JamesVarden – WANDER OUR WORLD

Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from Iganyana tented Camp at Hwange National Park, Matabeleland in Northern Zimbabwe. I am on leave for some days and have the possibility to reunite with Ride Zimbabwe, for whom I have worked for 3 months back in 2019.

James Varden from Ride Zimbabwe leading us through the bush

Early morning, we took the game drive vehicle once more to head out and find the buffaloes as well as hopefully the lions. On our way we spotted impalas, zebras, an elephant cow and kudus.

A lonesome elephant cow enjoying the waterhole

The big herd of buffaloes was to be found at a waterhole, calmly drinking and relaxing. We spotted lots of lion and hyena tracks but no lions to be found. However we knew they must have been around, probably hiding in the bushes.

During the afternoon we went out for another lovely ride through the bush. We spotted the herd of sable antelopes between the trees and just enjoyed the sun setting in the vlei, while the fire place was lit up in camp and waited for our return.

Sunday was reserved for another conversation project, we visited the donkeys sanctuary build up in the small village of Dete by the help of MARESZim and Ride Zimbabwe. Any sick donkey of the village shall be brought to the Chief and he will then together with his son take care of the injured animals until they have recovered. The support, lots of hard work, medication, education and funding comes from the NGO, MARESZim with the support of Ride Zimbabwe. Your donation via MARESZim will save animal lives and support poorer communities in Zimbabwe.

On our way we shortly stopped at Hwange main camp to look after Nugget and Skanky, 2 horses from Ride Zimbabwe. Not far away we spotted about 6 – 7 old buffalo males. They were grazing just next to the main road.

The end of the holidays is coming closer and Monday morning started with the last ride through the vlei. We were lucky enough to see 2 secretary birds, tall birds that you will usually spot walking on the ground on the hunt for some food such as snakes, frogs, lizards and other small animals. The ride was fabulous and I enjoyed it a lot, still not wanting to believe that the 8 nights holiday in the bush will come to its end already.

Clearly for some the grass is just more interesting

The last afternoon was reserved for a game drive within Hwange National Park. When you enter these days your tires will be desinfected as well as yourself. After paying the fees you can drive through the boom and enjoy nature‘s beauty. The aim was to drive to Nyamandlovu pan that has a little hide lookout with lovely views on a waterhole. It’s an epic place for a perfect last night sundowner!

A yellow hornbill enjoying the last rays of sunshine

Unfortunately, the last day of my bush adventure had arrived and I packed my bags to hop on my transfer back to Vic Falls where I headed straight to PSMI for my COVID-19 PCR test. The results were ready within 2 hours, very efficient work. Afterwards, I enjoyed the vulture feeding at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge before I ventured off to see the mighty thundering smoke, the Vic Falls.

This time I was almost alone with the falls, due to COVID there aren’t many tourists around which makes the sighting very special and unique but of course the harder it is for the locals to keep their business up and running. It’s hard to see all the people that were depending on tourism and now have no jobs anymore. I so wish this will soon come to an end and change as yet again it’s the poorest of the poor that suffer the most! On the other side almost everyone has received their vaccine in this town and people are hopeful for the tourists to come visit their beautiful home.

Victoria Falls, always a special sighting

The last night in Zim has arrived and I enjoyed my stay at Victoria Falls Safari Club that offers beautiful views into the bush and a waterhole where the baboons like to gather. During the evening hours there was also an elephant coming for its good night drink. Thanks Zimbabwe, for yet another unforgettable, peaceful holiday. It’s always special to visit and reconnect with nature. Happy to return soon!

My newest lessons learned in Northern Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls:

Melting shoes – If you are smelling rubber at the fire place, your shoes might well be melting away already;
Sunset views – Nyamandlovu platform is an epic place to enjoy a sundowner &
Fast testing – At PSMI in Victoria Falls you can get your PCR test results within 2 hours!

Cheers to wandering the world and exploring Northern Zimbabwe – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞

Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from Iganyana tented Camp at Hwange National Park in Matabeleland, Northern Zimbabwe. I am on leave for some days and have the possibility to reunite with Ride Zimbabwe, for whom I have worked for 3 months in 2019.

Thursday was dedicated for the wire wire project from DARTWildlife Rescue where I helped to remove more than 11 kilometers in total of old telephone cable hanging around, non-functional anymore and not being taken care of by the company or the government. The work is very important to conservation as these cables get taken by poachers to make snares. And if poachers don’t take them, these cables are still a risk for animals as they get tangled up in the wire and could suffer an awful end of life.

Cables hanging too low for tall wildlife

The removal of the cables is quite hard work and takes a lot of time but it’s very valuable. We collected several kilometers, about 11,5km along the main road from Vic Falls to Bulawayo. The local telephone company will not collect the wire however they are keen to collect money for the cable that must be returned to them as they are the owner. Some things are just hard to understand for my European heart but I guess things are just working very differently in Africa and you have to p(l)ay along.

Cables to be collected from the other side of the river

Back at Iganyana Camp, I spotted some wildebeests hanging around at the waterhole along with some zebras in the fabulous golden hour light. Even a Kudu bull was making his way through the bushes in the far back before the light would fade away and give space to the star’s sprinkled sky that is so very calm and soothing. Only the occasional jackal or hyena calls disrupted the tranquility of the bush.

The next morning started with an early morning ride across the vlei. While we made our way towards the Painted Dog Conservation (PDC), we came across a huge buffalo herd grazing in the vlei. The herd was about 400-500 buffaloes. It was an epic sighting! Buffaloes watching us while we were watching them.

James from Ride Zimbabwe ensuring we are safe

The rest of the ride took us through beautiful landscapes until we arrived at the PDC. The entrance building is build with wires that were collected in the bush and formerly used as snares, it’s impressive to see it and at the same time sad to know how much snares can be found in nature. In the building, gorgeous paintings explain the story of Eye Spot the painted dog that lived in the late 90s in Hwange National Park. Unfortunately he had a tragic ending and died with his pack when he was only 4 years old. The human wildlife conflict is not easy to be solved.

The center also gives home to injured wild dogs or others that are waiting to be released into the wild. At the moment there are 5 wild dogs that shall be released into the park once the park gives its ok, while 2 other dogs, Lucky and Peanut can no longer be released into the wild as their injury would make them a too easy target.

Male wild dog waiting to be released back into the wild

Sir Prize patiently waiting for us to come back

The afternoon was quite spectacular with the buffalo herd walking in front of the camp, making their way to the waterhole in front of Safari Lodge. With the game drive vehicle we followed them and enjoyed this very special sighting for a while. There were 2 herds joining up hence we saw about 1.000 buffaloes or so. Afterwards we took a guided walk through the bush around the area of the camp to spot some birds. We even found a pearl spotted owl, a tiny little owlet up in the trees.

Dinner had to wait for us this evening as the lions were seen in the vlei and we jumped on the game vehicle another time to find them. They were following the buffaloes and we spotted them walking on the road and in the bushes. We were so lucky as we could hear and see but mainly hear the lionesses hunting the buffaloes. There was lots of trampling in the bushes, lots of hooves running around and the lionesses would appear every now and then chasing the herd. No kill was made yet. But the males also arrived and the pride was hiding and lying in the bushes, surely waiting for a next attempt. On the way back to camp we were lucky enough to spot a small spotted genet.

Advice from a lion:
Roar with confidence. Be courageous. Take frequent naps. Let your mane loose. Show your pride. Live fiercely!
unknown

My newest lessons learned at Iganyana tented Camp:

Wire Wire – antipoaching work starts in your neighborhood by removing valuable items that could be turned into snares;
Spot the birds – those little flying species are hard to spot but even harder to catch with the camera &
Follow the buffaloes – your chances are high to also find some lions around!

Cheers to wandering the world and exploring Northern Zimbabwe – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞

Schlagwort: JamesVarden

The smoke that thunders

The king and queens on the buffalo hunt