Last Friday, we packed up the car and headed to Lake Banamana. Jay knew it as a bird paradise, and we planned to spend a night there checking it out before driving to Zinave National Park for the weekend. So, car fully loaded, we set off. We drove through Pembara, onto the N1, then down the dirt road turn off on the left, which I have always found funny in that it is marked with a sign for an ATM, with the small print telling you that the ATM is 129km away. After those 129 kms, we hit Mabote, where we stocked up on fuel and then set about driving the next 40 or so kms to the lake.
Candelabra tree
We stopped occasionally to ask the many cattle herders we passed if we were headed in the right direction. We had 5 languages between us - English, Portuguese, basic Xitswa, Chilapalapa, and Shona, and none would do. Communication was next to nil, and hand gestures were often met with blank stares, but we made it. As we drove down the sandy road towards the lake, an ominous black cloud began to float gently closer. Surely not, we thought. But, yes. It has been blazingly hot in Vilankulo since about November, so of course the night we decide to go camping the temperature dropped and it started pouring rain.
We looked out at the lake, nearly obscured by rain, then quickly pitched our tents and spent a wet night huddled under the guards’ shelter - a tin roof suspended over two metal shipping crates. Over the drum of the rain and the crackling of the fire, we were offered a delicacy - the dried Mopani worm. While it won’t go down as one of my top ten meals, it was interesting to try…
Dried Mopani Worm
The next morning dawned clear and bright, but we saw that there weren’t as many birds as expected, so quickly packed the car up again and prepared to drive on to Zinave.
A beautiful pan near Mabote full of water lilies