As they recover (the corrupt leader ousted via a coup), they’re fighting to improve their staggering 90% unemployment rate. For many, their cattle IS their bank account.
They are thankful for our visit and we hear this many times over. We’re certainly glad to help.
They are thankful for our visit and we hear this many times over. We’re certainly glad to help.
Whereas in Chobe, the animals were plentiful thanks to the Chobe River, which provides sufficient drinking water. Here, they have to work hard to keep the animals from migrating elsewhere.
In this particular park, Hwange National Park, there is no river. It’s the end of the rainy season and many of the watering holes are already dry.
The solution: solar-pumps which bring water up from the ground, filling some of the watering holes. The alternative, man-made watering holes.
In addition, we dined under a blanket of stars. The Milky Way and Southern Cross shining brightly in the sky. I can’t say I’ve seen either; to say the starry nights were spectacular is quite an understatement.
At night, we were treated to a lullaby of growling, then trumpeting elephants. Some nights, it lasted only a few minutes. But other nights, it lasted an hour or so as the herd warded off predators (hyena, lion) who had their eyes on the babies. The adorably, squishy little babies.
Our wake up call came in the form of baboons playing (or fighting - it’s hard to tell the difference) or a deep-throated bird with a baritone mating call.
This park was filled with underbrush; tall, golden grass (making lions difficult to spot), and thick bushes. Bushes that will lose their leaves soon as winter sets in.
At our camp, the elephants so used to guests, they approached our jeeps in order to get a closer look. The babies, three months old and younger, hiding amidst their mother’s legs. 
The water buffalo so numerous, a herd of hundreds greeted us on our arrival.
In Zimbabwe, families pay for their children to attend either a public or private school. Public school may cost one cow per three-month term compared to private school which may cost three cows per term. There are three terms in the school year. And for as devastated as the economy is, their literacy rate is 98%. They know the importance of education.
Our guides were highly educated. They are required to obtain a certification before they can take guests out.
They track the animals by their prints or by the freshness of the dung. We learned to do the same, though I stopped short of picking up the poo to inspect it.
One of our guides, a local named Paul, was extremely passionate about the animals. He runs a non-profit, D.A.R.T. (Delete. Animal. Rescue. Trust.) The organization responsible for attending to animals which are injured in poachers’ snares.
Paul darts the animal, removes the snare, doctors the wound, and ensures it can safely be returned to its family.
Similarly, if a nearby village has encountered problems with predators attacking their livestock (and thus, compromising their livelihood), they will call on Paul to ensure the animal is returned to the National Park.
Another guide, Raphael, tells of the day when Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip we’re visiting Hwange in 1991.
He drew in the elephants to the lodge by throwing out seed pods (which they love to eat). Queen Elizabeth so impressed by this animal whisperer, she asked for him specifically, to serve as her guide.
“I would like to see”, she said, “a giraffe.”
As you probably know, there's no guarantee you’ll see any animals on a game drive; in fact, on one of our dives, we scoured the bush only to find a column of ants. That and one giraffe. Not even an Impala was in sight.
Raphael, it would seem, had quite a task ahead of him.
Raphael, it would seem, had quite a task ahead of him.
It was a stroke of luck when he rounded a bend, and there stood a giraffe. Pleased, the Queen pulled her little camera from her purse, snapping pictures of the spindly-legged creature.
I’ve snapped hundreds of pictures so far this trip (and if you’ve been following, I hope you’ve enjoyed them!)
Mostly of the animals, because, you know ... safaris and all that. But the landscape is just as beautiful. The valley and savanna that’s spread in front of the camp. The sun coming up as mist rises off the watering holes.
Our bodies a bit weary from the many game drives we’ve been on so far, it’s time for something a little more ‘refreshing‘.
Victoria Falls awaits!
For more information on the work that Paul does, check out:
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