highlights of canoeing: watching the channel crossing of a herd of buffalo (with perfect location and perfect light for photos); joining elephants on their way through the Zambezi (up to 10 metres close, great photos of tusks in water and snorkeling trunks); and of course, fantastic birdlife.
While we met buffalos in low water Nick told me: "If they charge we roll the canoe and hide under it..." At that moment I tried not to think about my equipment...
While we met buffalos in low water Nick told me: "If they charge we roll the canoe and hide under it..." At that moment I tried not to think about my equipment...
Oct 26th, 2007, 03:28 PM
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Welcome back Nyama,
Longest walk 20 K's! you got off lightly.
Excellent sightings and very close encounters.
It's a completely different perspective without being within the confines (protection) of the vehicle.
Yes, I've been wanting to do a safari with John Stevens.
I've canoed with James Varden too. He is great fun.
...and I could repeat Leon's safety talk word for word. I've heard it so many times.
The situation in Chiz sounds very grim.
Awaiting a detailed trip report.
Geoff.
Longest walk 20 K's! you got off lightly.
Excellent sightings and very close encounters.
It's a completely different perspective without being within the confines (protection) of the vehicle.
Yes, I've been wanting to do a safari with John Stevens.
I've canoed with James Varden too. He is great fun.
...and I could repeat Leon's safety talk word for word. I've heard it so many times.
The situation in Chiz sounds very grim.
Awaiting a detailed trip report.
Geoff.
Oct 26th, 2007, 03:43 PM
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Nyama & Geoff,
It's interesting that Leon's safety talks remain firmly etched in the memory (more so now, I guess, with poaching rife-- humans are so much more dangerous than animals). I went on only one safari with him, nearly 10 years ago, yet I remember that almost-formal little speech so clearly. It helped that I was planning a magazine article, so the words were carefully filed away in my head. When I read of 'accidents' on walking safaris (and others), I wonder how difficult it must be for clients in an emergency to follow the guide's instructions to the letter.
John
It's interesting that Leon's safety talks remain firmly etched in the memory (more so now, I guess, with poaching rife-- humans are so much more dangerous than animals). I went on only one safari with him, nearly 10 years ago, yet I remember that almost-formal little speech so clearly. It helped that I was planning a magazine article, so the words were carefully filed away in my head. When I read of 'accidents' on walking safaris (and others), I wonder how difficult it must be for clients in an emergency to follow the guide's instructions to the letter.
John
Oct 26th, 2007, 03:51 PM
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Down right swashbuckling! I think you can use that term in a non-pirate sense.
Your encounters were really thrilling. Welcome home and glad you stayed safe. Looking forward to more when you are rested.
Your encounters were really thrilling. Welcome home and glad you stayed safe. Looking forward to more when you are rested.
Oct 26th, 2007, 03:52 PM
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Nyama & John,
I asked Leon 'what should we do when we encounter poachers?' after the first time I heard the saftey talk in 1993.
I still remember his response....'You get down and stay down until I tell you to get up!'
Geoff.
I asked Leon 'what should we do when we encounter poachers?' after the first time I heard the saftey talk in 1993.
I still remember his response....'You get down and stay down until I tell you to get up!'
Geoff.
Oct 26th, 2007, 08:55 PM
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John,
This the same guide you took the bottle of fine Adelaide wine for? The perfect wine cellar story?
Hari
PS Nyama,
I'm happy you saw the last of the remaining wildlife in Zim ...... atleast whatever's leftover
This the same guide you took the bottle of fine Adelaide wine for? The perfect wine cellar story?
Hari
PS Nyama,
I'm happy you saw the last of the remaining wildlife in Zim ...... atleast whatever's leftover
Oct 26th, 2007, 09:20 PM
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Yes, Hari...I still feel guilty for not telling him what was in the carefully packed bottle. He must have been assuming it was a bottle of Scotch when he stored it under the driver's seat of the vehicle for the duration of the safari. It was fine red wine (shiraz), and I'm still not game to ask how it travelled.
John
John
Oct 27th, 2007, 10:21 PM
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Hari asked: "I'm surprised camp operators in Zim have plans to renovate camps etc etc., at the moment. Are there really many people going there? Also, i figure .... people being fussy enough to want heated plunge pools etc etc., on safari aren't really going to ignore travel warnings and the like?"
Hari -- obviously there are enough clients. 2008 will see a lot of new developments - WS will build a second camp in their Ruckomechi concession; Bushlife Safaris will upgrade Vundu Camp to a tree lodge and build a second bush camp (Nick showed me the possible sites and asked for my opinions); African Bush Camps will offer mobile safaris in the Somalisa concession; Varden Safaris will operate horse safaris in Hwange.
Travel warnings? What a joke! I never felt as safe as during this safari, and the people I met during transfers are the most friendly I ever saw. Traveling in Zim is by far more safe than in Zambia or South Africa (or certain countries on the Northern Hemisphere).
I had the big luck being the only client in camps for 13 days. So should I say thank you to all the uninformed travelers who believe every bullsh** in the media and don't know that Harare is hundreds of kilomrtres away from the main safari areas? No. All I can say: visit Zimbabwe! It's a great safari destination. AND IT'S SAFE!
Hari -- obviously there are enough clients. 2008 will see a lot of new developments - WS will build a second camp in their Ruckomechi concession; Bushlife Safaris will upgrade Vundu Camp to a tree lodge and build a second bush camp (Nick showed me the possible sites and asked for my opinions); African Bush Camps will offer mobile safaris in the Somalisa concession; Varden Safaris will operate horse safaris in Hwange.
Travel warnings? What a joke! I never felt as safe as during this safari, and the people I met during transfers are the most friendly I ever saw. Traveling in Zim is by far more safe than in Zambia or South Africa (or certain countries on the Northern Hemisphere).
I had the big luck being the only client in camps for 13 days. So should I say thank you to all the uninformed travelers who believe every bullsh** in the media and don't know that Harare is hundreds of kilomrtres away from the main safari areas? No. All I can say: visit Zimbabwe! It's a great safari destination. AND IT'S SAFE!
Oct 27th, 2007, 10:40 PM
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Read "A step into Zimbabwe" in the latest edition of Travel Africa (#40 Autumn 2007). It describes three of the places I visited during my trip. And those travelers have the same thoughts regarding safety issues.
Oct 28th, 2007, 07:07 AM
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Dennis -- This incident with the elephant cow took place at Ngweshla Pan.
We had just stopped for sundowner at a muddy waterhole when we saw an elephant cow which tried desperately to rescue her calf which got stuck in the mudd. After viewing this for some minutes and seeing that the elephant cow didn't succeed in her attempts we decided after a short discussion to rescue the calf. Since the waterhole was artificial and such mudd doesn't appear in natural waterholes, we concluded that the calf's situation was already caused by human interference and that it wouldn't be against park regulations to rescue it (park regulations forbid human interference).
We drove to the edge of the mudd pool and saw that the situation had become even worse. In her rescue attempts the cow had moved the calf's head completely under the mudd, only the tip of the calf's trunk was still seen. We scared the cow off with shouting and hand-clapping, but she came back several times and mock charged, with a lot of mudd throwing only 3 metres from the vehicle. Finally she was about 200 metres away, and Terry Anders (manager of Somalisa) jumped into the mudd pool to help the calf getting in an upright position. He succeeded, While the calf made some loud protest trumpets.
While Terry was already on its way to the vehicle, the cow, alarmed by the calf's calls, run back to the vehicle and charged, spearing the vehicle on the left side at the front. Once again, we scared the cow off with shouting. Warning shoots with a rifle weren't necessary. When all people were back in the vehicle, we started the vehicle and drove away.
Meanwhile the calf had managed to get out the vehicle and began to follow the vehicle - obviously Terry had made such a strong impression on it that it wanted to say Thank You (reports tell that such thing happens quite often). We had now the comical situation that our vehicle was driving around the waterhole, followed by the lucky calf which was followed by an angry mother. Finally the cow reached her calf, both elephants stopped, and we drove back to our sundowner place and continued drinking beer and cocktails.
It was my first experience of such kind, but I already had read enough stories about such rescue missions that I knew what to expect. I always had an eye on the cow while the other clients were all looking at Terry's rescue attempts, and I saw her coming.
I had three thoughts while the charge happend:
1. "F***, wrong lens on the camera." I just had made some shots of Terry in the mudd pool using my 100-400 with a flash. For the spearing I'd needed my 28-135 with the flash (it was already after sunset). Bad luck for the photographer.
2. "Wow! John is moving really fast." John Stevens stood outside the vehicle on the left front, and the cow was targeting at him. He's already in his sixties, but you didn't notice that when he was moving into the vehicle and on the driver's seat.
3. "How to protect my equipment?" The vehicle stood at the edge of the mudd pool, and I saw the cow already moving and overturning the vehicle into the pool. Luckily she didn't.
The next day we met the film team of Animal Planet's "Big 5 Challenge". In this reality TV show three teams of non-bush people will go head to head in search of the Big 5, each accompanied by an armed ranger for their protection but who is not allowed to help them with tracking and spotting. Our vehicle was then spot of another "Action!" sequence and the female candidate was shown the holes in the vehicle and told what happened. All she could say was "Oh my God... oh my God... oh my God...". (I nearly p*** in my trousers...)
We met these film teams several times (they stayed at The Hide) and it looks like this wildlife TV show will be the most ridiculous I've ever seen. We always had a lot of loughters when we saw these people walking around at waterholes during sundowner. Obviously none of the participants have ever been in the bush. Several people recommended that I should join the teams, but I guess I'm not stylish enough for that kind of urban entertainment...
For people who want to watch this idiocy: screening is planned in early April 2008.
We had just stopped for sundowner at a muddy waterhole when we saw an elephant cow which tried desperately to rescue her calf which got stuck in the mudd. After viewing this for some minutes and seeing that the elephant cow didn't succeed in her attempts we decided after a short discussion to rescue the calf. Since the waterhole was artificial and such mudd doesn't appear in natural waterholes, we concluded that the calf's situation was already caused by human interference and that it wouldn't be against park regulations to rescue it (park regulations forbid human interference).
We drove to the edge of the mudd pool and saw that the situation had become even worse. In her rescue attempts the cow had moved the calf's head completely under the mudd, only the tip of the calf's trunk was still seen. We scared the cow off with shouting and hand-clapping, but she came back several times and mock charged, with a lot of mudd throwing only 3 metres from the vehicle. Finally she was about 200 metres away, and Terry Anders (manager of Somalisa) jumped into the mudd pool to help the calf getting in an upright position. He succeeded, While the calf made some loud protest trumpets.
While Terry was already on its way to the vehicle, the cow, alarmed by the calf's calls, run back to the vehicle and charged, spearing the vehicle on the left side at the front. Once again, we scared the cow off with shouting. Warning shoots with a rifle weren't necessary. When all people were back in the vehicle, we started the vehicle and drove away.
Meanwhile the calf had managed to get out the vehicle and began to follow the vehicle - obviously Terry had made such a strong impression on it that it wanted to say Thank You (reports tell that such thing happens quite often). We had now the comical situation that our vehicle was driving around the waterhole, followed by the lucky calf which was followed by an angry mother. Finally the cow reached her calf, both elephants stopped, and we drove back to our sundowner place and continued drinking beer and cocktails.
It was my first experience of such kind, but I already had read enough stories about such rescue missions that I knew what to expect. I always had an eye on the cow while the other clients were all looking at Terry's rescue attempts, and I saw her coming.
I had three thoughts while the charge happend:
1. "F***, wrong lens on the camera." I just had made some shots of Terry in the mudd pool using my 100-400 with a flash. For the spearing I'd needed my 28-135 with the flash (it was already after sunset). Bad luck for the photographer.
2. "Wow! John is moving really fast." John Stevens stood outside the vehicle on the left front, and the cow was targeting at him. He's already in his sixties, but you didn't notice that when he was moving into the vehicle and on the driver's seat.
3. "How to protect my equipment?" The vehicle stood at the edge of the mudd pool, and I saw the cow already moving and overturning the vehicle into the pool. Luckily she didn't.
The next day we met the film team of Animal Planet's "Big 5 Challenge". In this reality TV show three teams of non-bush people will go head to head in search of the Big 5, each accompanied by an armed ranger for their protection but who is not allowed to help them with tracking and spotting. Our vehicle was then spot of another "Action!" sequence and the female candidate was shown the holes in the vehicle and told what happened. All she could say was "Oh my God... oh my God... oh my God...". (I nearly p*** in my trousers...)
We met these film teams several times (they stayed at The Hide) and it looks like this wildlife TV show will be the most ridiculous I've ever seen. We always had a lot of loughters when we saw these people walking around at waterholes during sundowner. Obviously none of the participants have ever been in the bush. Several people recommended that I should join the teams, but I guess I'm not stylish enough for that kind of urban entertainment...
For people who want to watch this idiocy: screening is planned in early April 2008.
Oct 28th, 2007, 07:20 AM
#36
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Hari -- I've forgotten another plunge pool destination in Zim - former WS camp Chikwenya has been refurbished and, what people told me, is now a 7-star destination. The website is www.chikwenyasafaris.com, although still under construction. (However, I guess some Fodorites won't like the operator for certain reasons...)
Btw, free your mind! Africa has so much to offer and you shouldn't always stay at the same places.
Btw, free your mind! Africa has so much to offer and you shouldn't always stay at the same places.
Oct 28th, 2007, 08:29 AM
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Nyama, what an amazing story about the elephant. I was just saying to my husband that you can travel places and see wonderful scenery, churches,museums etc., but how can the memories be anything close to what one experiences on safari.
Oct 28th, 2007, 08:50 AM
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John -- Photographer's note: the 70-300 DO was a complete waste of money. I used it only once during an early walk on Starvation Island (and made a nice shot of a white impala), but then decided that I couldn't live with the compromise. For all remaining walks I used either my standard 28-135 to document the walking safari (I guess I have good shots of clients watching black rhino and lion) or the 100-400 + 1.4x for the wild dog trackings with Nick.
Oct 28th, 2007, 08:53 AM
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nyama~did they tell you about the other elephant rescue at Somalisa? This was with Bobby(previous manager) and a baby elephant who fell into the camp pool and Bobby had to rescue it while others kept the mom at bay. Mom did some damage to the structure but baby got out. After that they put the logs in front of the pool. Agree about the Zims-very friendly and nice. I've got to go back!
