It was a full day driving to Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. Being in a city was a strange change of pace. It rained overnight so the city was cooler, and with its altitude of 1400 metres, it felt different.  The traffic was every man for himself, and there were sellers everywhere – the road side stalls selling knock off fashion, and people wandering up and down the road selling toilet rolls and scratch cards. We drove through areas which were run down, and areas where grand houses hid behind large gates. Daily life in Zimbabwe doesnt seem easy, and this is more pronounced in residential areas. Most houses have their own bore hole due to low municipal supply, and the power is out for many hours of each day, requiring lots of batteries to stay on grid.  

We had two nights in an Airbnb, but the purpose of the stop was to prepare for the next wild camping leg. Amid the laundry, butchers, alcohol, water and groceries stops, there was time to try our hand at some haggling for hand carved curios. We all walked away with armfuls of souvenirs and having laughed at the sales tactics sellers trying to convince us to part with more dollars. 

We departed the city at 5am, forewarned that the road to Mana Pools wasn’t very nice. Having had our fair share of 4wd, this time it was the passing trucks which made the road an adventure. Sometimes the highway would grind to a halt behind a laden truck, and we passed several which had flipped or broken one way or another. The tar subsided to dust at either side of the narrow carriageway, making for some tight turns. We stopped at one supermarket, but as everyone queued, armed with snacks, the power went out and the cashiers were forced to close.  We drove through Maguires tobacco town – town owned by a tobacco manufacturer. It felt so weirdly American, billboards advertising the credentials of the company like some squeaky clean American suburb.  Similar towns followed where big agriculture trialled strains of grain or fertiliser, demonstrating huge wealth in an otherwise deprived area. By contrast, the roadside advertising of the corrugated iron shacks had us amused. Many people sat with buckets of worms, hoping to tempt fisherman on their way to mana pools. The handmade signs shouted “best worms” followed by “better worms,” “marvellous worms,” “fantastic worms!”

Real men use worms – advert for fishing bait, Marvellous worms

Late afternoon we arrived to Mana Pools. Signs everywhere forbidding fruit warned us of cheeky baboons and citrus loving elephants. The park was on a series of watering holes – Mana pools meaning 4 pools. It would have been the route of the mighty Zambezi river until the dam was built in the 1950’s forming lake Kariba. Everywhere you looked were baboons, impala, water buck, hippos and elephant. Our camp had a panoramic view, and a herd of elephants with frolicking youngsters were enjoying the evening sun as we arrived. Lions could be heard surrounding camp and we awoke to footprints of hyena and Civit cat through camp. The park had wider plains which made for good spotting, but little reprieve from the heat of the day. 

The days started early, catching first light at 6am with a game drive. Coffee and a rusk with a view kept us sustained until a big camp breakfast, but the midday heat kept everyone, animals and humans alike, laying low in the shade. 

We had memorable interactions with the hyenas. Our first encounter was thanks to Rob who was swilling his drink cup as we sat around the camp fire after dark. The camp dropped off steeply to the river just a metre or two from where we were sitting. He threw the dregs of his cup into the grass and splashed a hyena in the face. The hyena had never been given such rough treatment and galloped off, sulking as we all jumped up and put the light on him. That night we set up a trail cam and he got his revenge by destroying it, biting it and taking it off into the riverbed where it was later found.  We saw the hyena a few more times, skulking around in groups of 2 and 3. Hyena are matriarchal, but the females also have a pseudo penis making them hard to tell apart. Nothing about a hyena is appealing, from its hunched back, oversized grin, mullet like wire fluff and drooling mouth. As much as they were a highlight to see, they remain in top spot on the ugly safari. 

We also spotted lions! On our sundowner drive we saw a safari vehicle pootling in one direction, then quickly overtake us to speed off in another. Pretty sure that they had a tip off, our three car convoy attempted to keep apace and were rewarded with 2 male lions panting and resting in the shade. 

The babies stole the show! We had some playful baby elephants rolling around in the dust, springing impala young and even a lion cub!

Other new spots were a water monitor, water buffalo, eland, Maribou stork and, for one lucky member of the group, a close encounter with a black Mamba… Snake phobics skip the next bit! Rob went off to try his hand at fishing in the neighbouring camp. Whilst keeping his guard up for hippo and crocodiles, he didn’t notice the 2metre+ snake sidling very close to him.  Spooked, he returned to camp and together we confirmed its identity from his speedy photo, a venemous snake which would give you a generous 15 minutes to live! 

In the 35 degree heat, we embarked on a walking safari. Our guide, Talent, loaded his rifle to guide us across the river bed and highlight tracks, bird calls, cultural stories and bird calls. We had a fantastic display of hippo might as well neared a water hole with a group of around 10 hippos who grunted, sprayed and splashed.

We went inside an old baobab and were informed that despite its age and height, it is in fact a shrub! These trees live for thousands of years, one of the longest lived trees on earth. When they die, they collapse from the inside out meaning their outer shell can provide a shelter for animals, and in certain places have historically been used as jails or even offices.

The heat of the day was best spent sitting in the shade of the sausage tree, their huge fruits dangling from seemingly fragile fronds. Here my highlight was Art club with the youngest member of the trip, Henry.  With plenty of wildlife to choose from, drawing and painting was a really nice contrast from the morning and evening drives.