Newsletter

NATURE PLAYS HER ACE
Nature holds the Aces' we wrote in our last newsletter, about our planned April tour down our Eastern Valley route to the Zambezi River. Well, we won through in the end, but it was a close call. We had persistent rain in Harare until a few days before our planned departure date, and I kept a wary eye on the weather satellite images, which seemed to show an endless procession of thunderstorms across the Zambezi Valley area.

Journalist and photographer Scott Ramsay captures the evening light after our arrival at Doma Lodge.

Luckily, there were a few dry days before we departed, so the Zambezi Valley's notorious black cotton-soil wasn't a problem. However, we were the first vehicles to travel our favourite route through the Zambezi Escarpment since the rains began last November. We had to deal with several trees that had fallen across the track - not big ones, luckily, and we could cope with them fairly easily. But the grass - up to 3m tall in places - severely tested our seed screens. It also reduced visibility to zero in some places, and slowed us to the point at which we had to make an unscheduled night-stop on the face of the escarpment. We'd stopped for brunches at this particular spot before, partly because it has absolutely stunning views across the Zambezi Valley, but also because it is the only patch of moderately flat terrain for many kilometres.

Rather ominously, a group of white-backed vultures arrived almost immediately, presumably hoping we were either hunters or - sadly possible in such a remote area - poachers about to shoot an elephant. They got tired of waiting after a while, and left us to enjoy a beautiful sunset and, shortly afterwards, the sound of lions from the Zambezi Valley below. Nature played her ace the following morning when, after repairing several gullies, we came across a washaway, with a cliff on one side and a 2m sheer-sided gully on the other, that almost defeated us. But after a couple of hour's spirited work with mattocks and shovels, and with the help of Niel and Elize Crafford's newly-acquired 'Max-Trax', we held our breath, metaphorically closed our eyes, and got all three vehicles across, including journalist Scott Ramsay's Isuzu and trailer.

The Angwa River was still flowing too hard for us to cross at our usual place, so we detoured to the bridge a few kilometres further east. Thereafter, Nature gave us a break. After a visit to the dinosaur trackways near Mkanga Bridge we meandered down to the Zambezi, in the Chewore Safari Area, and after a couple of relaxing days headed for Mana Pools, reaching Nyamepi Camp just in time to avoid the Parks Authority's draconian price increases.

We awoke to a cloudy morning and unseasonal rain, but happily not enough to render the Park tracks unuseable. The weather cleared after an hour or two, and our clients were able to go off and explore Mana in their own time. Although wildlife was still sparse, due to the late rains, and the vegetation too tall for easy gameviewing or walking, they enjoyed sightings of elephant cows and bulls, kudu, and of course the ever-present zebra, impala, hippo and crocodiles.

We said some very reluctant farewells at Mana, from where Niel and Elize continued to Gache Gache Lodge, on the southern shore of Lake Kariba, and Scott went to Kariba and thence to Bumi Hills. Our sincerest thanks to them for being such splendid travelling companions, facing the rigours of Zambezi Escarpment road-mending with great good humour and joining in spirited campfire conversations late into the nights. Meanwhile Sally and I returned home to our computers, cellphones and - in my case - workshop, not from choice, but from pressure of work. Sally headed south to the Indaba travel show in Durban a few days later, while I set about preparing for our next trip.

TRAILERS
I've written about trailers before, but the above tour reinforces my views. We gave the trailer in question - I won't name the brand - quite a severe test, and it proved to have a rugged enough frame, drawbar and suspension, and it coped very well with the terrain. But thereafter, the the designers seemed to have gone into anything-will-do mode. with the interior fittings.

The ammo-box stacks were suspended from flimsy little metal straps that fractured after a few days. The twin cable setup required for the second (fridge) battery, which was located in the trailer, was hugely vulnerable to grounding on rough terrain or hooking up on small shrubs and bits of fallen branches. Keeping the battery charged was a mission, as it meant either towing the trailer around when going game-viewing, or running the vehicle engine if static.

Very few Zambezi Valley campsites have 220v charging facilities, so a good-sized solar panel - yet more weight to carry, plus stowing requirements! - is really the only answer. The Zambezi Valley has a habit of finding weaknesses in both vehicles and trailers, and can be merciless when it does so. Simplicity and strength are the key to their survival.

However, we were quite impressed by the double-cab petrol Isuzu that towed the trailer. It handled the terrain well, and although we didn't get a chance to try it in difficult sand or mud, we got the impression that it would be as competent in these circumstances as could reasonably be expected of any vehicle of its genre.

CAMPING FEES, BEIT BRIDGE, THE WORLD CUP AND ALL THAT
The enquiries we are getting from South Africa all point to one stark fact: Zimbabwe has got its thinking all wrong. None of these enquiries - and this holds good for many other safari operators we've talked to - are from international visitors wanting to explore the region. All are from South African citizens and residents frantically trying to escape from the World Cup. We are delighted to help them do this, and in fact have several of our 'Football Escape' tours booked during the World Cup period, when we'll tuck ourselves away in some beautiful and remote places far from the conventional tourist traps. But, instead of hiking prices out of sight, the country's best strategy would have been to offer specially reduced rates to attract this market, and thus to 'scoop' countries like Botswana, who have also gone the high-price, squeeze-out-the-public route. I do of course largely have our Parks Authority in mind, who have really shot themselves in the foot with their massive increases in camping and lodge prices.

However, the resulting cancellations seem to have inspired a rather timid (and possibly confusing) rethink, in that the following Mana sites will now revert to being charged on a per person per night basis, as follows:

Nyamepi, sites nos.1,2,4,7,8,10,12,13,14 & 15: US$20.00 per person per night (regional); US$10.00 local

New Ndungu 1 & 2, exclusive campsites: US$30.00 per person per night (regional); US$15.00 local

Chitake 2 exclusive campsite: US$40.00 per person per night (regional); US$20.00 local

The Nyamepi sites thus 'freed up' are a mixed bag, and certainly not the most popular sites. The Ndungu sites are fair, but not outstanding, and are situated some distance west of the Mana floodplains and main Acacia albida woodlands. Nor do we have any indication, as yet, of similar moves in other Parks.

Meanwhile, and although we've been hearing a lot about 'one-stop' facilities at Beit Bridge, this border post seems to be as corrupt and inefficient as ever, and from what we hear the cancer is also spreading to Plumtree. It is apparently almost impossible to get through it at all without paying a considerable bribe to touts, officials and a host of hangers-on. If there's going to be any improvement during the World Cup period, it's got to be pretty quick - something civil servants aren't known for.

But I must now balance these negatives by saying that Zimbabwe is great, once you're in. We still have some of the finest wilderness and wildlife areas in southern Africa, the people are friendly, fuel and provisions are widely available, and we up here think it's a good deal safer than South Africa. Frankly, we at ZIM4x4 will be glad once the World Cup hype is over, with all its attendant profiteering and opportunities for corrruption, and we can all settle down and take the longer view.

ACCOMMODATION
We've had some good reports about Gache Gache Lodge, which is located on the southern Kariba lake shore at S16 44 18.1 E28 56 25.1 approx. It currently offers fully-serviced accommodation, but self-catering facilities will soon be available. They can offer facilties such a guided wildlife walks (not that you necessarily need to walk far - apparently they had a pride of lions on the doorstep last week) and fishing and boat trips on the lake. The contact is Bernie Styles on bernie@chapungusafaris.co.zw.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Many of our tour participants are accomplished photographers in their own right, and need nothing more than good opportunities to produce first-class results. This isn't merely a matter of equipment: the simplest of cameras can produce great results, and there's no need whatsoever to feel intimidated if you have a 'budget' camera instead of the latest Canon 5D with all the gear. Sally often produces better images with her basic Canon Powershot than I do with my expensive SLR, simply because she's got an artists's 'eye' for a picture.

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