Around ten in the morning we returned from the final safari.
We said goodbye to the immense Hwange National Park. A tiny plane awaited us, one of those that only carried four passengers, the two in the back, already quite cramped.
The destination is more than 2h30 to the northeast of Zimbabwe.
If on the flight of Victoria Falls protocols for PN Hwange We had been assigned a pilot who looked too young, in this case he seemed too old to be in command of the flight without a co-pilot and for our taste.
We barely had time to hesitate. The pilot had everything ready. All we had to do was put our bags in the tiny hold and we took off. Marco, me, in the co-pilot's seat. Sara in the back.
In the initial stretch, the plane progresses under clear skies, with views of Lake Kariba to the left and to the north. The lake is left behind. It gives way to a succession of cliffs that introduce a rocky plateau.
Instead of clear skies, we enter an area filled with dense clouds that make the plane bounce.
The combination of turbulence with the drama of the landscape below and the advanced age of the pilot, generates anxiety in us.
With the control panel so exposed, just in case, I dedicate myself to studying the instruments and how the pilot used them. A clandestine, unexpected and brief self-training in piloting that is never necessary.
Mana Pools: Feet on Firm Ground, on the Banks of the Zambezi
At the appointed time, we landed on the red dirt runway, half covered in grass, in Mana Pools National Park. Coincidence of coincidences, the guide waiting for us is called Cloud.
He took us and the pilot to the Mana River Camp that would welcome us, on the banks of the Zambezi River, which separates Zimbabwe from Zambia.
As is typical of lodges and camps in southern Africa, six or seven employees welcome us to the sound of one of the traditional instruments of the country's predominant Xona ethnic group.
It sounds like a mbiraAlso known as kalimba, made of thin metal rods of different sizes, placed inside a half gourd that serves as an amplifier.
They set us up in a tent on the high bank of the Zambezi. In keeping with the dry season, the river had shrunk. It was divided into two or three sections of water, one just below.
We barely have time to assess the surrounding terrain.
The First Departure of the Day
O safari In the afternoon we left at four, led by another guide, King, who was waiting for us, with the restless company of a Swiss couple and an Australian woman. We left by jeep, for most of the journey, along the Zambezi.
We come across flocks of marabou storks watching for catfish trapped in ponds and muddy areas, as well as crocodiles and yellow-billed storks.
Further away from the river, herds of elephants graze in the tall grass.
They cross one of the dirt roads that serves the camp, on the way to one of their chosen overnight spots.
Unexpectedly, King announced that we would be returning on foot. “Yes, we saw elephants and there are also lions. Even so, you don’t have to worry!” he tried to reassure the suspicious passengers.
“It’s one of the modes of discovery at Mana Pools that we’re most proud of, and no… we’ve never had any incidents. I have a shotgun, just in case. What do you mean, let’s go?”
We went. In a line, behind the guide. Despite our mentality, we scrutinized every tree and bush, in case a group of lions decided to ambush us. We were, in fact, on the verge of sunset.
We all knew that lions prefer to hunt in low light. And in the cool.
The Sunset that Colors the Night Warmed by Conviviality
Even among the pachyderms and, we believe, among predators, we returned unharmed to the camp and the tent that had been set up for us.
We still had time to see the sun set behind the vegetation surrounding the river, its incandescent reflection, stretched out over the river, creating silhouettes of a little bit of everything, including a few crocodiles emerging.
In this stunning Zimbabwean backwater, there is no running water or electricity. They come and fill a large bucket with heated water. This care gives us a short but invigorating bath.
Shortly afterwards, we all gathered – us, the Swiss, the Australian and the guide Cloud – around a providential campfire. We were served drinks before a lively dinner in the camp’s main communal tent.
So busy with that meal and international socializing, we don't even notice it's ten o'clock at night. Little by little, the guests leave. When we finally return to the tent, the tiredness of the epic day overwhelms us.
We land in the cozy bed. We sleep as much as we can.
New Safari, in Search of the Wildlife of Mana Pools
With safari in the morning scheduled for 6:30, much less than we needed. An hour earlier, we noticed the sun rising above the river, on the opposite side of the sunset.
We got up in a hurry, determined to see if the river dawn had any surprises in store for us.
A pack of baboons crosses the tent area in search of breakfast.
We closed the tent, safe from their looting, and went out to ours.
Then, we re-boarded the jeep for a new incursion led by guides who almost have the same name: King and Kingslee.
We once again found flocks of yellow-billed storks, abundant and hyperactive in that vast expanse crossed by the Zambezi.
They occupy strategic perches at the top of large, dry, leafless trees, above their rivals, the marabouts, which are grouped together on the ground, each one in its own plumage, like a bearer.
The guides lead us to a meander where the river is divided by long, grassy islands. Herds of buffalo graze there, better fed and safe from lions than they would be on either bank.
Another section is occupied by a herd of elephants who are even more unconcerned about the imminence of predators.
Mana Pools National Park and the Zambezi River, its Lifeblood
The Zambezi is, as we saw it, cut up by drought or completely flooded during the rainy season, the reason for the existence of the Mana Pools National Park.
Every year, when the rains arrive, the river floods. It feeds a series of lagoons that drain at different rates.
Four of them, wider than the rest, remain open during the dry season.
They establish acacias, wild figs, baobabs and mahogany.
Elephants (more than 12 thousand during the dry season), hippos, buffaloes, crocodiles, to mention just a few of the large species that live alongside a myriad of birds, most of which are aquatic.
Dozens of lions patrol the lagoons, watching for prey that expose themselves when they visit to drink.
The name of the region numbers them. Mana is the word in the Shona dialect – also spoken in Mozambique – for four: Chisasiko, Chine, Green Pool and Long Pool, the largest.
Prodigious in water and vegetation, the region does not have, within a huge radius, any population or human presence that interferes.
Which explains why, during the local winter, it is home to one of the largest concentrations of biodiversity and wildlife on the African continent.
In such a special way, that the UNESCO considered Mana Pools a World Heritage Site.
We stopped to stretch our legs and have a snack, just above the Green Pool, just enough to discourage Nile crocodiles and hippos from targeting us.
In a pseudo-forest of dying and leafless acacias, several inhalas run, soulless, with steps marked by their peculiar “yellow socks”.
We came across more elephants.
There were so many of them in Mana Pools that when we returned to the tent, we found two of them circling around. To get in, we had to hide and wait for them to go away.
In the afternoon, finally, we found large predators.
Two lions compete for mating with an indecisive female.
Lacking perfectly decorated and welcoming tents like the Somalisa Expeditions lodge we were staying at, the local camp still had its fair share of trump cards to win over guests.
When we return to the dining tent, we are informed that we will be dining by the river. When we arrive, we have a traditional meal waiting for us, with barbecue, a salad buffet and desserts.
We had dinner with the river flowing just a few meters away, with the soundtrack of a few indignant hippos and a pack of hyenas attracted by the aroma of the barbecue.
The next morning we moved to the Kanga Camp, a distinct campsite, in the same stunning Mana Pools National Park.
HOW TO GO
Fly to Zimbabwe via Maputo with TAP AirPortugal and LAM. Book your Lisbon – Maputo ticket at http://www.flytap.com/.
Book your travel program in Zimbabwe with Quadrante Viagens operator: quadranteviagens.pt/
