Since our lock down in Zimbabwe has eased and COVID vaccines made available, Woody and I were keen to start getting out and about more. So the long Independence weekend in April was the perfect excuse to do so. We had been invited back to Camp Mana to see the new and improved camp set-up and we decided to take them up on the offer, since our last visit was in 2018.
We had not been on the road from Mkuti to Chirundu since the road works, to turn the section from Marongora to the Mana Pools turn off into a double lane down the escarpment, had been completed. This stretch of the road used to be an absolute nightmare, with so many potholes that caused many bad accidents, usually between the trucks which use this road to get to the Chirundu border post. Gosh – what a pleasure this section is now! We were very impressed and can only hope that one day the entire road from the capital to the border will be done.
The dirt road is, sadly, not in great shape, with a lot of corrugations, so it did take us longer than expected to get into camp, but this was actually ideal as it gave us a reason to go slowly and have a good game drive in. After our long drive, Steve the professional guide let us settle and relax, while the staff prepared cold sundowners and a lovely dinner for us. It was absolute bliss to fall asleep to the sounds of hyenas calling and hippos snorting.
The next morning Steve wanted to take us on a game walk not very far from camp. Knowing we are keen birders, he had spotted what he thought might a the rare Spotted or Striped Crake a week or so before we arrived and hoped it would still be there so we could see it. There is nothing that gives you quite as much of an adrenaline rush as walking through pretty thick bush after having seen very fresh buffalo droppings! I most certainly had my eyes out on stalks!
We got to the waterhole and lo and behold after standing quietly for a while we spotted the skittish crake! And not one, but 3! Sadly they are very shy and we were not able to get close enough to get a decent picture, but we were able to finally identify them as the migrant Striped Crake. It was well worth the walk and while waiting for the crakes to appear we had the pleasure of watching a herd of elephants come down to drink too.
Back at camp we had a relaxing rest of our day, just chilling and catching up, we always say the nice thing about Camp Mana is that there is a flood plain in front of the camp, which means you literally don’t have to go anywhere to see a multitude of different animals wander past, through the course of the day.
Little did we know of the excitement to come that evening! Just after sunset, 2 of the staff had gone to our tent to fill the shower with hot water (the tent is only about 20meters from the main dining area.) Just as they came to let us know the shower was ready they heard a noise and when they shone their torches back the way they had just come from our tent – we all saw a multitude of eyes reflecting back to us! Out of the dark walked a pride of 7 lions! They casually walked straight past us while we all kept very still and quiet. My word – talk about something to get the heart racing! It was fantastic to see, as the old resident lioness who used to hang out near Camp Mana had passed away the previous year, so Steve was very pleased to have this pride arrive.
The following day we were in no rush to get home and took a leisurely drive to Mana Mouth, and then continued on, seeing the regular game: impala, warthogs, elephants and zebra on the way. We really take pride in our old 1995 Toyota short wheel base cruiser, so you can imagine our indignation when we had a Toyota Vitz overtake us on the dirt road and completely leave us in the dust! Something we’ll never forget – especially poor Woody and his ego!
Mana Pools, and in particular Camp Mana are definitely worth the visit, we don’t do it often enough and we really should. So for those of you humming and ha-ing about it – just do it! Get out there! You never regret the places you go, only the ones you don’t!
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