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

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

It was our last day and we were not going to waste any of our remaining time in this wonderland. We were up and out before sunrise,  hoping to see the end of the night shift. The Trichilia area in Mana seems to be a magnet for game. It was around 5h30 and we had driven about 100 metres out of camp, when we found this pride of lions.

“Life is a journey; Time is a river. The door is ajar…”

~Jim Butcher

After a few minutes of watching them, the two lionesses in the pride walked away from the river. The youngsters remained for a few more minutes, lying on the edge of one of the alluvial terraces. They had a wonderful view across the Zambezi lying in luxuriant vegetation next to the river.

“Advice from the river. Go with the flow Immerse yourself in nature. Slow down and meander. Go around the obstacles. be thoughtful of those downstream. Stay current. The beauty is the journey”.

~ Ilan Shamir

One thing that strikes you immediately about the Mana lions is that they look ragged. It is clear that living in Mana is not easy, even for lions. This lioness looked as if she had lived rough for a long time. She was also looked fairly old.

“This process of the good life is not, I am convinced, a life for the faint-hearted. It involves the stretching and growing of becoming more and more of one’s potentialities. It involves the courage to be. It means launching oneself fully into the stream of life“.
~Carl Rogers

This older female was leading her pride away from the river to rest in the forest somewhere. She really took her time to stretch and and sharpen her claws and appeared to really enjoy it.

“The one excellent thing that can be learned from a lion is that whatever a man intends doing should be done by him with a whole-hearted and strenuous effort.” 

~ Chanakya

The sun had just started to rise in the east and light was clear with soft contrast and it caught her eye perfectly. You can see that there was no fat on this female, she was lean and built for hunting.

Eventually, the other younger lions followed the older lioness away from the river. They walked through the Natal Mahogany grove. It is not often you get lions walking past you and looking directly into the rising sun with the light catching their eye perfectly.

One tough lady – bright eyed, lean and muscular.

“I will persist until I suceed, I was not delivered into this world into defeat, nor does failure course in my veins. I  am not a sheep to be prodded by my shepherd. I am a lion, and I refuse to talk, walk and to sleep with the sheep. I will persist until I suceed”.

~Og Mandino

A second lioness with one of the cubs were following the lead lioness. They walked across the road right in front of us. They were too close to get off the vehicle and get a eye level shot.  I thought this image showed just how tough this lioness looked but the life in her eyes burned brightly.

Give her an hour or so and those eyes will not be so wide open and alert. She has probably been out and about the whole night.

“It is better to conquer yourself than win a thousand battles”.

~ Buddha

The two lionesses were walking away from the river into the forest. We got off the vehicle and followed them on foot, giving them enough space not to push them. The lions walked into a lush croton grove and that was the last we saw of them.

On their way, the lions drew the attention of many onlookers. They walked past plenty of game but did not attempt to hunt. Needless,to say, the eland, baboons and Impala all watched them very carefully.

After spending some time with the lions, some of our group had to get back to camp as they were catching a flight out to Hwange later that morning. Dave, Jocelin and myself stayed behind. Dave and I were leaving that afternoon and Jocelyn was going to stay another three days (lucky lady). Having bid our farewells, we decided to walk down river to see the Carmine Bee-eaters with Tanya leading the way, of course. This was the view looking north-west back up the river towards camp.

“I would love to live life as a river flows, carried by its own unfolding”.

~John O’Donohue

Little Bee-eaters and White-fronted Bee-eaters are endemic in this area but the carmines migrate back in spring when the insect life is at its highest.

It is interesting to see how  dead trees which fall into the river provide a base from which much other vegetation grows. It also acts as hub for many insects and plenty of birdlife.

“Abundance is not something we acquire,. It is something we tune into”.

~Wayne Dyer

About a kilometre down river along the Zimbabwe side of the Zambezi, we found a small colony of Carmines, probably 1000 or so. The carmines’ colours appeared richer than we find in South Africa and it was amazing to see almost every bee-eater in flight had an insect in its beak.

As we saw at Kalizo, in the Caprivi Strip, the carmine colony is frequented by Yellow-billed Kites. These kites are quick enough to catch a carmine on the wing but their success rate is low. They are mostly hunting for the weak or injured birds and of course the real raiding will start once the chicks hatch and start to try to fly.

With these birds you have to pick your shots. Many fly some distance away but every now and then one or two individuals will fly close to you, and those are the shots.

“Keep your rivers flowing as they will, and you will continue to know the most important of all freedoms—the boundless scope of the human mind to contemplate wonders, and to begin to understand their meaning”. 

~David Brower

The Southern Carmine Bee-eater hawking insects. It has that stunning carmine breast and belly colouring. It is distinguished from it northern cousin by its jade crown where as the Northen Carmines crown and throat is jade to blue in colour.

These carmines hawk insects from a perch and are highly skillfully flyers. Tapering, low-aspect-ratio (ratio of length to width) wings are found on birds, such as bee-eaters, which must be fast and agile in order to outmaneuver both their prey and their predators.

This was the part of the river bank where the carmines were nesting. Most of them roosted in the trees above the bank but some families were very busy excavating and preparing their nests. This is a migratory species, spending the breeding season, between August and November, in Zimbabwe, before moving south to South Africa for the summer months, and then migrating to equatorial Africa from March to August. The migration is thought to be driven by the fluctuations of insects, which drop off sharply in the southern African winters.

A view looking back up the river from the carmine colony. This is an exquisitely beautiful part of the world, wild with abundance.

“Wild rivers are earth’s renegades, defying gravity, dancing to their own tunes, resisting the authority of humans, always chipping away, and eventually always winning”. 

~ Richard Bangs & Christian Kallen

I wish I was the water flowing down the Zambezi
Swirling through the grasses, tickling the roots of trees.
I would rush over dark rocks, twirling and flirting,
Flushing the tiger fish down gurgling rapids
I’d laugh hysterically as I crashed and soared
Over and down the granite lip of Victoria Falls
Exploding 110m deep beneath in a dark and terrifying hole
I’d bubble forth and rise to the surface
As light as the air, revitalised by the most mighty massage
I’d dash through the gorges, laughing at the white water rafters
Fearful yet joyous at my strength.
I’d visit both Zimbabwe and Zambia, no need for a passport
Exempt from a Visa fee, no thought as to my nationality
I’d soar to the heavens, picked up by the sun
And dart down to earth again, to have some more fun
I’d be best friends with the frogs, I’d caress the skin of hippo’s
Brush clean the teeth of crocodiles.
I could be sucked up the trunk of an elephant child
He’d snort me back out, I’d never forget the gentle, loving giant
Down, down further I’d go
Smoothly flowing across sandbanks, marvelling at wildife
Red filtered light as I passed through fish gills
Coming up gasping, eyes on the Zambezi escarpment hills
Oh I’d be quite long on my journey
Finally crossing into the Mozambique delta
Lost amongst pampas and waterberry trees
I’d see a final sand barrier and suddenly I’d be at one with the sea.
Oh I wish I was the water in the beautiful big Zambezi.

~ Trish Berry

A big thank you to Marlon Du Toit from Wild Eye for putting together a wonderful wildlife safari. Mana Pools is a very special wildlife area and the photographic opportunities and light in the forest are unique. What made it more special was the ability to get off the vehicle and walk. Tanya, our Mana guide, was superb and very knowledgeable. Your understanding of the wildlife made us all feel reassured even when close to big game. Lastly, to Dave and Tess from Mwinilunga Safaris who hosted us in the camp. It was such fun. Tess and her team’s cuisine in the bush was outstanding and it was wonderful to reacquaint with friends last seen decades ago. I will be back same time next year – for sure.

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

Have fun,

Mike

“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

Second last day. Up and out before sunrise. As we were driving toward Chisasiku pool we stopped because of a loud commotion in one of the trees just next to the right hand side of the road. A baboon youngster was getting well and truly disciplined –  by the sounds coming out of the tree. What was unusual about this was that the screaming went on for about ten minutes. Female baboons raced down the tree and across the open area in front of us. Then a few minutes later they would race back, barking up into the tree. This female baboon and her two youngsters decided that it was not the best place to be and beat a hasty retreat out of harms way. Anyone who has watched baboons being disciplined know their retribution can be harsh and there is a lot of screaming, much like a child who has become hysterical.

This young female baboon was watching the commotion from a respectable distance.  We never got to find out what was going on but there were baboons running to and from the tree and appeared to be quite distressed. This was the most agitated I have ever seen baboons.

A while later once all the commotion had died down, we wandered further along the road and eventually got off the vehicle and walked deeper into the forest.  Peace restored and beauty recognised again without the distraction.

“He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature”.
~Socrates

The river is a powerful draw for animals and people alike. We were close to Mana mouth when we saw two elephant bulls crossing the Zambezi, returning from a sojourn in Zambia.

Elephants this size do not fuss about crocodiles. You can see they were walking along sandbanks in the river. Some of the sandbanks were not deep at all.

“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.”
~John Burroughs

It was hot that morning, but these two gentlemen looked very cool and were in no hurry to get out of the river. The two bulls spotted a dead tree trunk which had been the foundation for a salad bar. The two gentlemen duly stopped and helped themselves.

We were standing in the shade under a large Natal Mahogany. It was an ideal opportunity to try a frame a shot of these two adventurers. The grass and reeds growing along the side of the fallen tree trunk looked luxuriant and the elephant bulls really tucked in.

“Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine”.
~Anthony J. D’Angelo

They were so engrossed in their mid morning salad that they did not notice us in the shade of  the Trichilia. The wind must have shifted and all of a sudden they were aware of us standing  10 to 15 metres above them.

Enough salad had been eaten, and they did not enjoy being stared at while eating, so these two bulls moved upstream probably to an exit point grooved by many hippo’s coming out to graze in the evenings and going back into the water before the sun got up.

Away from the river, Marlon took us to see a massive Strangler Fig tree. Jared, one of the photographers in our group stood in front of the tree to give it some perspective.

“Trees are the earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening heaven”.
~Rabindranath Tagore

Eventually in our wanderings we got to Long Pool. This is one of Mana Pools four main pools. The name “Mana” means “four” in the local Shona language. This applies to the four large pools inland from the Zambezi River. These pools are the remnant ox-bow lakes that the Zambezi River carved out thousands of years ago as it changed its course northwards. ”Long Pool”, is the largest of the four pools, extending some six kilometres with its axis lying west-east. This pool has a large population of hippo and crocodiles and is a favourite for the large herds of elephant that come out of the thickly vegetated areas in the south to drink.

We saw two pods of hippos on the east side of the pool. Having watched them for a while over a cup of coffee and a rusk we all agreed that we would come back in the late afternoon at last light to hopefully get some dramatic photographs of these “river horses”.

“The good man is the friend of all living things.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

We were not disappointed. The late afternoon light was superb, casting the water surface in a very fiery, moody light.

One by one we moved down close to the water’s edge to assess how comfortable these hippos were with us about 30 metres away. We were told to pre-plan our quick escape route if one of the hippos charged us. We had the occasional wide mouth display signalling that they did not want us around but they did not take the threats beyond that.

Thankfully, Tanya and Marlon kept an eye on the hippos and on the water’s edge to see if any crocodiles were getting overly interested in photography. The hippos settled down and soon disregarded us. Suddenly, just what we had been waiting for, a tussle started in the pod.

It is difficult to know what started the displaying but it was great photography. We were lying on our bellies close to the water’s edge trying to get as low down to the water level as possible to get the full effect of the evening sun on the water.

The disagreement was short-lived but the open mouths and splashing really added drama to the images.

“We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us”.
~Albert Einstein

Eventually, one of the bulls was getting irritated with us around and let us know it with his open mouth display.

That was enough warning for us and the light was fading fast so we called it a day. Thankfully, we had no incidents with either hippos or crocodiles. It is nerve-wracking shooting close to the water’s edge on your belly to get the right perspective and reflections off the water when you know only too well there are “flat dogs ” in the water which will happily take you if given a chance.

“Like music, photography is a universal language. Anyone who sees an image of a tree will instantly recognise it as a tree….regardless of what language they speak. And just like music, through the harmonious and deliberate use of compositional elements we, as photographers, can evoke a broad spectrum of emotions in our viewers”.

~Marco Petracci

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

have fun,

Mike

We got going  before sunrise, as usual. Each morning we would start off with the intention of looking for the wild dogs. The hope was that we would get some time alone with them. Invariably we got waylaid. The vehicle in front of us stirred up dust which became illuminated in the early morning light. These patches of early morning dust infused light created an unusual and beautiful hue.

The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance. Proceed, and light will dawn, and shine with increasing clearness on your path.

~Jim Rohn

At times you see the strangest things!

We found this small herd of Zebra quite close to where we saw the wild dogs on our second day.

I  like the three up and three down composition.

“Can’t you see that it’s a beautiful world. Come with me I’ll show you. Open your eyes and see the beauty around. Take my hand and I’ll lead you.”

~Dan Koday

The iconic Mana Pools forest image. It was peaceful, a troop of baboons was foraging behind this lone young bull elephant. The arch of the tree trunk added to the compositional interest.

We were enjoying the serenity, when it was suddenly interrupted by the trumpeting of a pair of young elephants racing back towards the small family herd. Something must have given them quite a fright. The bigger of the two looked like it was running in baggy pyjamas. You almost expected the elephants to break into a canter but of course they never did.

Peace again as this mother and her calf wandered through the arch.

When not competing for food the wildlife happily co-exists.

“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. ~ Albert Einstein

Further on we stopped to chat to Dave MacFarlane, our host at Mwinilunga camp. He had stopped because he found a male lion lying in a thicket about 100 metres from the road. We got off the vehicle and Tanya, our guide, was very specific about what we had to do and how we were going to approach this male lion. Again, I think there were too many people. The male lion gave us a growl to indicate that we were getting too close. One of the things we were told was, under no circumstances were we to run if he charged us. He was increasingly uncomfortable with us when we were about thirty metres away and gave a us a minor charge to show his displeasure. The next image shows his rigid posture seconds after the warning charge. After the second warning, Tanya told everyone to walk back the way we had come, very slowly. Everyone listened and the encounter ended without incident and the male lion lay down in the thicket again, but kept his eyes fixed on us.

A little while later we went for a walk in another part of the forest, this time looking for elephants. We did not find Boswell or Fred, the two bulls well known for standing on their hind legs to reach the lower branches of the Albidas. The bull we found was doing the next best thing and was stepping on an ant hill at the base of the tree with his front feet to get more reach into the tree. 

“Seek the wisdom that will untie your knot. Seek the path that demands your whole being. ~ Rumi

Later that afternoon with a little more searching we found Boswell. He was easily identified by the radio collar around his neck. This particular image show just how big his tusks are. 

When I see the intelligent adaption by such a sentient being like this, I find it difficult to comprehend why someone would rather have a little piece of a huge elephant ‘s canine than appreciate his magnificence in the bush and respect his ability to survive in the bush for probably over fifty years.

I will never grow tired of watching a six tonne animal get onto his back legs to reach high into a tree to get at the food he needs. After watching Boswell doing his thing we wandered down to the river. The Zambezi is a big and wild river. The next image shows this giant in a resting state where the wide expanse of water is flowing around islands and through its deep channels at a speed of around five kilometres per hour. When the Kariba dam wall was being built in 1950s, the Batonga people, who lived in the Zambezi valley before the lake filled up, warned that building a dam across the river would anger the river god, Namyi Namyi. This was the mythical Zambezi Snake spirit, having the body of a snake and the head of a fish, which is believed by the indigenous Batonga people to protect and give them sustenance in difficult times. Kariba Gorge was chosen as the site for the dam wall. Until that time, nobody, other than the Batongas, had ever heard of it. The big rock jutting out into the narrow gorge which was considered sacred to the Batonga people. The project managers on the Kariba dam wall construction project took no notice of the superstitious warnings of the Batongas. Sure enough, two years in a row, 1957 and 1958, the river rose over 150 foot to break the coffer dam wall  which had been built to hold back the river’s water while construction of that section of the dam wall was under way. The Batonga people said at the time that the river god was angry about the damming up of the river. 

The river god has since settled down allowing vistors like me to take photographs of peaceful scenes such as these two bull elephants, one being Boswell, drinking from the river.

These elephant are big enough that even the huge “flat dogs” (crocodiles) in the river leave them alone. There is something about this scene which resonates with my African heart, perhaps it is the vastness, abundance and peace.

“If you are driven by fear, anger or pride nature will force you to compete. If you are guided by courage, awareness, tranquility and peace nature will serve you.”
― Amit Ray

All is well with the world looking at this scene.

We stayed down by the river for the rest of the afternoon just exploring. As the sun started to set, the scenes came alive with warm colours. As the silhouettes develop, one notices that almost all of the lower branches of the trees have been trimmed to the same level. This is due to constant trimming from browsers such as kudu and eland, and of course some help from the elephants.

It must been around twenty minutes to half an hour after sunset  when the colours of setting sun-lit sky begin to saturate and the blues and purples begin to appear. When you are standing in this balmy temperature ( probably around 32 or 35 degrees) and the colours light up, it  brings all your senses alive and at times like this you are very grateful to be alive and be  immersed in such beauty. 

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

Now it was last light, and the last of the pinks and apricots are reflected in the river. Time to adjourn to go and have supper and tell stories around the camp fire.

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

“Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace.”

~James Allen

Have fun,

Mike

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