After a rainy night at Lake Banamana we drove back to Mabote and then about 90km to Zinave National Park. It’s still a relatively new park in that they are bringing animals in, so we weren’t sure what to expect, but there was a lot to see. We camped over the river, and each morning were awakened at first light by the sounds of the hippos splashing back into the water, making their cackling calls. The mornings were cold, and mist weaved across the top of the water in the early sunlight. My friend and I started each morning with an instant coffee, a taste which I, through experience, I suppose, have come to associate with mornings in the African bush.

Coffee was followed by a game drive, twice with our friend who works in the park and once on our own. On our solo drive, we were directed down a path we came to call ‘the gauntlet’, because we were clearly following an angry herd of elephant mothers and babies. The tracks and droppings we passed were so fresh that Jay guessed the elephants were surrounding us, and had just moved off the road at our rude intrusion into their territory. Indeed, as we sat in the car, we could hear them trumpeting their anger in the trees. I can well understand, now having had a few run-ins with elephants, why they are called the ‘grey ghosts’ - they hide so well that they can be right next to you, just off the road in the thick bush and trees, and you would never know. I had never heard such trumpeting before, and it was amazing to be able to sit in the car and hear them, though we never saw them - perhaps a good thing.

We did see all other manner of animals though, from insects and birds to giraffe and zebra, and it was so nice to get out into the bush for a while. The beach is wonderful, but it’s nice to have a change of scenery.

View from the camp with our potjie pot boiling away

Hi.

Apr 22 Weekend in Zinave

Aug 6 Zinave National Park Trip 2

Apr 22 Eating Worms in the Rain on a Friday Night