We leave the camp on the banks of the Zambezi and arrive at Kanga, still in the vast Mana Pools NP, just before lunch time.
We shared a table with Susan, an Australian who, like us, had moved from the riverside.
And with Carl and Nelsy Ncube, a couple of famous Zimbabwean comedians, a wealth of questions and jokes about Zimbabwean society, the peculiarities of its ethnicities (and dialects), especially the Xona, the predominant one, with more than 13.6 million of 18 million inhabitants of the country.
Most of them sound esoteric to us. Still, given the almost hysterical commitment with which they turn the table into a stage, we activate our ears and brains and strive to understand.
The Show at the Table of Comedians Carl and Nelsy
They address society in general. As the Xona dialect is accelerated and brutish, unsuitable for romantic and passionate expressions such as “I love you” or “I want to make love with you” which, like almost everything in Xona, sound like machine gun fire.
And the other main dialect of Zimbabwe, Ndebele, where most words begin with i. Which leads to a mockery that Carl tells at the table and that he often repeats in his shows.
That the dialect Ndebele There are so many words starting with “i” and it is so important that it led former British colonists to create words that are now universal, such as “Internet","information” and, of course, “idea”. Neither Carl nor Nelsy dare to directly mention the president or politicians.
The four decades of governance, more than dictatorial, tyrannical, of Robert Mugabe they left a legacy of repression that comedians still prefer not to challenge.
Finally, we leave the meal. We moved to the camp office for a while, submitting to the need to access the Internet, a term that Ndebele continue to complain.
Four o'clock arrives. This is a key time in any camp and lodge in Sub-Saharan Africa, time to set off in departure mode. safari or game drive.
Jeep departure, in Game Drive
Evening Game Drive, in Kanga
With Carl and Nelsy on board, we have the least silent and peaceful experiences ever, with the couple's observations and conversations too often imposing themselves on the natural sound.
Bono, the designated guide, surrendered to his popularity.
The most impressive thing we see are a few hippos and the silhouette of a lion, known to the guide and which we would meet again.
And, at the close of the day, a resplendent sunset adorned by dozens of fan palm trees swaying in the wind.
Silhouettes of fan palm trees generated by the sunset
Kanga and a Prolific Fauna less dependent on the Zambezi
The next morning, exciting animal sightings unfold.
We were still leaving the camp when an intrigued juvenile elephant blocked the open walkway in the palisade, with the idea of inspecting the facilities.
Bono films it for a while.
So, remove him.
The elephant disappears among the thorny bushes that surround the field.
We moved to the opposite side, to the plank platform overlooking the Kanga lagoon that welcomed us.
Herd of elephants on the bank of the Kanga Camp lagoon
When we got there, we realized that this elephant had joined his herd.
Eight or nine more were drinking from the muddy water of the lagoon. Many others, already served, feasted on leaves from their favorite trees, which were greener than in other parks full of pachyderms in the world. old ZimbabweFor example, the PN Hwange.
On this side, two monitor lizards, so big that they almost looked like crocodiles, were recharging themselves in the sun, keeping an eye on the pachyderms.
Monitor Lizard recharging in the sun
The presence of the elephants and the time they enjoyed the lagoon proves its providentiality and peculiarity.
Most of the camps and lodges in the extreme north of Zimbabwe and the southern threshold of Zambia are located on the banks of the Zambezi River.
It is there that, during the dry season, from April to November, you can count on an abundance of animals dependent on constant water.
Hippopotamus emerged in one of the Mana Pools lagoons
Kanga Camp. An Alternative Camp from African Bush Camps
With its Kanga Camp, parent company African Bush Camps has taken a different approach.
Settle in the Kanga basin, about 15km southeast of the Zambezi, much closer to a tributary of its river which, with the loss of rain, loses its flow.
Head of buffalo recently killed by predators
At first, Kanga Camp was a mere basic bush camp.
With the viability of pumping water from underground into the lagoon proven and attracting abundant specimens, African Bush Camps improved the tents. He opted for Meru style models.
He transformed them into the comfortable chalets that sheltered us, supported by the central and communal dining and living structure adjacent to the lagoon.
Kanga Camp guide on the platform at the edge of the lagoon
The new version of the camp seemed much more in keeping with the diversity of animals that frequent it during the dry season.
Big 4, including several thirsty herds of elephants
And of a possible – we would not say probable – sighting of Big 4. As we well know, leopards always live in avoidance mode. In those parts of Zimbabwe, you can only be seen with great luck.
The rhinos that would close the emblematic Big 5 do not exist at all in Mana Pools National Park.
To compensate, countless other species abound, including a myriad of birds.
A yellow-billed stork flies in the skies of Mana Pools
We set off aboard the jeep. We passed a few elephants that arrived in a late caravan.
Upon seeing the jeep, one of the juveniles shakes his head and trunk, showing off his precocious authority to the herd.
Bono steps back to a safe distance.
Then, proceed deeper into the forest.
Small flock of guinea fowl
We arrived at the bed of one of the Zambezi's tributaries, already covered in coarse sand.
Stuck Jeep, on the Imminence of a Sleepy Lion
Bono prepares to cross it. When we look to the right, we see another Kanga Camp jeep stuck in the sand.
And with a lone lion, lying a mere ten meters away, watched over by a flock of baboons.
Baboon caravan on the edge of the Kanga Camp lagoon
From what we understand, a guide colleague of his, named Love, had tried with great passion to please a Dutch couple, lacking telephoto lenses and dissatisfied with the lion being too far from the lane the jeeps were crossing.
In trouble, Love asks Bono for help. This one gets as close as he can. He attaches the winch of his jeep to the other and, with difficulty, pulls it out of the quagmire. Apprehensive about all the commotion, Scruffy, a lion with dirty fur retreats, without us being able to photograph it.
We lost him and most of the afternoon. During the still possible wandering, we come across a large flock of guinea fowl and another of baboons, in such a pandemonium that dozens of impalas scatter in a stream of acrobatic jumps.
Impalas on the run, around Kanga Camp
Bono makes a point of making up for wasted time. We are entitled to a snack at sunset – the usual nothing sundowner – extended.
Extended Post-Dusk and a Magical Return to Kanga Camp
We enjoyed it next to two acacia trees.
We see them become a strange vegetal blackness, an absolute counterbalance to the twilight exuberance:
lilac, purple, yellow and orange.
Kanga Camp guide, at dusk
When we returned to camp, the dome had already starred.
Without us expecting it, Kanga Camp employees arrested a group of newcomers with traditional dances welcome.
They were joined by Carl and Nelsy Ncube, the distraught Dutch couple and us, four other guests. One of them was the privileged and enterprising owner of the African Bush Camps.
It had flown from some other camp in Zimbabwe, Zambia or Botswana to see how things flowed there.
At the beginning of June and Winter in the Southern Hemisphere, the night brings a cold incompatible with shorts and short sleeves. The employees light the bonfire in the Boma section.
We all sat around. Carl and Nelsy resume their humorous display. Right next door, the group of the owner of the African Bush Camps shares a parallel party.
Lost from the continuous awakenings about the dawn, we abstract what we can.
We sipped Zambezi Lagers, contemplating the speckled pitch above. Sparks zigzagged until they landed and extinguished in the lagoon.
We let ourselves sink into the campaign-green director's chairs.
Early the next morning, a plane flight was waiting for us for a few days in the capital Harare. We knew very well the turnaround that our sequel in Zimbabwe was going to undergo.
Chromatic effect generated by fog, above the Zambezi River
HOW TO GO
Fly to Zimbabwe, via Maputo, with TAP AirPortugal: flytap.com/ and LAM. Book your travel program in Zimbabwe with the operator Quadrante Viagens: quadranteviagens.pt/.
