Today is our last full day in camp.
Mana Pools National Park is huge. Our camp (Kanga) is in the forested region. Our drive today was to another area of the park which sits along the Zambezi River with Zambia on the other bank. It’s an all-day excursion for the two of us plus Barbara & Patrick. The drive to the river took about two hours through the forest before the landscape opens up. Along with plenty of wildlife, there are some really large baobab trees along the route so we stopped for an obligatory photo op.
For the first time we encountered safari vehicles from other camps. Some of the camps load up their touring vehicles with 6-8 clients – we picked the right company with never more than 4 per vehicle. It’s interesting how the guides all know each other and share sightings. One of Reggie’s old buddies (another guide) alerts us to a herd of Eland slightly off the path so under armed guard we moved in on foot for a closer look. The Eland is the largest member of the antelope family and are quite rare to see in this area. They are magnificent creatures revered by the early native tribes.
We stopped along the way for breakfast and are pleasantly surprised to run into the 4 girls from a few days ago. They had left Mana Pools to stay at a different safari camp in the area, it was nice to see them again.
The landscape changed dramatically as we approached the river and became more open and savannah-like with many small watering holes. Warthogs abound and are quite amusing (but fierce) critters – all covered in mud (which keeps them from getting sunburned). We also began to see Hippos, or at least the top of them as they like to stay submerged in the water. This part of the Mana Pools NP is especially noted for the elephants which stand on their hind legs to feed on fruits and branches of trees. The most famous of the local ellies is ‘Boswell’, a massive critter often photographed feeding that way. Alas, no luck – no sign of Bos or any other 2-legged feeder. Oh well.
Reggie found a great spot along the riverbank and set up a very nice picnic lunch for us. The Zambezi River is the 4th largest river in Africa and the source for Victoria Falls. The water is pristine and a great habitat for the Hippos. When we remarked to Reggie about how clean the water is, he noted is no commercial development or human population centers along the river and that is why it is so clean. After lunch we settled in to watch the river while Barbara and Patrick took a nap along the riverbank. Our ride back to the camp was leisurely with a nice Sundowner stop.
Dinner this evening was stir fry, African style. The chef set out dozens of different fillings and sauces which you select and he prepared a personal stir fry for us. Goof stuff!
Joyce regaled us with a hilarious story about the honey badgers in the area that raid the refrigerator in the common area. Apparently one of the guests had stored some sealed Biltong (think jerky) in the fridge and the honey badger broke in and stole it. Also, one night the badger decided to raid the breakfast area and helped itself to cereal and granola and made a mess of everything – Joyce described it as ‘a total disaster’. Now they have everything barricaded to keep them out. Note: we ‘borrowed the picture as they are nocturnal.
No big Mark sighting today as we were gone the whole day.