With blue skies and warmer temperatures, it looks like the winter months are finally coming to an end. After the few misty mornings we experienced in July, we are glad to be leaving the cold behind us.
Since our last update, we have had a fantastic few weeks with some of the incredible wildlife sightings, where our guests have experienced the best of what Mana Pools National Park has to offer.
The Danglemayers were guests of ours that enjoyed a full four-day canoe safari which was our first of the season. They covered the length of the park in the trip and canoed an extra day through the channel, to Chikwenya Island. The Danglemayers are true adventurers and were excited to experience real Africa, canoeing through our very own “Garden of Eden.”
Wildlife Update
A typical morning began with Barbara and James Beller, who embarked on a walking safari with Nick, and came across a pride of lions and a wild dog.
Repeat guests, Gail and Ron, enjoyed three nights at our newly upgraded Little Vundu camp where they were guided by Alex. Gail and Ron had a truly unbelievable game drive, where only a few hundred meters from camp, a pride of lions appeared, who they watched for a while and then continued to the nearest waterhole where they saw a magnificent leopard and a playful breeding herd of elephants.
Gail and Ron spent the rest of the afternoon travelling to and from the lions to the leopard and elephants, not wanting to miss a second. This is what makes Little Vundu so special, with its great location, you don’t need to go far!
A pair of cheetah have been seen on several occasions walking between camp and the route we take to the wild dog den. As there are only an estimated 15 cheetahs left in Mana Pools, this is a lucky sighting.
Elephants, Elephants, Elephants…
As we celebrated World Elephant Day on the 12th August, it seems only right to share a full update on our iconic elephants bulls.
Boswell has been seen on the western edge of the National Park, adjacent to the hunting area, and the goods news is that he has his collar on so we know that he is safe.
Fred has been seen several times standing on his back legs, but many of the bulls are in musth and hanging back in the thick bush away from the Zambezi River, attempting to court females. Musth arrived later this year due to the late rains so the breeding season was extended and we are seeing lots of new baby elephant in the herds.
Stompie is back and is as cheeky as ever, even chasing us from our lunch table where we had set up al fresco style on the Zambezi River bank.
Lastly, Harry has made his way to the floodplain and was seen to have mastered the art of standing on his back legs, joining Fred and Boswell in this unique skill.