Located about 100km downstream from the Kariba dam, on the Zimbabwean bank of the Zambezi, the Mana Pools National Park is one of the finest wilderness and wildlife areas in southern Africa. Mana Pools is part of the Zambezi Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was afforded this status because of its landscapes, scenery, and wildlife. Some of the biggest concentrations of animals in southern Africa can be found in Mana. Elephant and buffalo are abundant, and rare and endangered species such as wild dog and nyala can be seen. Large predators such as lion, leopard, cheetah and hyaena can also be seen and heard in Mana. Sadly, black rhino are no longer in this park. There are also no giraffe in Mana, not because of poaching but some have suggested that the miombo vegetation does not suit them and access is limited due to the steep escarpment to the south and the Zambezi river to the north. When this UNESCO World Heritage property was declared in 1984 it contained about 500 black rhino. By the end of 1994, poaching reduced this number to only ten animals, now there are none. Mana Pools is also part of the Middle Zambezi Biosphere Reserve, and one of a very few parks in which visitors may walk unaccompanied by professional guides.

Mana Pools has shown itself to be everything I remembered from my last visit, 18 years ago. This time I was travelling with my cameras and was able to see more and appreciate the nuances more intensely. With a camera in hand, you look more, see more and are acutely aware of the incredible light show that mother nature has set up for you to enjoy. The arches in trees, enchanted forest backgrounds and beams of light through the forest canopy take on a new meaning, opening up wonderful photographic opportunities.

“The trees become the orchestra and the light the music

and we, like the wildlife, are the audience.”

~Michael Haworth

The early morning light was filtering through the trees and painting a soft background for this herd of waterbuck.

When you are walking through the forest and are not trying to get too close to the wildlife, they often just stand and look at you.

There is a dazzling variety of habitats in Mana Pools National Park, from great groves of riverine mahoganies through park like Acacia Aalbida woodlands to the dense, impenetrable, biologically complex Jesse bush. While words can be colourful, I found it better to describe the  forests and unusual lighting  with photographs.

“The human species thinks in metaphors and learns through stories.”

~ Mary Catherine Bateson

The Mana experience is unique. You are not allowed to drive off-road but being able to get out of your vehicle and walk in Mana is unique. Without being able to walk into these forest areas you would not be able to capture these more contextual and intimate  type of wildlife images.

“Space and light and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep.”

~ Le Corbusier

The river itself meanders through a sandy floodplain creating many channels and islands. The ecology of the river is dominated by the regulating effect of the Kariba Dam. Adjacent to the river, the open woodland is dominated by Acacia Albida  and Natal Mahogany. Beyond this belt are found mopane forests. Some areas of mopane have been severely trimmed back by elephants. Beyond the mopane belt stretching up to the escarpment are vast areas covered with ‘Jesse bush’ which is a very thick mixed woodland dominated by various combretum species. We also drove through an extensive grassland at Zebra Vlei, which is located just south of Long Pool.

The park is only open for camping from the beginning of May to the end of October, but this is the winter and spring period when there is no rain so the wildlife congregates around the floodplain and the river. Large numbers of elephant and buffalo can be seen.

“There are two ways of spreading light… To be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.”

~ Edith Wharton

The Acacia Albida, or commonly named ‘Ana tree’, is an indigenous tree which can grow to 30 metres in height. It drops its seed pods during winter and spring providing valuable food for the wildlife, especially browsers such as elephants, kudu, nyala, and impala. The leaves are nutritious but they are not available in winter so their seeds are especially valuable to the wildlife being high in protein, and the pods are high in starch. The Ana and Sausage trees together provide a bounty of food in late winter when there is little other food around for browsers. A few bull elephants have learnt to stand on their back legs to reach the lower branches of the Ana tree. Other elephants shake the trunk of the tree to force the tree to release its seed pods. The bigger elephants position the Ana tree trunk between their tusks shake the tree trunk with a powerful forehead push.

“Tell me the facts and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in heart forever.”

~ Native American Proverb

This adult Greater Kudu bull, part of a bigger herd, was wandering through the albidas looking for their nutritious seed pods. This chap had a particularly impressive beard.

The lower terrace of the lower Zambesi river flood plain. From the Zimbabwean side of the river, the high escarpment mountains on the Zambian side form a spectacular and dramatic backdrop to this river scene. The next image shows a pair of female Waterbuck walking in this vast vista to join the rest of the herd, with elephant in the middle distance, and a magnificent hazy blue mountainous backdrop.

Waterbuck, as their name suggests, inhabit areas that are close to water in savanna grasslands and riverine woodlands. This environment provides them with abundant food all year round. The long grasses and pools offer them a degree of refuge from predators. Waterbuck are mainly grazers and tend to eat the coarse grasses that other grazers avoid. They do, on occasions, browse leaves from certain trees and bushes. Waterbuck usually feed in the mornings and at night, and for the remainder of the day rest and ruminate.

It has always amazed me that waterbuck have such long-haired, shaggy brown-gray coats despite living in very hot climes. I have never been close enough to one in the wild but I am told they emit a smelly, greasy secretion which is thought to be for waterproofing. There are two types of waterbuck, the common Waterbuck and the Defassa Waterbuck, and they are distinguished only by the white pattern on their rump. The common Waterbuck is found in southern Africa and has a conspicuous white ring encircling a dark rump and of course this waterbuck is the “butt” of many toilet seat jokes. The Defassa Waterbuck, found in Kenya and Tanzania, has wide white patches on either side of its rump. Surprisingly there are quite a few antelope with white on their rumps such as Sable, Bontebok and Gemsbok.

“We cannot create a world we can’t imagine and stories are the engines of our imaginations.”

~ Josh Stearns

Looking across an inlet to the waterbuck herd, the foreground was punctuated by colourful Water Hyacinth flowers. Water Hyacinth is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant, native to tropical and sub-tropical South America. It has broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves. Water Hyacinth can grow as high as a metre above the water. The leaves are 10–20 cm across, and float above the water surface. . 

I must admit I have never before taken the time to look closely at the Water Hyacinth inflorescence. It is supported on a long, spongy and bulbous stalk and comprises 8-15 attractive flowers. Each flower has six petals which are mostly lavender to pink in colour with a yellow eye in the centre of the highest petal.

Water Hyacinth is one of the fastest growing plants and when not controlled will cover lakes and ponds entirely. This has a detrimental impact by reducing the water flow, blocking sunlight from reaching native aquatic plants, and starving the water of oxygen and often killing fish. We used to call this “Kariba weed”. At one point many years ago, vast areas of Kariba dam were covered with this hyacinth. The wind would blow extensive floating islands of this weed back and forth across the lake and into inlets where it would get lodged and clog up the inlet. We left this serene beautiful scene to go have brunch it was around 11h00. We had been on the go since just after 5h00 and some were getting “peckish”.

“There are two ways to share knowledge. You can push information out. You can pull them in with a story.”

~ Unknown

Later that afternoon we went off looking for the wild dogs. We found them east of Chisasiko Pool. The pack was resting in the bowl of a dried out pan in the late afternoon.

There were always one or two dogs wandering around and basically keeping guard.

The big advantage of Mana Pools is that you can approach the animals on foot.  Our guide, Tanya, was very respectful of the animals. Most wild animals are more afraid of you than you are of them, but if you are not respectful or cannot read the signs, they will either move away or could attack if feel threatened. That is why we were told walk quietly; watch where we were walking so as not to walk on twigs and branches. The sound of a branch cracking under foot travels through the bush.  Also to try to pass downwind of the animals so that they do not catch your scent and keep your distance so there is a “fight or flight” gap. When you have just arrived from city life, all your senses are overloaded, so you need a few days to adjust and allow your senses to tune in again.  It is times like this that your guide plays an invaluable role as he or she will be finely tuned to the sights, sounds and smells of the bush. Your guide will also be able to read the animals behaviour far better than any city dweller. Unfortunately, this afternoon we were not the only ones trying to photograph these wild dogs and other visitors started to get too close and crowd in on the pack and inevitably they got unsettled and retreated into denser bush.

“If you wish to influence an individual or a group to embrace a particular value in their daily lives, tell them a compelling story.”

~ Annette Simmons

•

As the afternoon progressed into the evening, the light was fading when the pack wandered down to the river for a drink followed by an unwelcome rush of enthusiastic human onlookers. 

One of the many wonderful things about photography is that you are constantly surprised by the lighting and how the colour and intensity changes casting unexpected moody, beautiful backgrounds.

The wild dog pups did not go down to drink and for some reason hung back waiting for the adults.

The last of the adults had finished drinking and was returning to the waiting pups.

We followed the pack as they wandered along the road back close to where we found them earlier that afternoon. By now it was getting quite dark, so we had to lift up our camera’s light sensivity to above ISO 5000 to get enough shutter speed for a reasonable image of the dogs in last light. Cameras these days have incredible light sensitivity allowing for extended shoots. 

Time to leave the wild dogs and wander back to camp. At times, the setting sun appears much larger than it does high in the midday sky but it is an optical illusion called the Ponzo illusion. There is probably an element of refractive distortion on the horizon too. This was just such a scene with a pink and red striated sun just about to fall below the Zambian escarpment mountains. Often everyone is quiet as we drive home, just taking in what they have seen and experienced. Needless to say back at camp over a few drinks, the stories start spilling out.

“Story telling is about connecting to other people and helping people to see what you see.”

~ Michael Margolis

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

Our first night in Mana was a night filled with the sounds of the bush. The camp comprised tents which were positioned  in a grove of Natal Mahoganies right on the banks of the Zambesi. The beauty of a tent is that you hear everything. An elephant was trumpeting its displeasure somewhere down the river. A lion roared some distance off and hyaenas were whooping intermittently though the night. The baboons which were trying to sleep in the Natal Mahoganies above us, were restless. There could have been a leopard around. Of course when you are sleeping right next to the river you will hear the hippos grunting at each other all night. It reminds you that you are sleeping next to one of Africa’s rivers. I am a light sleeper as it is, so I had an interrupted but restful night. The edge of the river at Mana is characterised by alluvial terraces. Next to the camp, the terrace must have been five or six metres above the flowing Zambesi.  

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The camp routine was up at 4h45, coffee and a rusks around 5h00 and be ready to “rock n roll” by not later than 5h30. Tess was up with hot coffee and biscuits for us. It was light at that time but well before sunrise. We wanted to get out early to see the tail end of the night shift as they were making their way back to rest. It was also relatively cool at that time.

“It is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed.”

The temperatures early in the morning were warm and balmy, the colours were soft pastel pinks, mauves and and apricots. These colours framed by the deep green of the Natal Mahoganies flood your visual senses creating indelible memories. We were very fortunate to have two guides Marlon Du Toit from Wild-Eye and Tanya Blake from Mwinilunga Safaris who knew the area well. Tanya guides in Mana Pools and knows the area intimately. The decision was made to go back to the area we last saw the wild dogs and try to pick up where we left off the previous evening – a tall order given that the wild dogs are very mobile and can move great distances in a few hours.

As happened the evening before, we had not gone more than half a kilometre from the camp when we stopped to watch next visitors, this time lions. They were lying on one of the upper sand terraces above the river. It was a very peaceful scene.

As the sun began to rise above the horizon, the lions moved off. This next image is of one of the young males wandering off to look for a cool spot to rest for the day.

After watching the lions for a while we moved east with the hope of finding the wild dogs again. As the sun rose, the morning sunlight peered into the forest. The rustic hazy forested background provided a wonderful backdrop for unusual wildlife portraits. This female baboon was feeding on the leaves of the sausage tree. The blood-red flowers of the  sausage tree bloom at night on long, rope-like stalks that hung down from its branches. The inflorescence is a panicle, 30-80 cm long. The tubular flowers are dark red with yellow veins, and have an unpleasant smell to  humans, but are attractive to bats, insects and sunbirds which pollinate their nectar-rich blossoms.

The bounty of crimson flowers carpeting the ground under the sausage tree each morning was welcomed by baboon, impala, kudu, eland and elephants alike. It is quite amazing that in early spring when there is little to eat, the sausage tree provides its bounty to compliment the albida shedding their seed pods which the elephants seem to love. If the albidas are not shedding their pods fast enough, the occasional elephant gives the albida’s trunk a head shake which normal dislodges the seedpods.  

“Life is not about finding yourself, it is about creating yourself.”

~Dr Moses Simuyemba

Looking across the Zambesi, we found two hippos lazying in the shallows and they also looked to be gazing out across the river towards Zambia. The Cattle Egret seemed to be enjoying its preferential hunting position.

The Zambesi river is quite wide in parts. It is relatively shallow with many sand bars and a series of deeper channels.  These beautiful waters need to be treated with respect, the hippos are territorial and the crocodiles or “flat dogs” as we like to call them, seem to be always ready for another meal.

One of the special aspects about Mana Pools is that most of your photography will be done on foot, not from a vehicle. You are not allowed to drive off road but you are allowed to get out of your vehicle and walk. This allows you to walk into the forested areas to capture more intimate shots of elephant and other wildlife which you would not get from a vehicle.

“May you live all the days of your life.”

~Jonathan Swift

The forests in Mana are indescribably beautiful and moody, not in a threatening but rather an enchanted way. The light streams through the canopy highlighting various branches and patches of ground.

Looking deeper in the forested area reveals soft hazy blues, closer browns and oranges and a multitude of different greens.

When you can see the eye of a elephant you very quickly get the sense that these are highly intelligent, sentient beings.

“Wisdom begins in wonder.”

~ Socrates

I was told that there are two main elephant bulls who stand on their hind legs to reach the lower, though elevated, branches of the Albida trees.  The next images shows Fred, presumably named after Fred Astaire. This bull stands up , lifting his six tonne bulk onto his back legs and can balance for quite a while standing up like that. Fred stands up unusually straight which presumably gives him additional reach.

It is unusual to see a wild elephant bull standing on his back legs. A six tonne balancing act. This is clearly a learned skill. He grasps a branch with his highly prehensile trunk and pulls it down until it breaks and falls to the ground. He proceeds to feed on branches lying on the ground but he does not share. There are two other bulls who follow him around, but they only get the scraps.

Even from a distance this is a remarkable sight and testament to the adaptability of these intelligent beings.

“We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.”

Mana is know for its four pools that retain water in the dry season. Chisasiko pool is one such pool. It is a vivid algae green pool. I am sure there was a lot of algae in the water but the greens were enhanced by the reflection from all the bushes alongside the pool. There was plenty of bird life along the edges of the pool.

This Grey Heron took off away from us, but we also saw White Crowned Lapwings, Glossy Ibis, Ruffs, Yellow Billed Storks, to name just a few. I did not focus, from a photography perspective, on birds this trip as I did not have a long lens. My longest focal length was a 300mm.

At the east end of Chisasiko pool, the Impala came down to drink. The angle of the ground leading into the water usually gives you an idea of how shallow the water is close to the bank. Despite the shallow water, the Impala were very wary. Not only is there a lot of bush around the pool, making good cover for a predator ambush, there were also many crocs in the water.

This spoonbill was working hard, swishing its flattened bill back and forth feeling for food.

I was more intrigued by the colour and texture of the water than the spoonbill.

That afternoon we ventured further west looking for the wild dogs only to find a herd of buffalo about half a kilometre from the road. This is where Marlon and Tanya’s knowledge of bush and wildlife behaviour was invaluable. Marlon was looking to get us into a good position to capture this buffalo herd in that special Mana light, while Tanya was keeping an eye on the buffalo herd to ensure our safety and to ensure that we did not unsettle the herd unnecessarily.

“Cherish sunsets, wild creatures, and wild places. Have a love affair with the wonder and beauty of the earth!”
~Stewart Udall

We moved progressively closer, with Tanya’s guidance. She could read the buffalo’s behaviour, allowing us to move progressively closer over a period, so that we did not spook them.

It is quite a thing to have a herd of about fifty buffalo staring at you from about forty metres away. 

By the time we had finished photographing the buffalo it was getting dark. They needed some peace and we needed to get back to our vehicle which was some distance off, back at the road. Being able to walk in Mana makes it a unique photographic experience. I think its is wise and respectful of the wildlife to have a guide with you who can track and read the animal’s behaviour. That way you do not unnecessarily stress the animals and do not put yourself in unnecessary danger.

“Africa is mystic; it is wild; it is a sweltering inferno; it is a photographer’s paradise, a hunter’s Valhalla, an escapist’s Utopia. It is what you will, and it withstands all interpretations. It is the last vestige of a dead world or the cradle of a shiny new one. To a lot of people, as to myself, it is just ‘home.”

~Beryl Markham

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

In mid-October, I returned to Mana Pools after a break of about 18 years. I went on a Wild-Eye photographic safari led by Marlon Du Toit. We spent a wonderful five nights and days  camped along side the Zambezi river. Our hosts were old friends, Dave MacFarland and Tess Arkwright, who operate Mwinilunga Safaris. It was wonderful and heartwarming to reacquaint with hospitable friends last seen many years ago.

“There is a magic, a poignancy, a sense of excitement about the bush that is not only gripping, it is addictive. Once bitten by the ‘bush bug’ a person is infected for life. Bush fever is a kind of madness that compels you to return and return – a longing which will seize you by the throat until, you would gladly sell soul for the sight of a dry thorn tree against an empty sky, a herd of wildebeest wheeling under their cloud of dust, or the deep rasping “augh!” of a lion prowling in the night. The veld has a scent all of its own too, a combination of dust and dung and sunshine, a heady fragrance that fills the lungs and intoxicates the blood like strong wine.”

~C.Emily-Dibb

I had very mixed feelings about going back to Zimbabwe because of what has been done and continues to be done to that country and her people. I had been looking at the wonderful images being blogged by visitors who had visited Mana Pools  and the tug on my heart-strings had been growing. I am very pleased I went back and I will go back again to see special places like Mana and spend time with wonderful people like Dave and Tess.

I first visited Mana Pools around 1963 or 1964 when my Dad built the steel structure for the first treetop lodge in Mana for a European investor. My memories remain of vast herds of buffalo which you could see in advance because of the huge dust cloud they stirred up, black rhino (sadly none exist here now) and Honey Badgers at the foot of the treetop lodge stairs. The bush is drier than I remembered it, but it was early spring so it is  seasonally dry at that time.

The charter flight from Harare to Mana takes about one and a half hours. You know you are getting close when you pass over the rugged escarpment and onto the flat flood plain with its large snaking rivers of sand and areas of thick Jesse. The feeling of flying into the dirt runway at Mana was indescribable. Floods of nostalgia mixed with great anticipation stirred many of the old feelings. Dave and Tess’s Mwinilunga Safari camp was perfect. It is located on the bank of the Zambesi in the Trichilia area.  The tented camp was positioned under a grove of large Natal Mahogany trees which have a thick canopy of dark green leaves providing wonderful shade in a very hot environment. I remember that October was always considered “suicide month” in the Zambezi valley because of the heat. It was hot, 40 degrees centigrade in the shade. I do not have a problem with the heat as I always associate it with holidays.

The Cape Hunting or painted dogs or just wild dogs, for short, had not been seen for the previous ten days but returned to the Trichilia area the day we arrived – serendipity.  We found them down next to the river in the late afternoon. I am not sure but the pack was about 12 dogs strong.

The wild dogs went down to the Zambesi for a drink. These wild dogs seemed to be well aware of the dangers which lurk beneath the surface of the water.

After much peering at the water they started to drink, but always with one or two individuals standing guard.

A silhouette of two adult wild dogs with one of the islands in the Zambesi in the background. It was hot so the dogs took every opportunity to stand in the shade.

The Zambezi river is one of Africa’s main rivers and forms the northern border between Zimbabwe and its neighbours from Victoria Falls to Kanyemba. In the late afternoon the waters  sparkle, the  banks display a verdant green and the distant hills are painted with soft hazy blues.

“Time is a flowing river. Happy are those who allow themselves to be carried, unresisting, with the current. They float through easy days. They live, unquestioning, in the moment.”
~ Christopher Darlington Morley

This wild dog was looking down towards the water’s edge just in front of our camp, probably looking at a hippo or crocodile. The Trichilia island was on the other side of a channel.

A view of the channel adjacent to the Trichilia island framed by the dark green leaves of the Natal Mahogany tree.

Full frontal with a large and  inquisitive bull elephant. The older bulls seem more relaxed. It is the younger bulls which are more mischievous with something to prove.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever.”

~Mahatma Gandhi

The next image was taken close to our camp, standing in the shade of the Natal Mahoganies. The Trichilia Emetica or commonly named Natal Mahogany is an evergreen, large tree, which grows as high as 25 metres, with separate male and female plants. This tree creates a thick canopy of dark glossy green leaves. This was the view looking through a part of the Trichilia grove north across the Zambesi toward Zambia.

On our first afternoon we did not go far because we chose to stay with the wild dogs and walked with them for about half a kilometer inland. They decided to rest in the shade as it was very hot. This young bull elephant was wandering towards the river and his path took him close to the wild dogs. Being young and mischievous he chased a few wild dogs out of his way.

The mood of the bush changes significantly when the bright sunshine is hidden by cloud. This image was taken in the late afternoon while the sun was shielded by cloud and a few shafts of light were beaming from beneath the thick cumulus clouds.

After being disturbed by the young bull elephant, the wild dog pack moved back closer to the river as the sun started to sink. In the late afternoon, the dust stirred up as the wild dogs were walking turned into a golden glow around their feet.

“When you’ve acquired a taste for dust,
The scent of our first rain,
You’re hooked for life on Africa
And you’ll not be right again
Till you can watch the setting moon
And hear the jackals bark
And know that they’re around you,
Waiting in the dark.”

~C. Emily Dibb

The sun had sunk to just above the distant hills and below the tree line. The colours at this time of the day were vivid. It is also a time of peace. The intense heat of the day was cooling and few of the wild dogs were catching up on some rest while others kept vigil.

These wild dogs were in lion, hyaena and leopard turf and the sun was setting so they needed to be on guard as the night shift was probably starting to stir.

Looking in the opposite direction towards the setting sun. The colours were saturated, the intense heat was easing and the bush was still, as it is when the day gives way to night. It is almost as if time is suspended. The dogs were resting and for a brief period there was peace and serenity. 

On our first afternoon in Mana, we spent some time on foot with the wild dogs, which was a treat and privilege. The feeling of being back in a special part of one of the wild places of Africa which, for me, is steeped in memories was wonderful. It is interesting how you put things into the background as life moves on and you have to, but there is something about this place which floods your senses, illuminates your imagination and reignites those long-held memories.

“When you long to see the elephants.
Or to hear the coucal’s song,
When the moonrise sets your blood on fire,
You’ve been away too long
It’s time to cut the traces loose
And let your heart go free
Beyond that far horizon,
Where your spirit yearns to be.”

~C. Emily Dibb

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

This the last post from a recent visit to Mashatu in mid-July.

“Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.”
~ Joseph Campbell

The sunrises in mid-winter in Mashatu are crisp and colourful. The sky was infused with dusty pinks and oranges and the blonde grass looked luminescient at dawn. The birds were heralding the new day but for the rest, the the bush is still.

As the sun begins to seep into the gullies and valleys the light seems to bring the bush to life.  A small family herd of zebra cantered away from us into the mopani scrub. Most of these mopanis do not get a chance to develop into trees as the elephant trim them.

Later in the day, we found this mixed herd of zebras in the foreground and kudu in the background. Unlike predators, herbivores are much more tolerant of each other. Probably because they do not compete for food sources. The zebra graze select parts of the grasses while the kudu browse on bushes and trees.

“In nature nothing exists alone.”
~ Rachel Carson

The mornings in Mashatu provide some interesting lighting. This young Impala ram in the Majale river bed was walking across a particularly rocky bed and surprisingly his underside was being lit by the glare from the rocks..

This next image is not a good photograph, but is interesting. I never knew that an Impala ram actually climbed on top of the female to mate. This male actually launched himself off the ground and grabbed on to the female with his forelegs ticked behind her hind legs. I never knew they did that as most antelope mate with the male’s hind legs firmly planted on the ground while mounting the female. Needless to say a young ram was taking lessons..

We did not see any wild pig this trip though they thrive in Mashatu but are nocturnal and very ellusive. The warthog, or “howarts” as we nicknamed them, are ubiquitious and are not shy.

A black and white of image of one of the large warthog males we saw. Those tusks are formidable weapons which have damaged many a lion.

Kudu are plentiful in Mashatu and seem to cope better than the grazers in the dry winters as they are browsers. The youngsters are danity and delicate with distinctive white stripes on their torsos.

We found three Kudu bulls wandering through the bush and occasionally stopping to browse. The one in the foreground must have been bitten by something and was desperately trying to reach back to lick the sensitive area. It is surprising how flexible these big bulls are!

We came across many Steenbok in Mashatu. They are small brown antelope just a bit bigger than a duiker. If their food sources are abundant, Steenbok may pair up for life, but in most cases these antelope are solitary creatures only coming together when they need to mate. This male was “checking out” a female to see if she was in estrous. Usually it triggers a flemen response where the male passes the scent across his Jacobson organ. This behaviour transfers pheromones and other scents into the vomeronasal organ located in the roof of the mouth. The pheromones in her urine provide chemical clues to the male about the state of the female.  Steenbok are also the only antelope to have toilet etiquette – they dig a hole in which they will urinate or defecate. This is probably because their territories are so small and to disguise their presence from predators.

Only the male Steenbok has the short, straight up horns. These small antelope are a beautiful golden brown colour, and have very distinctive, overly-large ears which look out of proportion to their heads. These are wary and somewhat shy small antelope but will eat anything from leaves and grasses to berries and seeds. The Steenbok, similar to duiker and oribi, have conspicuous black, facial glands which are situated in front of the large, dark brown eyes.  Pheromone-containing secretions from the preorbital gland may serve to establish an animal’s dominance when marking his territory. Males will mark off their territories with urine and secretions from the pre-orbital gland.

This is a view from one of our morning coffee lookouts. The green trees demarcate the river course.

A female Eland has spotted something. She has stopped in “mid-munch”. Although these are big formidable antelope, they make a bountiful meal for any lion which can bring one down. The female’s horns are wider set and thinner than the males’. Their senses are excellent and despite their size they are capable of jumping a considerable height. I have seen a large female easily jump over a six foot high mopani bush in her way.

Most Eland are very skittish and as soon as you get too close they are off. This was the last of four females down in the river bed. The other three had already made a “b-line” for the trees and bushes at the top of the bank.

Under one of the Mashatu trees, the foraging baboons must have dropped plenty of fruit which the kudu and impala were thoroughly enjoying. This is just another example of the interconnectness of life in the bush.

“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us the less taste we shall have for the destruction of our race. Wonder and humility are wholesome emotions, and they do not exist side by side with a lust for destruction.”

~ Rachel Carson

We found a family of three Klipspringers, two parents and one sub-adult, walking across the dry riverbed. Being winter, they probably crossed the riverbed to look for food on the other side of the Majale river. 

I am always intrigued by Klipspringers as they look to be walking on tiptoes. They look like antelope, are called ‘rock jumpers’ in Afrikaans and are able to move around rocky outcrops like a mountain goat. Klipspringers form life-long pairs, each marking out a small territory. When one browses, its mate acts as sentry. If one partner spots danger it gives a piercing whistle to which the other mate quickly replies.

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.”

~John Muir

The Klipspringer’s main predators are leopards, caracals and Black Eagles all of which are ambush hunters capable of working on rocky outcrops.

In southern Africa, only male Klipspringers have horns. Klipspringers have remarkable dense, coarse coats consisting of hollow hairs which rustle when shaken or touched. This helps insulate them on cold wintery rocky outcrops and cushions their bodies from any abrasion from sharp rocks. The coat varies in colour from yellow-brown to grey-yellow, with whitish underparts, chin and lips.

Klipspringers have specially adapted hoofs for living in their rocky territories. They stand, walk, leap, and land on their tiny hoof tips and look to be constantly on tip toe. Their hooves have the consistency of hard rubber, absorbing the shock of their huge leaps.

Two young bull giraffes testing each other’s strength. The incongruence of their size is countered by the coiling curves of their necks and vitality of their competitiveness.

Often the play fighting starts off reasonably tame but at times it can get quite rough where you can hear the thud as one hits the flank of another with its ossicones. Onlookers get the sense that these head bashes are very sore “lamies”. A giaffe’s head swung from quite a height can act as a serious battering ram.

I never grow tired of my trips to Mashatu. Each trip is different and each day is fascinating, bringing unexpected sightings and insights and the bush soothes my soul.

“If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.”
~ Joseph Campbell

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike