In November last year, friends Neville and Sue Kelly invited Helen and I to their bush retreat in Mabalingwe, west of Bela Bela in the Limpopo province of South Africa. It is a wild life estate with plenty of space and a wonderful sense of the bush. 

“Time spent with friends in the bush who also love the wild wide open spaces is filled with interesting drives where knowledge is shared and new insights gained. Then later back at our base many stories are told around the campfire accompanied by trilling nightjars,  whistling Scops owls under a canopy of glittering stars.”

~Mike Haworth

One of the amazing aspects of this bush retreat is the plethora of bird life.  This area is cuckoo paradise. We were also in store for some unusual sightings of grey hornbills.

On the banks of the north side of the top dam, Neville and Sue knew where to find a hornbill’s nest. Early one morning we went down to the dam to see if there was any activity at the nest. The next image shows an African grey hornbill, having caught a chameleon, was busy ‘tenderising’ it to be able to push it into the nest’s entrance.

The opening to the nest was small and this grey hornbill had trouble getting the chameleon into the nest. The nest is usually made in the hollow of a tree where the female lays two to four white eggs. The female undergoes a full moult at the time of laying her eggs. The entrance to the nest is blocked off during incubation with a cement made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. Once completed, the entrance to the nest has one narrow aperture, just big enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and the chicks. When the chicks and female outgrow the nest, the mother breaks out and rebuilds the wall at the entrance to the nest, after which both parents feed the chicks.

Time and time again this male flew up to the nest and hovered momentarily to try to place the chameleon into the nest entrance, but there seemed to be no takers. African grey hornbills eat insects, fruit and small reptiles.

The adults were very busy gathering insects and pushing them into the nest entrance. We must have watched them go back and forth for about three-quarters of an hour. The male has a black bill and the female has red on its mandibles. The next image shows a female with a grasshopper. She was ‘tenderising’ it before pushing it into the nest’s hole.

This adult male African grey hornbill was taking a break from its food gathering activities. The African grey hornbill has a unique somewhat melancholic piping “pee-o pee-o pee-o” call.

This image was taken in the afternoon when the light was shining directly onto the nest making the photography considerably easier.

“For the 99 percent of the time we’ve been on Earth, we were hunter and gatherers, our lives dependent on knowing the fine, small details of our world. Deep inside, we still have a longing to be reconnected with the nature that shaped our imagination, our language, our song and dance, our sense of the divine.”

~Janine M. Benyus

After watching the grey hornbill for quite a while we moved further down the valley to see what other animals and birds we could find. On the rocky slope next to the road we found a small family group of klipspingers. This female scent marking her territory with a secretion from the orbital gland just below her eye.

At one of the remaining waterholes we found a group of Nyala. The adult female on the right  and her offspring on the left were drinking from what looked to be a stagnant pool of water.

As we arrived the male in the group of Nyala was walking away having already sated his thirst. It always amazes me that evolution has resulted in these antelope having such long hair in the thick bush and in areas where it can be very hot.

A male blue headed agama busy feeding on insects on the bough of a tree. The bright blue colour of its head suggests that it was breeding season. We only saw one male but they usually congregate in small groups.

A Striped cuckoo perched in the shade some distance away from the road. Mabalingwe has the densest seasonal population of cuckoos I have ever seen and heard. 

We drove down a gravel road to have a look at the busy bird activity at dam further down the valley. While we were parked watching the European Bee-eaters bathing in the dam, I looked around and in the tree next to us saw this little Pearl Spotted owlet.

It seemed quite relaxed and its mate was in the opposite tree about 20 metres away. After about a half an hour the pair eventually flew off.

The Red-chested cuckoo is one you so often hear, with its characteristic “Piet my vrou” call, but rarely see. This was the first and only time I have ever seen a Red-chested cuckoo out in the open.

It was calling away and in plain sight.  I have spent many hours in the past trying to just see this species of cuckoo. After about two minutes it was gone. This species like all the other cuckoos is a summer migrant. The red-chested cuckoo is polygamous and parasitises about fifteen others birds nests, mainly wagtails and robins. 

We stopped at the the top dam on the opposite side to the grey hornbill’s nest to have a cup of coffee. Before I had time for a sip of coffee I heard a Diederik cuckoo. I stealthily crept around a cluster of bushes to get a better view of the cuckoo only to find a Great Spotted cuckoo in the same tree. The only other place I have every seen this cuckoo species was in Mashatu in Botswana.

The great spotted cuckoo feeds on insects, spiders, small reptiles and hairy caterpillars which other birds avoid. They are known to parasitise crow and starling nests. The female cuckoo adds one of her own eggs to the host’s clutch. 

On the other side of the dead tree was a Diederik cuckoo. This was an adult given its mostly green and white plumage. It is an exquisitely beautiful cuckoo with a distinctive red-eye ring. Adult males are glossy green above with copper-sheened areas on the back and whitish underparts. They have a broken white eye-stripe and a short, green malar stripe.

The Diederik cuckoo usually lays one egg in the nests of weavers, bishops and widowbirds. This cuckoo has an onomatopoeic call which is a loud and persistent “deed-deed-deed-deed-er-ick”.

“Nature is man’s teacher.
She unfolds her treasure to his search,
unseals his eye, illumes his mind,
and purifies his heart;
an influence breathes from all the sights and sounds
of her existence.”

~Alfred Billings Street

In late spring before the rains had started in earnest, the top dam attracts a variety of wildlife which we watched moving through a tapestry of colours.

After a wonderful day’s game and bird watching this was the scene of the sun setting in the west. 

A big thank you to Neville and Sue for a wonderful weekend. They are both accomplished birders with an excellent knowledge of trees. They also love the bush so it was great fun sharing stories and learning new things with them.

“Your deepest roots are in nature. No matter who you are, where you live, or what kind of life you lead, you remain irrevocably linked with the rest of creation.”

~Charles Cook

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

Have fun,

Mike

While we were in Mana Pools on a Wild Eye photographic safari, we stayed at Mwinilunga Safari camp operated by friends Dave and Tess, wonderful people! This camp is located in the Trichilea area of Mana Pools which is named after its groves of verdant green, deep shade Natal Mahogany trees. The welcome shade, wildness, hospitality and wonderful cuisine made this a perfect base for our photographic excursions.

“The Zambezi river mercurial and transformative. Controlled for the most, but never tamed. Humble beginnings but mighty in maturity. The journey forces changes in the mood and energy,  but the character and purpose remain. Life blood to many and much. Abundance within, above and around. It casts an enchanted spell on those who choose to wander along its course.”

~Mike Haworth

The Mwinilunga camp is named after the source of the Zambezi river. The Zambezi Source National Monument is located in Mwinilunga, a district in the North-western Province of Zambia. The source of the Zambezi River is itself located some 53 Kilometres on the Northwest of Mwinilunga in Kalene Hills. This is the source of one of the four mightiest rivers in Africa. The Zambezi River is ranked fourth in terms of size on the African continent after the Nile, The Congo/Zaire, and the Niger. ( http://whc.unesco.org). The area of the Zambezi’s basin is slightly less than half that of the Nile river.

This river originates in the Kalene Hills in northwest Zambia at an elevation of 1,500m above sea level and flows south and eastwards for 2,574 km to the Indian Ocean. The Zambezi river has been classified into three distinct stretches: the Upper Zambezi from its source to Victoria Falls, the Middle Zambezi from Victoria Falls to Cahora Bassa Gorge, and the Lower Zambezi from Cahora Bassa to the Zambezi Delta. The next panorama shows the vastness of the flat flood plain section of Mana with the hills of the Zambian escarpment in the distance.

Victoria Falls and Lake Kariba are in the centre of the Middle Zambezi section. Below Kariba Dam, the Zambezi flows from Kuburi through a series of deep gorges and narrow floodplains down to the Lower Zambezi National Park on the north bank and Mana Pools National Park on the south bank. Middle Zambezi is fed by two major tributaries – the Kafue River and the Luangwa River. The Kafue river flows into the Zambezi just below Chirundu and upstream of Ruchomechi while the Luangwa joins the Zambezi at the headwaters of the Caborra Bassa dam in Mozambique.The Middle Zambezi Valley is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The Zambezi River Basin features several of Africa’s finest national parks. Eight Zambezi Basin floodplains are designated as Wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, including the Barotse Plain, Busanga Plains, Kafue Flats, Mana Pools (also a World Heritage Site), Lower Zambezi National Park, Elephant Marsh, and the Zambezi Delta. (https://hub.globalccinstitute.com). The river surrounds are home to a rich biological diversity and some of the densest concentrations of wildlife in the world.

“There is another alphabet, whispering from every leaf, singing from every river, shimmering from every sky.”
~ Dejan Stojanovic

Before the Kariba dam wall was built, the vast area below Chirundu was a floodplain. The annual flooding of the floodplain resulted in a massive increase in fish production far in excess of what an equivalent river without a floodplain could produce. Now that the floodplain no longer floods and renews the soil, the land is less fertile and consequently supports less wildlife. Today, the Mana Pools flood plain is sustained by rainfall and groundwater seepage.

As the Zambezi flows past Mana Pools it spreads out. At some points, it is a wide shallow river and at other points it splits into numerous channels alongside  the main channel. The river looks very quiet at this point but watch a piece of water hyacinth or a small raft of reeds being carried by the river, and you will see it is in fact flowing at about five kilometres per hour. The Kariba dam wall had major hydrological and ecological changes down river. Immediately down stream of Kariba the water quality was markedly altered. Turbine intakes usually draw water from the hypolimnion (lower thermal layer) or metalimnion (middle thermal layer) water layer of the lake. This turbinated discharge water is cool and low in oxygen. By the time it gets to Mana Pools the quality of the water has been restored. 

(http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/AC675E/AC675E06.htm). 

There has been deep erosion of  the Zambezi channel below the adjacent floodplain and  the water table in the floodplain has fallen. Without the flooding, there has been the invasion of woody savanna and thicket vegetation into open grassland and wetland, abandonment of former tributary channels, and further down at the delta as the Zambezi floods into the Indian ocean there has been displacement of freshwater grassland species with salt-tolerant grassland species, degradation of coastal mangroves, and reduction in breeding and feeding grounds for endemic and threatened mammal and waterbird species. There are significant long-term consequences to the down stream river flow once a dam such as Kariba had been built.

The next images shows the Zambezi splitting into a number of channels along the main channel. This is beneficial for hippos and crocodiles.

Some of the channels are permanent and other seasonal. 

The water levels in the river do vary depending on how much water is being controlled through the Kariba dam wall. The Zambezi Water Authority reported that Kariba dam was 36% full on 15 Jan-2018 compared to 15% full the same time the year before. The lake level varies seasonally with a low around February and a high around May-June each year. One interesting fact is that the maximum flow recorded at Victoria Falls was during the early construction phase of the Kariba Dam wall in March 1958 at 10,000 cubic metres per second. The lowest flows recorded to date at Victoria Falls were during the 1995/96 season which had an annual mean flow of 390 cubic metres per second. The long-term mean annual flow at Victoria Falls is 1,100 cubic metres per second and it is currently 990 cubic metres per second (http://www.zaraho.org.zm). One anecdotal piece of information I found ( not sure how accurate it is) indicated that each flood gate opened in the Kariba dam wall raises the water level of the Zambezi River, passing Mana Pools, by approximately 1 metre.

“We must begin thinking like a river if we are to leave a legacy of beauty and life for future generations.”
~ David Brower

Mana Pools is dry and hot in October but along the Zambezi river bank the flora is verdant, attracting much wildlife.

As you would expect the flood plain is flat

There is an abundance of wildlife in Mana Pools. If you are lucky you may see rare species such as African wild dogs and South Ground Hornbills.

“There’s a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they’re absolutely free. Don’t miss so many of them.”
~ Jo Walton

The spring days in Mana can be very hot with cloudless blue skies.  Unusually one morning it was very hazy. I am not sure whether it was temperature inversion or smoke haze. It did not smell like smoke haze.

By mid morning the heat normally makes the far side of the river shimmer in waves, this particular morning it was very hazy. Interestingly, there was a strange quietness which descended over the bush.

This is a panorama of the scene in the late afternoon between Goliath Safari’s camp and the BBC camp. (double click on the image to enlarge the panorama)

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”
~ Rabindranath Tagore

The sunsets in Mana are legendary. The sun sets over the Zambian escarpment. In early spring there is plenty of dust in the air, so the setting sun shines through a dusty atmosphere creating surreal colours.

This particular evening marked the end of a productive afternoon with our cameras. We drove down to the river to watch the sun setting – with a beer in hand.  This scene was indescribably beautiful. The quiet and beauty was mesmerising.

There has been a long-standing family tie with Mana Pools. My father, Brian Haworth, built the steel frame for this treetop lodge for a European client in the early 1960s. When he was alive, Dad told stories of when he was building the treetop lodge. While constructing the steel frame, once the frame was built and the first floor platform was in place, he would sleep on the platform at night for safety. During the night elephants would come and scratch themselves against the steel columns of the elevated lodge. Needless to say the entire frame swayed back and forth. Dad quickly realised stronger bracing was required for the stability of the steel frame to ensure the safety of future guests. Once the lodge was opened, we visited as guests and I remember standing at the top of the stairs looking down at the buffalo and honey badgers below the lodge. There were also black rhino around that area.

Source: Unknown, but thank you for the wonderful memories.

Much later my cousin, Rob Shattock, became involved in Ruchomechi in the early 1980s. The luxury lodge of today had humble beginnings. Rob had always had a deep interest in the area. He started the camp with an old caravan, a few small tents. The camp was not on the tourist map, but it was just at the end of the war. Times were tough and there was little income revenue forcing the camp to change hands a few times. The successive owners progressively developed Ruchomechi into the wonderful lodge it is today.

Robin Shattock holding up what I think was a Sable Antelope skull to show guests.

I have only ever gone to Mana in the dry season mainly because of accessibility and ease of seeing the wildlife. I am told Mana is a verdant paradise around March and April. 

I spent a wonderful five days in Mana Pools in the Mwinilunga safari camp. A big thank you to Dave, Tess and Roog for your hospitality, exceptional cuisine and warm friendship ( and Roog your evening dancing!!!). I will be back!

To Johan van Zyl of Wild Eye, thanks so much for showing interesting ways to photograph and sharing your knowledge about wildlife which is so valuable when trying to anticipate its behaviour – much appreciated. 

“Memories were the markers of the journey through life. It was necessary to know where you had come from. Only then could you know where you were going.”

~William Shatner

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

Have fun,

Mike

Mana Pools, a plain flooded with memories. Up early at 5h30 before the furnace has been lit and before the contrast gets too harsh. Cameras in hand and pumped with expectation we were on the vehicle and off to see what mother nature would reveal to us that day.

“We wait, starving for moments of high magic to inspire us, but life is full of common enchantment waiting for our alchemist’s eyes to notice.”
― Jacob Nordby

We were travelling west on an open vehicle in Mana Pools when we came upon this large adult male lion lying just next to the left hand side of the sand road. He was alert but relaxed and impassively looking around into the surrounding bush for about fifteen minutes before getting up and walking over to his coalition partner.

When you look at this huge predator, who is predominately a night operator, you can’t help wondering what happened in this part of the bush last night.

“Not in numbers, but in unity that our great strength lies.”

~Thomas Paine

This male lion walked up to his comrade, but there was no head rubbing this time. There was something in the look that caused the walking lion to move right past the one lying down. Again, I wonder what happened the previous night?

Not a 250 kilogram predator, but a 25 kilogram one, in fact a pack of them. This pack of wild dogs were resting in the shade and it was only around 08h00 in the morning. Six of the pups were in the foreground.

In the forest adjacent to Chisasiko pool, we found these two bull elephants. It was early morning  and the we were facing directly into the sun. The refraction causes the light to turn blue giving the forest an enchanted feeling.

The light in the forest in the early morning is mesmerising and seems other worldly.

“So, I said, when does the enchantment start? We were sitting side by side, facing the mountains. “It started when the earth was born.” Her eyes were closed. Her face was golden in the setting sun. “It never stops. It is, always. It’s just here.”
~ Jerry Spinelli

Anyone who has seen and experienced this mood in the forest will recognise it immediately, not only from a visual point of view, but from an emotive one too. This place gets under your skin.

We did not get to see any of the big four bulls which have all been collared, so did not see the likes of Boswell or Fred standing on their back legs to reach the higher parts of these Ana trees. When you look at this bull stretching his trunk up to pick small side shoots you realise just how remarkable it is for a wild six tonne bull elephant to get up onto his back legs  and reach straight up to access the higher branches. Nature will surprise and amaze you every time you venture into her world.

“Like water, we are truest to our nature in repose.”

~Cyril Connolly

At the westerly end of Chisasiko pool is a shallow section with a lot of water hyacinth, this bull elephant was quietly feeding on the succulents accompanied by cattle egrets which were feasting on the insects the bull had stirred up. A serene scene with giant trees watching over it.

Further east along the pool was a Grey Heron fishing off the back of a very accommodating hippo.

This was a huge baobab on a higher terrace above Chine pool which is inland and slightly east of Long pool. The pool had all but dried up in October. Chine pool marks the inland limit of the floodplain. This baobab is hollow and the space is big enough to climb inside. Beyond this baobab the bush turns into a woodland full of mopanis and leadwoods, and further inland into ‘jesse’ bush which is correctly labelled as mixed-species layered dry forest. This is deciduous and has a thicket-like understorey. It has a rich variety of both tree and shrub species, for example Pterocarpus, Xeroderris, Commiphora, Berchemia, Combretum and Acacia among many others. This so-called dry forest, is a tangled area of flora which is thick and difficult to walk through.

Much of Mana’s wildlife can be found in the jesse during the early dry season. You can often see species such as Nyala and crested guineafowl, which you won’t see elsewhere in Mana; and there is a real sense of wilderness when you get away from the often-congested game-viewing tracks on the Mana floodplain. A word of caution, though: Mana’s special dispensation that enables you to walk unaccompanied by a guide doesn’t apply in the jesse bush – with good reason. It’s very dense, visibility is extremely limited, and there can be a lot of wildlife around, notably elephant, buffalo and lion”.(wildzambezi.com/…/mana-pools-road-network-expanded)

“We heard your booming call at dawn, but only found your later in the morn. Disturbed, you walk away. Endangered, you escape on the wing. Broad aspect wings lift you high but  you are still distinctive to the eye.”

~Mike Haworth

On our way back into the Trichilea area near Mwinilunga camp, we disturbed a family of Southern Ground Hornbills which flew toward the river, and then turned back.

These are large birds and look dramatic when they fly with their distinctive white primaries, and red facial and neck skin is distinctive. Their booming call can be heard at around 4h30 in the morning.

We took a drive up to Sapi pool, otherwise known as Lungfish pool. It was hot that afternoon. We stayed in the shade but the place was seething with mosquitoes. Two long suffering hippos were occupying the drying pool. It was full of mud and hyacinth. This pool is away from the floodplain so must exist as a depression in the ground with a clay base to retain the water.

Around Sapi pool it is noticeable how many dead leadwood trees there are. When I asked Kevin, our guide, what had happened to caused all of the leadwoods to die, he said there were two schools of thought. One was that when Kariba was formed there was substantially less flooding so the water table lowered quicker than the trees could growth their roots. The other possible reason was that as the flood plain began drying, the subsequent less frequent floods caused concentrations of salts to rise in the soil, poisoning the roots of these magnificent trees. While Kariba dam wall is a masterpiece of civil engineering, its hydrological and biological effects are still being felt today, almost 60 years later. Leadwoods have such hard wood that these trees are likely to be still standing in a 100 years time, providing humans leave them alone.

“The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.”

~Henry Miller

On our way back from Sapi pool, the morning was very hazy even by mid-morning. Kevin pointed out this flowering  Leadwood ( I think?) and interestingly all the White-browed sparrow-weavers built their nests on the west side of the tree. This is likely for air-conditioning reasons, but if you are wandering through the bush when it is so hazy and you cannot see the sun or any landmarks then you can pick up the direction from these nests.

In the late afternoon down at main pool where there is back-lighting, this  is our preferred  time and place to photograph hippo .

Photographing hippo entails getting close to the water’s edge and getting down as close to the water level as possible. Long pool is seething with crocodiles so you need someone to watch the water’s edge to make sure that in your distraction and enthusiasm a “flat dog” does not try to interrupt your photography!

“It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to pursuit.”
~ Antoine Rivarol

Just before the sun sets, the colour of the light turns orange and that is when you need obliging hippos to snort their nasal spray into the air.

The hippos submerge themselves for a minute or so then surface for breath. The larger ones often blow the water out of their nostrils much like a whale.

A panorama taken along “Zebra drive” looking across a section of long pool towards the Zambezi river and the Zambian escarpment in the distance. By October this section of the floodplain had all but dried up. This is the outer reach of the Mana flood plain.

The plan was to photograph hippos in main pool in the late afternoon so that we got back-lighting. It was very hot and one was facing the sun. Even at 17h30, one gets  “cooked”. There were plenty of animals on the far bank of main pool, varying from impala, kudu and baboons and a plethora of birdlife.

“I believe everyone should have a broad picture of how the universe operates and our place in it. It is a basic human desire. And it also puts our worries in perspective.”

~ Stephen Hawking

As you can see Main pool is a large, I estimate a kilometre long. Don’t be beguiled by this beautiful setting, in the water lie many hippos and crocodiles and although you cannot see them, they are waiting in the shadows along the bank for unwary prey.

One morning we wandered east to Mana river. The small water course had all but dried up. In the early morning before it really heats up the sand is cool and soothing. We found three, apparently well fed, lionesses relaxing in the river bed. This particular lioness was not happy with us.

After a short while she relaxed sensing that we meant her no harm. With a flick of her tail her whole demeanor changed.

Feeling rather exposed this lioness got up after a few minutes and walked over to another lioness to lie in the  cool sand shaded by a tree.

A third lioness backed off and walked away to get away from our glare.

A Bradfield’s Hornbill searching for insects in the leaf litter. This character was not fazed by us or the two large male lions lying nearby in the shade of a grove of trees.

Back at Chisasiko pool, this Grey Heron was hunting for fish in among the hippos and crocodiles. These herons and Yellow-billed storks were wandering through the shallows along the edge of the pool despite the numerous crocodiles in and out of the pool.

“Never write about a place until you’re away from it, because that gives you perspective”

~Ernest Hemingway

On our last day, around mid-morning up at the west end of Chisasiko pool, we found this male leopard relaxing in the cool shade.

After watching him for about half an hour he decided to get up and melt back into the treed background.

Another perspective of Chisasiko pool. We found the leopard  just around the far right hand corner of the pool up at the water hyacinth end.

“So often in life a new chapter awaits. You ride off into the sunset and discover it’s the sunrise.”

~Robert Brault

Early one morning when we were looking for wild dogs, we stopped to watch a few people in the forest walking some distance behind the wild dogs. We were about to get off the vehicle when someone on the left side of the vehicle quietly mentioned that there were two hyaena lying on the side of the road in the cool sand about ten metres from the vehicle.

Eventually they got up to walk off to see what was causing all the movement in the forest.

Further into the forest we got off the vehicle and walked to a safe point to photograph a passing herd of buffalo. Needless to say the buffalo have acute senses and picked up on us very quickly. This small group of a much larger herd stopped to assess what we were up to, then soon relaxed and wandered on.

In the forest, the colours were exquisite offering a palette of yellows, oranges, browns and greens with a haze of blue in the background.

While we were walking deeper in the forest following a large bull elephant, directly behind us was a buffalo bull which was following us just to make sure that we were no threat to his herd which was out of the right side of the image.

On our last day, it was very hazy and this was the scene looking over a section of the floodplain  farthest from the Zambezi river. One is more likely to see zebra in this area.

I put this eclectic mix of images of Mana Pools in this post is show you the variety of scenes one is more likely to encounter away from the river.

“Nature is our source. The trees are our lungs. The air is our breath. The waters are our circulation and the earth is our body. All of us resonate with deep, all-knowing wisdom, an ancient familiarity, as we reconnect with our source.”

~Shikoba

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

Have fun,

Mike

Mana is wild. That way you to get to see it uncut and uncensored and in a very modest way you experience the bush the way the wildlife does.

There are some mammals you will not see such as giraffe and black rhino. There is no evidence of giraffe ever having populated Mana Pools, possibly because of the steepness of escarpment. During my first trip to Mana Pools in the early 1960s, we saw a number of black rhino. Before this area was designated as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1984, Mana Pools was one of the most important sanctuaries for eastern black rhino in Africa. There were approximately 500 in the park at that time. By 1994, poaching had reduced the population to just 10 rhinos, which were then removed to another area for their protection.

Paradoxically, now you can find one of the rarest predators in Africa in Mana Pools, African Wild Dogs. In 2016, the resident pack split in two, so there are now two separate packs working the Mana Pools flood plain area.

Currently between 3,000  and 5,000 wild dogs (600 to 1 000 packs) remain, mostly in southern and eastern Africa where they are confined to a few areas with low human densities. Wild dogs seem to prefer areas of moderately dense bush and open plains which suit their hunting skills.

“Painted dogs packed with loyalty and endurance. The pack is fast, light of foot, with many feet. The in-between time is when you hunt, when it is cooler. Your hunt is considered, coordinated and relentless. Your numbers, endurance and tenacity ensure full bellies at night.”

~Mike Haworth

These wild dogs hunt over a vast area so there is a chance you may not see them. We were lucky, they remained in our area of the floodplain for three of the days we were there.  These dogs are another example of co-operation in the African bush.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”
~ Henry Ford

The African wild dog is one of the most threatened carnivores in the world following its dramatic population decline over the past 30 years. They are now the second most endangered carnivore in Africa (after the Ethiopian wolf), and the most endangered in sub-Saharan Africa. 

The African wild dog is a highly social animal, living in packs with separate dominance hierarchies for males and females. Uniquely among social carnivores, the females move away from the natal pack before the males are sexually mature, and the young are allowed to feed first on carcasses. This species is a specialised diurnal hunter of antelope, which it catches by chasing them to exhaustion.

“Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father.”

~Roger von Oech

Wild dogs are very gregarious and very playful, pups and adults alike.

With these dogs being diurnal, the only time you see them playing and hunting is in the early morning light and the last light of the evening.  This is understandable. They are highly mobile in a place where the temperatures get to over 40 degrees centigrade in the shade during the middle of the day. Be prepared, for most of your wild dog photography unless you are lucky, will be in the shade. This makes getting the correct exposure and shutter speed tricky but that is what we wildlife photographers thrive on, where dynamic range and ISO capabilities come to the fore.

There are times when you search high and low for these painted dogs and never find them. On this occasion we were travelling east toward main camp and there, on the sand road in the morning shade, was the whole pack. They seem to be remarkably tolerant of people and photographers who were lying on their stomachs with big eyes looking at them.

Being lightweights in the bush with lion and hyaena all around they are always very wary. Something, a sound or a movement, caught their attention. The whole pack responded.

“Whelping over, out of the den, time to join the pack. Your family will teach you well, but don’t stray and you cannot dwell. You have a lot yet to learn and much energy to burn. Play to build your strength and skills, watch carefully and learn for your turn is coming for the kill.”

~Mike Haworth

Interestingly, the pups seem to have ears that are almost the same size as their parents and there is always a pup which is more alert than the rest. Perhaps an alpha in the making.

The image is dark because of the deep shadows in the early morning. 

Shooting at ground level gives a much more dramatic impression of the dogs. They took no notice of these large “one-eyed flat humans” who meant them no harm.

Wild dogs have a tight social structure. Their close interactions and bonds serve them well when hunting and while raising their young. Wild dogs live together in groups of six to 30 members. In the East African mammals: An Atlas of Evolution in Africa, Jonathan Kingdon wrote that before so much of the fauna was destroyed in South Africa, Gordon Cumming (1850) described packs of several hundreds and Karen Blixen saw a group of five hundred in Masailand which cantered past her “looking neither right or left, as if they had been frightened by something…”. The consensus view seems to be that wild dog pack sizes are much smaller today because the abundance of antelope has diminished.

“Small on your own but powerful in a pack. Wild at heart you run like the wind. Since  you play in the hot zone, rest in the shade for you will need all your wiles later.  Your mottled pelage of black, white, tan and ochre helps you to melt into the bush surrounds. You hunt in the in-between light  when it is cooler and you are camouflaged.”

~ Mike Haworth

The wild dogs’ hunting technique is usually to silently approach their prey and engage a fast chase which can reach speeds of 66 kilometres per hour and averages less than kilometres. During the chase the dogs bite the legs, belly and backside of larger prey until it eventually stops. Smaller prey is run down and torn to pieces.

Wild dogs are seasonal, co-operative breeders. Whelping generally occurs during the months of April to September after a gestation period of just over 70 days. In southern Africa, pups are born mostly from late May to early June. The pups are born in a den, where they remain for the first three months of their life. Wild dog females cannot successfully rear pups without the  assistance of the pack.

Each individual has a unique coat pattern, which makes it possible to identify every one in the pack with certainty.

“Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.”

~O. Fred Donaldson

The pups are sexually mature after 23 months and they start leaving the pack when they are a year-and-a-half old. They leave the pack as same-sex groups that join unrelated, opposite-sex groups to form new packs. Males disperse later, in larger groups, and further than females; these patterns are to avoid inbreeding and competition for mating. No dogs mate with close relatives.

 African wild dogs are light weights, weighing between 19 and 34 kilograms. Females are generally larger than males and can weigh up to 34 kilograms.

“In union there is strength.”

~Aesop

Wild dogs hunt primarily by sight and in daylight, either in the early morning, or in the early evening. The pack often approaches herds of prey to within several hundred metres, but they select a particular animal only once the chase begins. The pack functions as a hunting unit and the group cooperates closely in killing and mutual defence.

“Big ears keep vigil. There is danger all around, you live in the predator zone. You are small but few can match your hunting skills. You tear through the bush and tear through your quarry. Speed and endurance is your signature.”

~Mike Haworth

Known as the alpha pair, the dominant male and female are the only dogs to breed in a wild dog pack.

One of the interesting interactions our guide, Kevin, told us about was  between Hooded Vultures and wild dogs.  Hooded Vultures are not the main participants in the cleaning of a carcass because of their relatively small size and inability to effectively tear flesh of the carcass. They do not have the strength and tearing ability of a Lappet-faced or White-backed vultures so tend to work the periphery of a kill picking up scraps. “Hoodies” hang around wild dogs because the latter tear up their prey so there are probably numerous scraps lying around. In addition, the adults  regurgitate meat for their pups which is also  a possible source of scraps

Even more intriguing is that Hooded Vultures eat the faeces of wild dogs because they are so nutrient rich. Hyaenas have been known to harass a pack of wild dogs forcing some of the pack members to defecate – which the hyaenas then eat. I find it fascinating that there are many more linkages between wildlife than is apparent on the surface.

Once  rested, whether it is early morning or late afternoon, the pack tend to play. Adults with adults and adults with pups.

In the packs we saw there were around 16 dogs with the majority being adults. Each breeding season they lose a few pups to predators.

“Antelope this is a time for instinct, not a time to lope. Flee for your life, once the pack locks on you, your odds dive. They will run you to exhaustion. Once caught, no time for strangulation, just desperation. With tearing and blood-letting, the shock will do the rest.”

~ Mike Haworth

Wild dogs are efficient hunters. They run their prey to exhaustion using a relay race tactic. Once they have caught their prey, it is literally torn to pieces by the pack within  minutes. African Wild Dogs are considered one of the most successful hunters in Africa with a kill rate per chase of more than 85%.

Wild dogs are not the senseless killers that some make them out to be. They kill to eat only. Once prey is caught, a single dog cannot strangle it so the pack pulls it apart. Larger prey such as wildebeest and kudu are bitten on the flanks and chunks of muscle and connective tissue are torn out until the prey stops and collapses from exhaustion and shock. Juveniles are allowed to feed first after the kill has been made. Not much remains of a carcass after the pack has fed.

We were driving back to camp as it was getting dark when we met Stretch Ferreira, a legendary guide in Mana, on the road who said the pack had run past him not two minutes before. When we arrived, this is the scene we found – part of the reason for the quick kill and fast feeding is to minimise the chance of it being stolen.

There is so much in a scene which a photo’ cannot capture.  In the dim fading evening light our human tools are limited, but our eyes and senses reveal the scene.  Our camera’s narrow field of vision excludes much of the surrounding scene and context. In the dusk, the action is frenetic. The adults allow the pups to feed while they keep vigil. All the noise of the hunt and capture is bound to attract unwanted nocturnal inquisitors.  Experience has taught the pack to feed fast. The frenzy of the feeding is not captured in the very low light. The camera cannot capture the smell of a kill. It is raw and unpleasant to the human nose. It is difficult to get your mind around the fact that the Impala you saw dashing through the twilight running for its life just a few minutes ago is now in pieces.

“It is a travesty that your co-operation and hunting efficiency cannot help your species prevail. Pack sizes over 100 were recorded in times gone by when the antelope passed by in vast herds. Sadly those days are gone, humanity’s encroachment has reduced the herds and with it your family. Still unbounded, you seek uninhabited places in Africa, which are now few and far between.”

~Mike Haworth

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

Have fun,

Mike

For a wildlife photographer, Mana Pools is a unique environment in which to photograph wildlife and landscapes. Not only is there an abundance of wildlife but the lighting in the forest and early in the mornings and evenings can be exceptional.

“Mana Pools, you are a place of memories, with remnants of rivers long gone. Your flood plain remains as a symbol of natural processes deceased. Changes continue but your attraction remains. Your seasonal pulse draws in your wild children and pushes them out. Your beauty is distilled in the forest blues and evening hues cast over the gently flowing Zambezi. Your wildness captivates me!“

~Mike Haworth

In the mornings the light filters through the forest canopy. It creates a wonderful enchanted, moody light. Depending on the direction you are photographing you can capture the “Mana blues”.

In the early mornings and late afternoons the light streams through the trees and in many cases under the trees’ browse line. The wildlife, mainly elephants, have created a relatively high browse line which allows the light underneath the canopy. The trees also diffuse the light creating that mystical enchanted feeling.

Much of our photography was done in the early mornings and late afternoons because of the heat and deep contrast created by the harsh overhead sunlight in the middle of the day. The next image is of the early morning sun, around 7h00, shining through the top of the trees, but not quite getting to the ground.

“Mana’s moods are infectious and beguiling. She is awake and ready to greet you when you rise, serenaded by lions roaring, ground hornbills booming and hippos grunting. Mana only reveals herself to those who take the time to look. Once caught you are in her embrace for eternity.“

~Mike Haworth

We were fortunate to experience two mornings which were very hazy. The haze was thick enough to photograph directly into the sun.

That browse line again, but there are times when it helps to frame the scene.

Shooting directly in the direction of the sun in the early morning. Although the contrast had not yet fully intensified, the light in the forest was illuminated.

“Mana’s colours ignite imagination, ethereal light and wild sights will light up your dreams. Here massive bull elephants stand up tall on their back legs, large herds of buffalo rumble and stir dust clouds. Here the light dances amongst the trees, and sprinkles glitter on the river. Here the trees greet the wind with waving branches and talk to the breeze.”

~Mike Haworth

Even when there was no direct sunlight on our subjects, the early morning light was soft enough to saturate the colours of the trees, bushes and grasses. The soft colours gave the scene a very gentle feel.

The same mother and her calf in the previous image began walking towards us. An unusual aspect of Mana is that you can get off your vehicle and walk around, into the forest if you wish. At all times you need to show the wildlife great respect and be able to read its behaviour which is why coming straight out of city life you need a guide to be able to do the reading for you.

Backlighting in the morning. A baboon troop had come down from the trees where they had slept the previous night and began foraging on the forest floor.  The illuminated ring lighting contrasted our subjects with the diffused light in the forest background.

Most of the wildlife tries to stay in the shade because it is so hot in the direct sun between 10h00 and 16h00. The light in the middle ground silhouetted this kudu bull browsing on the tree’s leaves.

Another early morning scene looking into the sun hidden behind the trees. The direct light filtering through the forest in the background casts a blue haze. It was warm but fresh, a wonderful time of the day.

In the afternoon around 16h30 down near the river this large bull elephant was making his way west in the direction of the sun. The terrain around the river, on the Zimbabwe side, is flat because it is a flood plain.

As the evening sets in after the sun has fallen behind the hills on the Zambian escarpment, the colours change depending on which way you look. The blues are accentuated looking east in the opposite direction of the setting sun.

Mana sunsets are legendary. It is still hot after the sun has set but there is a sublime stillness and you are bathed in this exquisite beauty cast in pinks, apricots and blues. At times you just have to put down your camera. The beauty is so intense that it can be quite emotional.

Other times such as mid-morning, the furnace is heating up and the shadows are finding their way under the trees. The browse line is high because of the elephants. There are no giraffe in Mana Pools. There are two notable species that are not present in the park: giraffe and rhino. While giraffe have never been present in the area, the eastern black rhino used to have a strong population in Mana Pools. By the mid 1990s, poachers had reduced the population to just ten individuals, which were then transferred to the intensive protection zone within Matusadona National Park, next to Kariba dam.

The next image is a scene of Ana trees in the foreground, the river in the middle ground and the hills of Zambian escarpment in the background.

The classic “Mana blue” haze in the forest. The time is around 9h00, the sun was already high and I was shooting directly towards the sun. The blue haze has something to do with the direction and refraction of the light. In a discussion over dinner with Barry, an entomologist who worked for many years in Zimbabwe,  he suggested that there could be a form of temperature inversion which takes place in the early morning that makes the air denser in the forest creating the refraction.

October was mid-spring in Zimbabwe and there were only a few pools of water well inland from the river. These female eland had come down for a morning drink.

The sun had just set below the horizon but the sky was still illuminated. For about 20 to 30 minutes after the sun has set the colours in the sky get progressively more saturated. Some of those saturated colours were reflected in the river.

It was a hazy morning and we were wandering through the forest. In an opening near Green Pool we found a small herd of zebra. They prefer the open areas so they do not get easily surprised by predators.

Further on in the forest the light was very diffused because of the haze. I loved the soft pastel colours which the bush presented. A large bull elephant way making his way unhurriedly through the Albida trees munching on the Albida seed pods.

The Albida seed pods are a delicacy sought after by elephants. This bull was stretching up into the tree to access branches with the seedpods attached.

By mid-morning the African sun had already climbed high and usually there was strong contrasting light. This morning the haze softened the light so that it was bright but with low contrast.

This next image might not mean much to many, but for those of you who have visited Mana, I am sure it will warm your heart because this is a typical Mana forest scene.

All the roads in Mana are gravel or dirt roads and many have sand. In the late afternoon we were down a Chisasiko pool watching baboons and impala feeding along the edge of the pool when a vehicle drove past stirring up dust in the golden light.

“In Mana Pools there is something in the light, the heat and the dust which is captivating. There is rhythm and movement. Your senses bath in the colour. Your measure will be tested in the heat, but your heart will flow gently along with the Zambezi river. And when the day is over, sitting around the camp fire there will be animated chatter as stories abound and tales are told. When the day is done and your head is on the pillow, you will waft away to the sound of distance roaring lions and the purring trill of a Scops owl close by – sweet dreams. “

~Mike Haworth

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

Have fun,

Mike

Mana Pools, on the Zimbabwe side of the lower Zambezi river, is hot in October. One needs to get up early before the furnace is lit. When waking up at 4h45, you find the bird life is already very busy. One of the early morning sounds one hears is the booming pre-dawn chorus of distant Southern Ground Hornbills. It is a wonderful time of the day. It is as cool as it gets, and the bush is in flux as the night shift is home bound and the day shift is stirring.  After the prerequisite cup of coffee and a rusk, we were out of camp by 5h30. We were wide-awake and brimming with expectation about what the day would bring.

“First light offers long shadows, warmer colours and soft contrast. The new morning light is cleansing and infuses energy into everything. The fresh start instills the expectation that mother nature will surprise and enchant you again and again.“

~Mike Haworth

Early deliverance was seen lying close to the left hand side of the road, a large male lion – unmoved by our presence.

We watched him for quite a while as the sun rose. He was relaxed, but just before getting up he began licking his paw, probably trying to remove paper thorns with that rough tongue of his.

Eventually he got up and walked over to his comrade in arms, possibly his brother.

They rubbed heads as a greeting. This is quite a moment as here we have two primal 250 kilogram male lions.  If they were to compete there would be an almighty battle and one, or perhaps both, would be mortally wounded. Yet they cooperate and work together to form a powerful team. Africa, you could learn a lesson from these two!

It was early morning, still cool when the kings decided to move off.

The look back was poignant – I know you are there!

“It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.”
~Aristotle

Our experienced guide, Kevin, had a good idea where the male lions were likely to go. We drove a few hundred metres, and there, walking parallel to the road, we found the kings in an open area on their way towards a thickly wooded area, probably looking for somewhere quiet and cool to rest away from the glare of humanity and possibly what could have been a busy night. We got off the vehicle to walk  parallel to them, closer but a respectful distance so as not to disturb them.

“The early morning has gold in its mouth.”
~Benjamin Franklin

Just looking at them, they exuded power and the confidence knowing there were few challengers. The long shadows show that it was still early in the morning and the light was clear and soft.

Confident and powerful, but ever alert.

When you are on the ground way away from your vehicle, the scales are tipped. In the presence of a coalition of male lions, there is an aura of  respect and reverence. The bush seems to go still as if holding its breath until they pass.

“A powerful coalition, with a cooperative bond. They have won the right to dominate, and they do. Gladiators rather than fathers, they are unmoved by irrelevance.  Their massive size and strength instills primal fear into all around them. As they pass, the bush becomes still, a reverence punctuated by alarmed snorts and barks .”

~Mike Haworth

Once the kings had moved out of sight into the forest to rest, there are no words. We just stood still, quiet just taking in what we had just experienced.

“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life…and the world.”

~Sarah Ban Breathnach

After a while, still prickling with the excitement we went back to the vehicle, then wandered back towards the river. The huge open vistas were soothing and reminded us that this was a vast complex environment.

Mana river flows gently into the mighty Zambezi on its way to Mozambique and the Indian ocean.

Further inland, the floodplain was drying out. A herd of waterbuck were taking advantage of the remaining moist vegetation.

The further away from the river we went, the drier it became. A herd of buffalo on the move, with their rumbling hooves spewing dust.

Having driven back into the forest, we watched this large bull making his way toward the river.

He stopped in the shade under an Ana tree to pick the seed pods off the lower branches.

The next scene gives you a sense of the the enormity and diversity of the scenes in this amazing nature wonderland.

Back down by the Zambezi river, it was lush with blues and greens and much fewer oranges and yellows.

“Leave nothing but footprints, Take nothing but pictures, Kill nothing but time.”

~Unknown

Driving back towards the Trichilia area looking through a grove of Ana trees across the Zambezi river into Zambia.

When you look into this enchanted forest, the light dances and stirs your imagination.

“If your heart were sincere and upright, every creature would be unto you a looking-glass of life and a book of holy doctrine.”

~Thomas à Kempis

In the mornings, depending on the direction of the sun, there is a blue haze in the Mana forest. This is one of the unique, much sort after features of Mana Pools, especially for photographers.

It was early spring so the ground was dry. The only greenery was to be found in the trees and along the banks off the river and pools. What you don’t expect is the blue haze in the forest. A female eland and an impala ram were grazing on what could only be crisp shoots of grass.

Down on the floodplain next to the Zambezi river, a sand island stands defiant in the slow moving river.  On the other side of the island is the Zambian side of the river and escarpment beyond that.

An adult and young male waterbuck walking on the lower sand terrace next to the river.

“A society is defined not only by what it creates but by what it refuses to destroy.”

~John Sawhill

On the floodplain in front of Vine camp you look out across the Zambezi river onto the Zambian escarpment.(double click on the panorama to see an enlarged image).

A two elephants were browsing on the vegetation in front of one of the covered tents in Vine camp.

A couple of hundred metres in front of Vine camp, we watched the family herd of elephant quietly browsing in the beautiful late afternoon light. One of the elephant cows was known to be particularly aggressive, so we kept our distance to show respect and not to threaten her or her family in any way.

Mana Pools is known for its eclectic and colour-filled scenes. The wildlife is abundant. With beautiful landscapes and abundant wildlife what more could a wildlife photographer want?

“When you do things from your soul, the river itself moves through you. Freshness and a deep joy are signs of the current.”

~Rumi

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

Have fun,

Mike

I wish you a Merry Christmas filled with fun, laughter, joy and goodwill.

If you do not celebrate Christmas,  I wish you fun, laughter, joy and goodwill.

We live in an exceptional world filled with colour, movement and wonder; cherish it look after it. It is there with us, not for us. If we take care of it now, our grandchildren will learn to appreciate it too!

May your Christmas bring you much joy and laughter with friends and family. May it bring you a sense of abundance which you cherish all your life.

Christmas is a magical time as people are gentler, kinder and more generous. There is sense greater harmony and goodwill at this time of the year. It is a magical time for children where fantasies are cherished, gifts wrapped and given with huge smiles.  It is a time of gathering, and a time to celebrate family bonds and friendship ties. 

While Christmas is a time of joy, celebrating humanity, it is also a time to treasure the abundance, diversity and beauty our natural world around us. There are vast libraries of  natural knowledge, experience and laws, much of which we have yet to fathom. 

“When we remember a special Christmas, it is not the presents that made it special, but the laughter, the feeling of love, and the togetherness of friends and family that made that Christmas special.”

~Catherine Pulsifer

“December days . . . as Christmas time draws near; brings family warmth, and friendship’s joyful cheer, from memory’s store so many days to bless and cherish so in quiet thankfulness.”

~John McLeod  

For me, Christmas is also a time to stop and think back on those sublime moments in the wild when the world stopped, everything in the bush seemed to hold its breath, spellbound by the scene ahead.

“What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.”

~Agnes M. Pharo

Wishing you peace and goodwill, and I hope your 2018 is filled with friendship, special moments, serendipity and insights.

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

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.”

~Charles Dickens

Merry Christmas,

Mike

October in Mana Pools in the Zambezi valley below the escarpment is called suicide month, for a good reason. In the  five days we were there, the temperature of three of them averaged 43 degrees centigrade in the shade and 53 in the direct sun in the early afternoon. Part of the reason for visiting Mana at this time is that it is late in the dry season and most the animals are forced down to the river for water.

“The Zambian escarpment across the river. The spring heat in the Zambezi valley. The massive Ana and Mahogany trees. It is all so familiar. It feels like a home-coming. It looks the same but much has changed. Spend some time and the changes will reveal themselves. You will sense the rhythm and the pulse of raw nature, all keyed in exquisite beauty and serenity. Welcome to Mana Pools.”

~Mike Haworth

Wild Eye, under their experienced guide Johan van Zyl, guided the photographic safari. We stayed at Mwinilunga safari camp, run by friends Dave and Tess. The tented camp is right on the edge of the Zambezi river nestled under the large evergreen Natal Mahogany trees in the Trichilia area on the Mana floodplain.

“There is a sense of remoteness and extreme isolation, a feeling that this is one of the last true wildernesses, unknown and unexplored.”

~ Dick Pitman

The river itself is life-giving and its banks are covered with lush vegetation. The Zambezi river is amply populated with hippos. It is the perfect environment for them. There is plenty of space, the water is not too deep and there is plenty of lush vegetation along the river bank to feed on. The Zambezi river at the Trichilia area must be at least half a kilometre wide and flows at about five kilometres per hour.

Mana Pools is so-called because of the four pools which have long since been cut off from the main Zambezi river channel and now form part of an old ox-bow lake. The section of Mana we travelled around was down on the floodplain. There was plenty of sand but there are also clay basins which hold water through the winter. These remaining pools of water were evaporating quickly in spring as the temperatures soared. Two of the four main pools still had water, Chisasiko and Long Pool. Other smaller pools existed but were drying fast. We found a large flock of Marabou Storks feeding on the last of the catfish (barbel as we call them) in a fairly large but diminishing pool of water.

 “Looks often create judgement. Gathered to feast on the trapped remaining fish. Not equipped for predation but scavenging. Marabous are  part of nature’s disposal team. These are not your normal storks; voiceless, they stand hunched shouldered like “Dr Death” waiting for the opportunity to peck at the dead. They are masters of patience, ever alert and wonderful aviators. Nature is always more complex and intriguing than its looks.”

The Marabous were picking off the young, still alive barbel and leaving the floating dead ones. This was the largest congregation of Marabou storks I have ever seen and they had been feasting for a couple of days before we arrived.

Marabou Storks are carrion eaters but do not have the ability to tear flesh off bones and carcasses so have to wait around the periphery of a kill for scraps. The small barbel made a perfect meal for them as they could swallow them whole and alive.

“Sometimes it is the quiet observer who sees the most.”
~ Kathryn L. Nelson

There was no fighting although the odd individual did exert its dominance.

The shallow pool was seething with the remaining trapped fish. It was a strangely quiet scene with just the sound of Yellow-billed Kites, Stilts and lapwings. The Marabous were voiceless but for the odd bill-clapping and croaking from their pink gular sac. 

There was a lot of bird life around the pool. Yellow- billed kites were flying in and out of the Marabous, Pied Kingfishers and a Fish Eagle were around, looking and waiting for a little space for their flight path.

“The excitable observer will pass judgement first and then make knowledge conform to judgement; the prudent observer will first learn to know and then judge according to knowledge.”
~ Thomas Cleary

The interaction with the Marabous was fascinating but the dank smell of rotting barbel eventually chased us away to look for fresher scenes. We wandered further along the river to BBC camp.  Under the trees were three lionesses resting in the shade.

As the sun started to sink in the western sky the bush seemed to come alive. Two family groups of elephants wandered past us.

They wandered through the thick textured Vetavaria grass on their way down to the water’s edge which was cool and lush.

Hot, but without a sound the family made its way down to the water’s edge.

“I like Julie Gold’s song “From a Distance”. Her song reminds me of the world as seen through an observer’s eye. Seen from a distance, we are people in the same band playing music for everyone. We are artists who play the most beautiful instruments in the world – life.”
~ Ilchi Lee

The Zambezi river giveth life and taketh away life. This time the river showed her bounty.

The elephants lingered a long while sating their thirst and relishing the cool of the verdant river bank.

A big bull elephant walked right past our vehicle straight up to a large Ana tree in front of us. After searching for a short while for seed pods, he decided to shake things up a bit. It is quite astounding to watch this massive elephant place the tree trunk between his tusks and push the entire tree with his head and trunk. He shook the tree vigorously a couple of times and a shower of seed pods fell from the branches. He then proceeded to pick up each and every seed pod, obviously a seasonal delicacy.

Not thirty metres from where the bull elephant had been shaking the Ana tree, the three lionesses had moved closer to the water and were out in the open.

What we thought were three lionesses turned out to be four. They were so well camouflaged that we did not see the fourth female. The impala down near the river had caught all their attention. In the image below the fourth female was already making her way closer to the impala.

The lionesses were very gaunt and not in good condition. They had obviously not eaten for a quite few days. The dry season is usually  prime time for predators, but Mana is no easy environment.

After watching the passing parade for an hour or so we had to make our way back to camp. On the way we drove past Chisasiko pool, one of the four Mana pools. At the west end of the pool was an elephant cow in the hyacinth quieting feeding without a care in the world.

It was so good to be back. It was very hot, but a dry heat. There are so many things to see that for the most part you are so distracted that you do not think about the heat. I have found that if you do not consciously think about it you do not get neurotic about is and all is well.

“Photographing in Mana is not about sitting on a vehicle as an insulated observer. You get off the vehicle and walk with the animals.  With an experienced guide you blend in so as not to disturb the game. It is a wilderness pilgrimage. Spending time in this wild place will restore your perspective, heighten your awareness of the beauty all around you and a deep sense of gratefulness will well up inside you. Mana will unlock memories and open up new, uncharted pathways into your consciousness.”

~ Mike Haworth

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

Have fun,

Mike

This is the last post from my Serengeti trip in September with CNP Safaris travelling around the western corridor in their wonderful specialised photographic vehicle. The Grumeti Tented Camp was absolutely superb and the staff were friendly and very attentive. Rather than give you too many words, I thought I would rather show you some of the rhythm, scenes and beauty we were immersed in for nine days in spring in the Serengeti.

“We go far to fill our senses with the unknown. The Serengeti strikes a primal chord with its rhythm and drama. Up before first light, excited about what the day will bring. Oh, and it is never the same. The story reveals itself through the colour, light and movement. You get immersed in a far bigger story being played out and you are privileged to witness a few scenes.”

~Mike Haworth

A king watching out for his hidden queen.

Early morning, cool, overcast and quiet, watching a herd of elephants unhurriedly making their way across the Nyasiriro plain towards the Grumeti river.

“Your vision, rather than just your seeing, displays a thousand or more possible paintings in the simplest things.”

~Andrew Baker

A Cheetah family below Masira hill. The mother and son resting, while the daughter kept vigil. 

Mother and daughter moving in the late afternoon. The male cub walked in the same direction but some distance away.

“Vision is not enough – it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.”

~Vaclav Havel

A dramatic sunrise penetrates the hazy early morning atmosphere.

High morning sun in an overcast and hazy sky.

A female Southern Ground Hornbill, not a raptor but a voracious avian hunter gliding over the plains.

Late afternoon and this troop of Olive Baboons was making its way back to the river where it was going to sleep in the trees for the night.

A pride of lions, “flat cats”, close to water and waiting for night when they can enact their deadly play. (double click on the panorama to enlarge it).

“The eye is the notebook of the poet.”

~James Russell Lowell

We got back to camp early one evening. This was the scene from the front of my tent. The evening chorus had begun with crickets chirping, nightjars trilling, Fish Eagles calling and lions roaring. There was also the occasional screech from a young baboon being disciplined as they settled down for the night.

Another pride of “flat cats”, sleeping in the afternoon shade after a hearty meal of zebra.

Open plains with plenty of room for a young giraffe to cavort.

A “gathering ” of giraffe assembled to intimidate two young cheetah – and it worked.

One lucky Black-backed Jackal which had managed to catch a scrub hare and was taking it back to his family.

While waiting for “flat cats” to get active, this was the scene from the back of the vehicle looking out towards Chamulio mountain.

Rested and now alert in the fading afternoon light. This lioness was scanning the landscape for her next meal.

“Painted skies colour our imagination. New beginnings and a new day. A new story to tell and to treasure.”

~Mike Haworth

Early morning, out on the plains watching the new day dawn.

The Grumeti river in spate. This was September so not the rainy season but a good shower flushed the system.

Late afternoon with plenty of cloud around. The sky was illuminated as the last rays of light burst through cloud bank before the day gave way to night.

“Big skies to stretch your vision. The space to breathe deeply. Room for your senses to swim and your imagination to play.”

~Mike Haworth

Oh, that sense of space.

Unusual to see a pride on the move out in the open in mid-morning. Something must have disturbed them.

A panorama looking up the rise towards a herd of wildebeest and Thomson’s gazelle gazing peacefully (double click to see an enlarged view of any of the panoramas).

The dawn of a new day – pregnant with expectation and filled with promise.

An overcast and somewhat foreboding view of the Grumeti river around mid-morning. 

Later in the day, the Grumeti river in spate, a test for anyone or anything wanting to cross it.

A few of our distant relatives enjoying the spring blossoms in the verdant trees on the banks of the Grumeti river.

“Muddied in the attack. Feline warrior, armed with canines and claws. Independent, resourceful and fearless. Rest for there are more battles to come.”

~ Mike Haworth

A lone and muddy lioness resting after having captured and killed a warthog next to the water.

On the west side of the Grumeti river closer to the Kilawira range of hills.

“A huge other worldly ball rises above the horizon and pushes down the veil of darkness. This ball of blazing of colour will change everything, heralding a massive transformation at the start of each day.  This transformation which takes place in the cool and quiet is called dawn.”

~ Mike Haworth

A humbling view of the sun peering above the horizon and through the Balanites at dawn.

A minute or two after the sun has peered above the horizon. It was cool and quiet creating a sublime sense of being of alive.

A herd of elephants moving away from the Grumeti river. The herd was clustered together possibly because they smelt lions in that area.

Twisted, gnarled but still standing tall, waiting for dawn.

A family group of giraffe in an open space where they could relax and had a good visual of any encroaching threats. 

A young male lion, well sated, walking back to the edge of woodlands to rest in the shade.

A Tawny opportunist in search of meal as the pride of lions moved away from their kill.

“There is something other worldly and spellbinding about watching the sun rise above the horizon. That ball of shimmering oranges and yellows rises like a phoenix out of the darkness below. The light heralds the change in shift, the cue for the nocturnes to settle down to rest and the light brigade to take up arms. Still cool and quiet, but warming and brightening.”

~Mike Haworth

An African sunrise with Balanites in the foreground.

It is difficult to explain the feeling, but the Serengeti fills your senses. There are vast open spaces with big skies giving you the feeling of being able to breath deeply.  It is a wild place where the rules of survival have existed for millennia. You are acutely aware that you are a visitor in this wild place and you need to respect its ways. The vistas will make your senses swim. The colours at dawn and dusk are spellbinding. The abundance and diversity of wildlife will refresh your soul. Visit this wild place for a few days and it will give you a window into a world of immense intelligence and structure which has a natural rhythm choreographed by the weather. So far humans have a minor role to play here but it is a critical role to preserve this wonderful spectacle and diversity for future generations to learn from.

“Nothing but breathing the air of Africa, and actually walking through it, can communicate the indescribable sensations.”

~ William Burchell

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

Have fun,

Mike

The annual migration of wildebeest and other grazing herbivores across the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is one of the greatest spectacles in the natural world.  The Serengeti is well known for its vast herds of wildebeest and zebra which migrate in a clockwise route from Ndutu in the south around February and March up along the western side of the Serengeti through the western Corridor around May and June and on up to the Masai Mara arriving there from late July through to September. The migrating herds then follow the rains back down to the short grass plains of Ndutu in time for calving season around February each year. The down leg back to Ndutu is usually along the east side of the Serengeti. Wildebeest are known to have a very good sense of smell and are thought to be able to smell rain up to 25 kilometres away. The migration encompasses around 1.5 million wildebeest, 200,000 zebra, 18,000 eland and 500,000 Thompson’s gazelle. Needless, to say the the resident predators take full advantage of the passing feast.

“Millions have passed following the smell of rain. Distant thunder calls the herds. Ancient paths show the way. Darkened skies sit on the  grass plains at the horizon.  That smell of wet earth conjures the sweet taste of new grasses. Thousands know this and thousands are driven by this association regardless of the known danger from canines and claws. This is storm chasing on the grandest scale.”

~Mike Haworth

There is a great diversity and abundance of herbivores in the Serengeti. These herbivores include eland, Debussa waterbuck, wildebeest, Coke’s Hartebeest, Topi, Impala, Grant’s and Thompson’s gazelles, zebra and buffalo. There are also the smaller herbivores such as reedbuck and duiker.

By mid-September, the migrating herds had passed through the Western Corridor section of the Serengeti National Park some three months earlier. It was very evident that the migration has passed through as the grass had been well and truly eaten down. There was still water from the infrequent rains in September but the grasses were only just beginning to recover. The majority of the wildebeest, zebra, topi, eland and Thompson’s gazelle migrate as part of the mega-herd, but not all. A fraction of these herbivores stay in the western corridor. They stay in sufficient numbers to enable the territorial predators such as lions, hyaena, cheetah and leopards to survive through the lean time.

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass but learning to dance in the rain.”

~Unknown

Many of the wildebeest left behind are bulls which stand in their demarcated territory. This particular bull was full of the joys of spring bucking and prancing around just for fun, by the look of it.

Another lone wildebeest bull moving around in his territory.

“The earth exists for all beings, not just human beings.”

~Unknown

We saw many topi in the western corridor. These antelope are a sub-species of a tsessebe. They look like hartebeest. Their coats have short hair and have a lovely sheen to them. The topi are very quick and if they see the predator in time they can usually out run them. The next image shows a topi flying with all four hooves off the ground.

Topi are incredibly quick and have been known to reach speeds in excess of 80kms per hour. They also show off their strength and prowess with stiff legged prances like a lipazzaner  and bound on all fours, like gazelles.

“To watch a Topi lope, then dash and race,  and pronk and prance, reveals a sense of power and joy well beyond the pure flight response.”

~Mike Haworth

The topi has a striking reddish-brown body colour and distinct black patches on its face and  just above its leg joints and greyish shoulders and flanks.

Topis are gregarious but when one male intrudes on another male’s territory, the two go down on their knees to fight with their horns in what becomes a pushing match to establish dominance.

Male topis have their own territories which they mark with dung and they also mark grass stems in their area with a secretion from their preorbital gland. The can stand on these mounds for a long time trying to be noticed.

“Be curious not judgmental.”

~Walt Whitman

One of the herbivores which does not migrate is the buffalo. We found a few large herds in the Western Corridor. Presumably this is what keeps the lions going through the lean phase from August to May.

This is a strong animal with attitude. Buffalo will always look directly at you and lift their head and look down their noses at you.  This was one of the bulls protecting the one flank of the herd. He was not about to take any nonsense from anything.

“Nature’s drama is never the same. Expect the unexpected it is sometimes low down, sometimes high up, sometimes fast, and sometimes slow. Each time mother nature reveals a little more, and each time you get a sense of how much you have still to learn.”

~Mike Haworth

Another herbivore which does not migrate is the Masai giraffe. Giraffe have different patterns much like a fingerprint, but giraffe in certain regions have a particular  pattern type.

This was bull giraffe using his full extension to browse on his favoured part of the tree.

Another group of Masai giraffe seen on the way to Nyasiriro plains. It is not often you see giraffe lying down but this individual must have felt secure because it could not get up quickly if there was a threat.

A family group of Masai giraffe down the road passed the Grumeti landing strip.

A single female eland down near the water pool dammed by the road embankment. Eland are very wary and will normally walk or run away from a vehicle. This must have been a young adult judging from its size and the size of its dewlap, the flap of skin below its neck.

Grant’s gazelle are bigger with lighter colouring and have no dark brown side stripe like the  Thompson’s gazelle.

Wildebeest and Thompson’s gazelle grazing together on the open plain.

A female Thompson’s gazelle and her fawn. They stopped to have a look around and in a split second were off.

You may notice the lack of zebra images. While we saw zebra, we do not see many and I did not get any images interesting enough for this post.

“The very essence of instinct is that it is followed independently by reason.”

~Charles Darwin

What I find amazing is that all the herbivores feed on different parts of the savanna. According to the WorldWildLife.org, different herbivores tend to feed on different plant species and on different parts of a plant. This reduces competition and enables a grazing sequence by different ungulate species. They eat different types of fauna, be it buds, leaves, or stems. Furthermore, some herbivores prefer areas closer to woodlands and others open woodlands and others open grasslands. Kudu prefer thickets in woodlands, impala prefer savanna, Grant’s gazelle prefer herbs and shrub’s  lower foliage, eland eat shrubs’ upper foliage, wildebeest usually feed on a wide variety of nutritious, short grasses, and topi tend to eat long grass leaves. Giraffes have no competition at tree top level. Buffalo are able to eat long fibrous grasses so tend to clean up grazing areas in the Serengeti.

“What is life? It is a flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time. It is the little shadow which ruins across and loses itself in the sunset.”

~Crowfoot

You can also tell the type of food that herbivores eat by their size and shape of their muzzle. The group of herbivores classified as ruminants have specialised stomachs. and lack upper front incisors and have a dental pad instead. This feature is especially evident in giraffe, buffalo and wildebeest.

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

Have fun,

Mike