Our first trip to Zimbabwe (and our second safari) took us first to Harare and, from there, to Victoria Falls airport where we were met by the camp operators for our camp at Zambezi National Park. (1) Our gear was quickly loaded into their three land cruiser trucks and we were off to the Park. While our driver answered the numerous questions posed by our group and pointed out items of interest on our drive, I settled into the back seat of the truck and surveyed our surroundings. It was not long before it felt that I was back on safari. The air was crisp and clean, and the sun shone brightly. Although not the acacia tree covered savannas of northern Tanzania, the countryside had a definite “other country” feel. And it was not long before we sighted animals, evidencing that we were in Africa. I watched some of the people in our group who were experiencing their first trip to Africa. Their excited reactions to the animal sightings reminded me of my first trip to Tanzania, driving to Tarangire National Park. And their excitement was contagious, affecting both the newcomers and those who were old hat to safaris, and those falling in between like Irene and I.

Zambezi National Park is actually part of Victoria Falls National Park, located as it is only twenty-three kilometers (approximately fourteen miles) upstream from Victoria Falls. The Park covers approximately 250 square miles (560 square kilometers) and extends twenty-five miles along the Zambezi River across from Zambia. It has historically been well known for its numerous sable antelope, along with other species such as kudu, waterbuck, lion, elephant, eland, giraffe and rhinos, although we did not experience a large variety of sightings in the Park during our two day stay, nor did we, to my knowledge, see any sable.

We were visiting the Park at the end of the dry winter season, and the grasses here, as in the other Parks we would visit in Zimbabwe, were brown and mostly trampled, although this would change soon when the rains came. The grasses would then green up and become tall and thick, but game viewing would be more difficult because of the water and mud from the rains. In addition, parts of the Park are closed during the rainy season of November through April inclusive due to flooding. That is why we were touring Zimbabwe in August and early September prior to the rainy season. However, this also resulted in most of my more vivid memories of Zimbabwe being generally brown in color.

Our camp was located in a clearing right on the bank of the Zambezi River. Although the grasses were brown, due to the River’s presence, a more picturesque setting would be hard to imagine. We could see a great distance up the River, although down river the Zambezi quickly turned around a bend. Our tents were stretched in an arc about fifty feet from the bank. The tents were similar to our tents in the Serengeti and the Crater, comfortably housing two people. Behind the tents were several shower/choos, a small ten foot by ten foot area encased on four sides by canvas with no roof and containing in one corner the western style toilet seat bucket covering a hole dug in the ground and in the other corner the shower. The showers were similar to those we had in the tented camps in Tanzania and consisted of a canvas bucket filled with hot water heated on the fire that was hoisted on a pulley. The shower routine was the same as in Tanzania, that is, get wet, soap down and rinse off. Several tents shared a shower/choo enclosure.

Gary had told Irene and I that the game viewing at Zambezi National Park was not exceptional, and that was certainly true on this trip. I remember the Park more for the camaraderie of our traveling companions and for the game that walked right through our camp than for the game drives themselves. Apparently, our camp was situated right next to where a herd of elephants visited the River to drink. We were introduced to this not long after we first arrived in camp. As lunch was being served, several elephants, including a baby, ran down to the bank behind the food tent and began to drink, a trail of dust left in their wake.

Our camp was around twenty feet higher than the River, the water having eroded the banks over the years. We immediately hustled behind the food tent to watch from the safety of the edge of the small cliff as the elephants frolicked less than fifty yards away and below us. This marked the beginning of what we would refer to as our “elephant safari”. Without a doubt, we encountered more elephants on this trip than any other animal. Reluctantly we left the animals after a short time of viewing to return to lunch, but elephant watching from this camp was to be a frequent occurrence. Often while eating we could see one or more large bull elephants crossing the River upstream from our campsite.

We enjoyed many of the same amenities that we had grown to appreciate from our first trip to Tanzania. Our clothes were washed by the camp staff. We also enjoyed sun downers around the campfire at night before and after dinner. One thing our camp staff could not help us with was the unexpected turn in the weather. Although this was still winter, albeit the end of winter, temperatures had generally been rather warm in the area. In fact, our drivers had picked us up wearing shorts. However, while we were camping along the Zambezi, the winds picked up and the temperatures plummeted. Everyone bundled up in several layers of clothes, but no one, including the staff, was prepared for the temperatures to be as low as they were. Even though it warmed back up quickly, I still remember huddling inside the food tent one morning to escape the blasts of the cold winds as the temperatures hovered around the freezing mark.

Our campsite was also a haven for birds. We were entertained daily by a kingfisher feeding across the River. It would hover in one spot for several seconds and then dive into the water. This was repeated over and over until it caught a fish, which it would then proceed to eat on a log across the River, only to repeat the sequence after it had finished eating. Also, several little bee-eaters perched daily on some fallen branches along our side of the River from where they were feeding on insects. The little bee-eater is the smallest and most common bee-eater in Africa, but it is still a colorful bird with its yellow throat and green wings.

On this trip, game drives in Zimbabwe were similar to those we had experienced on our first trip to Tanzania as far as timing, usually early morning, late morning/early afternoon and late afternoon/early evening. Also, the drivers drove in different directions, so passengers in one vehicle did not experience the same sightings as passengers in the other vehicles. I remember coming into camp after dark in Zambezi National Park, so I am not sure what time limits for game viewing were set in this particular Park. However, night drives apparently were not allowed. Nor was driving off the road allowed.

Although we did not see a plethora of animals in the Park, we did have some good sightings on our game drives. Helmeted guinea fowl were seen in abundance walking amongst the shrubs and grasses. The common waterbuck was also seen in the Parks in Zimbabwe, but not in great number. For some reason, during our game drives on this safari the vehicle in which I was a passenger was never able to approach a common waterbuck very close. I do not know if they were still being hunted or whether they were just normally this skittish.

One of Irene’s favorite animals is the giraffe, and she was always on the look out for these tall creatures. However, they were few and far between in this particular Park, at least while we were there. The few that we did encounter were usually interspersed amongst large clumps of trees, providing us with an obstructed view or a silhouette image at best. Others were strolling among trees far from the road, so we never did have a real good sighting of a giraffe at Zambezi National Park. Apparently the type of giraffe in this part of Africa is the southern giraffe, and not the Masai giraffe that we saw in Tanzania. At least on this trip I knew there was more than one kind of giraffe as I had studied up a little bit on my animals this time, which I had not done for our Tanzania safari.

Irene still enjoyed bird life, and the Park did not disappoint her in this respect. I do not know how many different birds are in Zimbabwe, but we saw many of them throughout the Parks. Yellow-billed kites were often observed flying overhead, gliding on the currents. Fish eagles were perched in the trees near the River, ready to dive down and grab a meal from the water. Bateleur eagles soared overhead, their style of flight being distinctive from any other bird we saw, reminiscent of a person walking a tight rope or an acrobat flying through the air. Many of the smaller birds were very colorful, such as the blue waxbill, the black-headed weaver and other weavers and the lilac breasted roller. Without a doubt, birds make prettier and more colorful pictures than almost any other wildlife that we came across.

As I recall, the topography of the Park was mostly uneven, and was covered in trees and thick brush. I do not recall seeing many open grasslands as we had seen in Tanzania. The trees were not as distinctive or aesthetic as the acacia tree, but the baobab tree was present throughout most of the Park. We passed many specimens which had to be in excess of several hundred years old, given the height and girth of their trunks. Many of the trees bore scars where elephants had gouged them with their tusks to feed on the bark. In fact, many of these scars were deep pits and in one instance a large hole had been poked right through the tree. However, the makeup of the baobab tree was such that it was still able to live even after such substantial damage had been inflicted upon it, unlike most of the other trees on which elephants dine.

As I had indicated earlier, this safari would be known as the elephant safari. Everywhere we traveled, we encountered elephants. They were seen on hillsides, by the River, in clumps of trees and in clearings. We saw them browsing, digging at bark, reaching for leaves with their trunks or just merely walking along. We saw all sizes and ages, from the very young to the very old and every age in between. But probably the most memorable was the large herd that walked past our camp one afternoon on its way to the River. At first, just a few straggled through. However, as we went out to watch them, elephants started arriving in greater number, passing within fifty feet of us. All activity in the camp ceased as everyone, including the camp staff, came out to watch. Some of the elephants stopped to look at us, but most just kept on their way. One of our drivers picked up his rifle, but he never found it necessary to take it off of his shoulder, although he did caution us not to get in front of the elephants. Most of us stood there mesmerized, not believing this truly close encounter with nature. I do not know how many passed by that afternoon, but I believe it was in excess of 100. This was, to me, the high-light of our stay in Zambezi National Park.

The other high-light was the night sky. On our first night there, we were greeted by a full moon illuminating the darkness. In addition, we had an unbelievable view of the Milky Way galaxy. At first, I thought there were clouds in the sky. Then it dawned on me that what I was seeing were clusters of stars so thick that they looked like clouds. I had never before seen the Milky Way with the naked eye and was amazed. The astronomers in our group pointed out the various stars and constellations to those of us who were not as learned.

Gary was right in his assessment of Zambezi National Park. The game viewing was not exceptional, certainly when compared with our experiences in Tanzania and the other Parks in Zimbabwe. In fact, I do not know whether I would recommend the Park to anyone. However, the setting on the Zambezi River was truly enjoyable. And the experience with the elephants walking right through our camp was unequaled at any other Park, although we would continue to see numerous elephants throughout the remainder of our safari. Finally, the night sky was impressive. But the remainder of our stay there was not memorable. This was due, I believe, to the smaller number and variety of animals present and, to some extent, to the cold weather that we experienced. However, Gary told us he had scheduled Zambezi National Park first as a warm-up, in that he knew the game viewing would only get better. And he was right about that.

Footnotes
(1) Unlike Tanzania where you generally keep the same land operator for all locations, in Zimbabwe land operators and drivers usually change at each camp.