Ivory Lodge is located close to the air strip in the 60,000 acre Dete vlei, (1) a private reserve bordering the northeastern portion of Hwange. Situated in dense vegetation, Ivory Lodge was unlike any other place in which Irene and I had stayed in Africa prior to that time. And it had only improved on my return visit in 1997. Normally, I would not include a lodge in its separate chapter. However, the game viewing at this place was so unique it stands on its own.

The Lodge itself is made mostly from thatch, and houses a dining area and bar/lounge. The guest facilities are described as tree houses, although in reality they are elevated buildings, covered with a thatch roof and enclosed on three sides. The front wall rises only several feet, with the remainder being open to the surroundings. At night, we drew the drapes across the front of the tree house, which is all that separated us from whatever was outside. A small balcony is in front at the top of the stairs. An enclosed toilet and shower are situated at the bottom of the steps. Inside each tree house is a large bed and a night stand or two. Electricity was supplied by a generator. However, this generator ran all night. Since August was at the end of winter, the night temperatures would fall below freezing (although it was not as cold on my second trip). The walls were not insulated as they were made from mere planks of wood, and the front of the rooms were generally open to the elements. This resulted in the rooms being cold for sleeping. However, our hosts had supplied us all with some very heavy covers, and each bed was equipped with an electric heating blanket. Overall, the accommodations were excellent.

There were ten tree houses at the Lodge, and Irene and I occupied the one furthest from the main building during our first trip. The trail to our facility wound through the trees and bushes and made for some interesting walks at night. We found ourselves listening for noises to alert us to the presence of animals lurking nearby. It was not uncommon for us to see several antelope on the trail. And one evening we turned around and returned to the main lodge since several elephants had decided to browse along the trail, effectively blocking our path. We figured that if they wanted to eat, we might as well have another drink. This seemed a better alternative than trying to persuade them to move on.

The Lodge itself was a wonderful place from which to view animals. A multitude of colorful birds flew in and out of the feeders, and small lizards scurried through the rocks and brush, providing hours of entertainment. In addition, Ivory Lodge boasted an artificial waterhole and mineral lick which attracted a large number of animals. Viewing the animals from a blind some 100 feet or so from the waterhole was a remarkable experience. (2) I spent many hours in this blind during both stays. The waterhole was surrounded on three sides by thick vegetation, with the area in front of the blind having been cleared. The animals would approach from several directions, and watching the approaches was just as interesting as watching the animals drinking and interacting with the other animals present.

From time to time, flocks of helmeted guinea fowl would waddle in for a drink, almost in single file. Herds of impala would also venture in and line up next to each other to drink. Usually the herd would be preceded by the male, who would scour the area for predators. If he was satisfied, he would begin to drink and the females and young would then join him. The animals would only drink for a short period of time before they would jerk their heads up to look around, always on the alert for some stalking animal.

Other visitors to the waterhole included bushbuck, warthogs, baboons and steenbok. Also in attendance were sable antelope and greater kudu. This was the first time I had seen sable. A magnificent antelope, it is easily recognized by its large size and its black coat, white underbelly and white markings on its face. Both males and females sport horns, but the horns of the males are much more impressive, being large and curved backwards. Several herds of sable antelope wandered into the waterhole at Ivory Lodge. I recall seeing many females in the group as well as adolescents and young males, but I do not recall seeing adult males with the herds, at least on most occasions. Usually the adult males came to this waterhole individually or with other males. This leads me to believe that sable have a matriarchal society, but I am not sure of this.

The kudu were magnificent animals also. The males have distinctive long spiraling horns, which may be as impressive a set of horns as I have ever seen. The kudu were similar to the sable antelope in that I do not recall adult males traveling with a herd. Rather, the herd usually consisted of females and young, and the adult males were usually seen alone or in small gatherings of other adult male kudu.

The other animal we saw in great number at the waterhole was the elephant. They came to drink in small herds and large, and they came in all sizes and ages. They would drink, bathe and wallow in the mud, as well as cover themselves with dust. Whenever they approached, the other animals at the waterhole, if any, would scatter. Watching these massive animals interact was quite interesting. There were males among many of the herds that we saw in Zimbabwe. I recall being told on our safari to Tanzania that elephant herds were matriarchal, and that mature males were driven from the herd and only allowed back in during mating season. This did not seem to be the case with the herds in Hwange. Many adult males were interspersed throughout the herds. I remember one male, obviously very excited, chasing an unwilling female. She screamed and ran in circles, the male screaming and in hot pursuit. They soon disappeared into the trees behind the waterhole, and we never did find out if he was successful in his endeavors.

By the time I returned in 1997, Ivory Lodge’s waterhole had gained greater acceptance from animals in the area. On our first night, a pride of 7 lions had settled in to rest and did not leave for several hours. On our second full day, I opted to stay behind and not go on an all day drive. While the other members of our group had a good number of sightings, their game drive was not nearly as successful as my day spent in the hide. During the day I recorded an egyptian goose, 2 pied crows, a black backed jackal, 2 lilac-breasted rollers, 146 elephants, 3 gray lories, 45 kudu, 7 bushbuck, 2 tawny eagles, 30 impala, 5 warthogs, a bateleur eagle, a yellow-billed kite, 2 sables, 82 baboons, 6 vervet monkeys and a white backed vulture.

Another interesting sighting that Irene and I experienced at Ivory Lodge was from the balcony of our tree house. One afternoon after lunch, we were sitting on the balcony of our tree house alone, just generally enjoying the scenery. After awhile, we noticed some baboons passing our tree house some fifty feet away. At first there were just a few of them, but they just kept coming in greater numbers. This continued for more than thirty minutes, and between us, we counted over 100 of the creatures from our balcony.

For our game drives into the Park, we were required to travel around fifteen miles just to reach the main gate. This path took us down sand roads to a paved highway, then past several open fields, across a railroad track and then to the Park. For our morning drives, we would attempt to arrive as the Park opened, and would not leave from the late afternoon/evening drives until around closing time. This meant that part of our drives were in the dark, which opened up entirely new varieties of animals to see.

The early morning drive from Ivory Lodge was referred to as the “dawn patrol”. The goal was to arrive at the main gate of the Park at the time the Park first opened. This required an early morning wake-up call and lots of hot coffee, not only for the caffeine but also to ward off the chill of the night air since temperatures dropped below freezing while we were there. Those who ventured out bundled up warmly, dressing in as many layers as we could. Once we climbed into the open-air vehicles, our drivers would give us heavy wool blankets to cover ourselves for the drive in since the wind chill was piercing and since we would travel as fast as we safely could. This goal was usually achieved since our trucks were usually the first vehicles in line waiting for the gates to rise at main camp. By the time of my second trip, ownership of Ivory Lodge had changed, taken over by a large international operator of hotels and lodges. Gone were the white drivers we found in 1994, replaced by black drivers who were still learning their trade. In addition, the “dawn patrol” had also changed. While we still left early, there no longer was a mad dash to the Park. Rather, there was a leisure game drive, arriving in the Park well after the gates had opened for the day.

Changes had occurred in Zimbabwe between our first trip in 1994 and my second trip in 1997, the change in ownership of Ivory Lodge being one of them. The Zimbabwe Government apparently was trying to move safari operations out of the hands of white Zimbabweans and into the hands of the black citizens or international operators. With the larger operators came significant changes, some of which were apparent at Ivory. During our first trip, it was not uncommon to find animals on the paths at night. However, on my second trip, this could not happen, at least with respect to large mammals, since the Camp had been encircled by an electric wire to keep the animals out, an action apparently taken to comply with insurance requirements. (3) The Government was also encouraging operators to replace their white drivers with black drivers. Since blacks generally had not been drivers in the past, they were not as experienced as their predecessors and were still in the process of learning what was required to be a good game driver (including what was good lighting and good angles for photography). The changes being brought by larger operators ultimately will detract from some of the more interesting safari experiences. As to the change in drivers, once they gain the needed experience, they will be as proficient as their counterparts in Tanzania.

Footnotes
(1) A “Vlei” is a valley.
(2) Prior to my return in 1997, the blind had been moved around 20 feet closer to the waterhole and enlarged.
(3) Although not quite as successful as some would hope it seems. We were told of the leopard who had adopted the Camp as his territory and he continued to walk through the Lodge, the electric fence notwithstanding.