MANA POOLS, KARIBA

and MATUSADONA Lake Chivero, Marondera

14 DAY TRIP 9 to 22 September 2018

“There’s tranquility in the African Bush that creeps up unexpectedly and nestles in your soul. Maybe it is because nature is so close - the wildlife and the birds, the wind in the trees- or maybe it’s just Africa and its rhythms”-Anon

Website:

www.reachafrica.co.za

Email:

birding@reachafrica.co.za

Tel: 011 475 7436

Cell: 082 577 2102

Fax: 086 617 3996

P.O Box 409

Allens Nek

1737

Roodepoort, South Africa

Reach Africa

Birding and Getaways

Image © Per Holmen

Reach Africa Birding

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Easily the largest river in our part of the continent, the Zambezi flows 2,524 km across Central Africa before meeting the sea just above Beira in Mozambique. In the process, it passes through, or borders, Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique

The Zambezi is a life force supporting great numbers of hippos and huge crocodiles that resemble floating logs. Many people come here to fish for tiger fish, perch, bream and catfish.

THE DESTINATIONS

Mana Pools and Chirundu (lower Zambezi)

The lower Zambezi Valley is one of the last great wildernesses in Africa. The area stretches from the Kariba Gorge in the north to Cahora Bassa in the south. The Zimbabwean side of the valley is, at places 70km wide and is almost entirely uninhabited, as much of the area is in the national parks.

The best known national park is Mana Pools, a world heritage site.

The meanders of the Zambezi in years gone by have left behind the remains of old ox-bows, shaping small seasonal pools scattered over an area of 2,000 square kilometres. The Park is named after the four main pools on the old riverbed, with Mana meaning “four” in the Shona language. The pools support a variety of game and numerous species of birds, along with the unique vegetation of the Zambezi valley, dominated by Nyala Berry and Natal Mahogany.

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This portion of the Zambezi Valley is a true wilderness area with one of the highest dry-season concentrations of game in Africa. The big Five mammals all call this region home, as does the endangered African Wild Dog. In the drier months (May- October) the wildlife is drawn to the river as most inland sources dry up. At this time great herds of elephant, buffalo and antelope can be seen on the river banks. The open Albida woodland provides good visibility and allows visitors the unique privilege of walking escorted by a guide or unaccompanied in an area with carnivores and larger mammals.

Mana Pools also abounds with over 300 species of birds. During August to December the banks of the Zambezi are burrowed by nesting Carmine, White-fronted and Little Bee-eaters. Colourful kingfishers include Malachite, Brown-hooded, Grey-headed, Woodland, Pied and Giant. African Skimmer, Goliath Heron and Black Egret are also found along the river.

We spend two nights of our trip at Tiger Safaris camp on the banks of the Zambezi, some 40 km below the dam wall. The camp is easily accessible while still being wild enough to have resident lion and elephant strolling through. The chalets are all situated on the river allowing easy access to the river for some truly sensational birding and game viewing.

Our home in Mana Pools is an exclusive owner-run mobile safari camp, one of the best ways to experience the magic of this special place. The camp is situated on the southern bank of the Zambezi River, within the National Park and World Heritage Site, and looking out across the natural river boundary towards Zambia. The camp offers stunning views across the river to the Zambian escarpment beyond, with an almost endless parade of birds and animals

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on offer on the surrounding floodplain and islands in front of camp. We enjoy blissful privacy and our only neighbours are the inquisitive, confiding animals and birds which regularly pay us a visit. Accommodation for a maximum of ten guests is in spacious, comfortable twin bedded tents. The camp is equipped with hot and cold showers and flush toilets. For our safety, we have a professional ranger as the guide in camp at all times.

From the camp, we are able to walk unaccompanied by guides in the open Albida woodland because visibility is good and there is little danger of being surprised by dangerous animals. The chance of walking or driving alongside some of Africa's magnificent big game like elephant, lion, buffalo and a variety of bird species will leave you with lasting memories.

Kariba and Matusadona

The construction of Lake Kariba in the late 1950s finally tamed the Zambezi, and this was followed by the completion of another great dam midway between Kariba and the ocean, being Cahora Bassa in Mozambique.

Kariba Recreational Park contains one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, created by a hydroelectric dam built to provide power to both Zimbabwe and Zambia. The lake has a surface area of 5,000 square kilometres and a maximum depth of 116 metres. It extends to a length of 282 kilometres with an average width of about 32 kilometres. Kariba supports a successful fishing industry and the annual Tiger International Tournament is held here, drawing fishermen from all over the world to pit their wits against the cunning and fighting tiger fish. The main fish in the lake is kapenta, or the Lake Tanganyika sardine, which was introduced in the early 1960s from Zambia.

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Stunning sunsets are a distinctive feature of Kariba, as are the bleached skeletal trunks and bare branches of dead trees that were drowned by the flooding of the lake all those years ago. They make excellent perches for fish eagles, cormorants and other water birds.

There is considerable wildlife on the banks of the lake including elephant, buffalo, crocodile, impala and common waterbuck Matusadona National Park lies along the southern shores of Lake Kariba and is bounded in the west by the Umi River and in the east by the dramatic Sanyati Gorge. The Park takes its name from the local Matuzviadonha Hills and is a stunning combination of flat plains and rugged mountain country. The area is a photographer’s dream with “drowned forests” containing fossilised trees still standing from when the dam was flooded. Sunsets are irresistible

Large herds of elephant and buffalo inhabit the area, along with plentiful antelope and lion. There is also a small population of the endangered black rhinoceros. Leopard, hyena, cheetah and other predators also occur in good numbers throughout the Park. Bird life is compelling, with over 240 species recorded in the Park.

Inquisitive yellow-billed kites swoop down to have a look at you and other raptors and vultures circle high in the thermals. Carmine bee-eaters flit about in a purple blur as they emerge from the sandbank pitted with their nesting holes.

African Fish eagle is common along the lake shore, and there are good populations of Grey and Goliath Herons, Augur Buzzard, Verreaux’s Eagle, Bronze-winged, Double-banded and Three-banded Coursers, Trumpeter and Crowned Hornbills, Great Egrets and Saddle-billed Storks.

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Waders are generally plentiful and there are notable populations of Osprey, Woolly-necked Stork and African Openbill, White-crowned Lapwing and Collared Pratincole. Several large colonies of Darters and Reed Cormorants can be found within the many fossilised trees on the lake.

We spend two nights in superb thatched lodges situated at Charara on the lake shore, affording wonderful views of the lake, flood plains, Zebra Island and the Nyodze Mountains. A further two nights are spent at Spurwing Island Lodge, a one of a kind retreat, in the heart of nature, merging seamlessly with the great African outdoors. The lodge is situated on an island, some 30km across the lake from Kariba town and is overlooked by the majestic Matusadona Mountains. The lodge offers a range of activities including scenic boat trips and game viewing on foot, by boat or Landrover.

The Marondera area is home to some 380 bird species, including some extremely sought-after Zimbabwean specials. Although best known for its miombo woodland birds, grassland and water birds are well represented. Marondera is situated on the central watershed at a height of 1660m. The combination of high rainfall and warm to hot summers has created ideal conditions for the growth of the miombo woodlands, which are a feature of the Mashonaland Plateau.

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BIRDING ATTRACTIONS Marondera Wood Pipit, Boulder Chat, Whyte’s Barbet, Black-eared Seedeater, Spotted Creeper, Miombo Blue-eared Starling, Southern Hyliota, Stierlings’s Wren-warbler, Miombo Rock-Thrush, Green-capped Eremomela, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Miombo Tit, Cinnamon-breasted Tit, Cabanis’s Bunting, Yellow-mantled Widowbird, Rosy-throated Longclaw, Broad-tailed Warbler, Cuckoo Finch, Copper Sunbird.

Mana Pools and Chirundu White-headed Vulture, Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle, Western Banded Snake-Eagle, Martial Eagle, Dickinson’s Kestrel, , Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, African Wood-Owl, African Barred Owlet, African Scops-Owl, Southern Ground Hornbill, Crested Guineafowl, Meyer’s Parrot, Rufous-bellied Heron, White-crowned Lapwing, Long-toed Lapwing, African Skimmer, Collared Pratincole, Three-banded Courser, Double-banded

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Sandgrouse, Wood Pipit, Southern Carmine Bee-eater, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, White-browed Coucal, Retz’s Helmet-Shrike, Orange-winged Pytilia, Bohm’s Spinetail, Mottled Spinetail, Racket-tailed Roller, Broad-billed Roller, Arnot’s Chat, Lilian’s Lovebird, African Golden Oriole, Eastern Nicator, Livingstone’s Flycatcher, Red-throated Twinspot

Kariba and Matusadona Osprey, Western Banded Snake-Eagle, Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, African Cuckoo Hawk, Black-bellied Bustard, Saddle-billed Stork, African Skimmer, Collared Pratincole, White-crowned Lapwing, Greater Painted-snipe, Senegal Coucal, White-browed Coucal, Grey-headed Parrot,African Golden Oriole, Tropical Boubou, African Mourning Dove, Collared Palm-Thrush, Eastern Saw-wing, Grey-rumped Swallow, Mosque Swallow, Icterine Warbler, African Yellow White-eye,

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The mammals of Mana

ITINERARY

Day 1 (Johannesburg-Harare-Lake Chivero) Mid-morning flight to Harare Arrive at Harare at around lunchtime and head for Lake Chivero

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Afternoon birding and overnight at Lake Chivero

Day 2 (Lake Chivero-Kariba) Early morning birding around Lake Chivero Travel via Chinhoyi and Karoi to Charara, Lake Kariba Mid-afternoon arrival at lodge. Overnight at Kariba

Day 3 (Kariba) Days spent birding and sightseeing around Kariba Overnight at lakeside lodge

Day 4 (Kariba -Spurwing Island) Early morning birding around camp Depart after breakfast on ferry to Spurwing Island Arrive at Spurwing Island around lunchtime. Afternoon birding around camp Overnight at Spurwing Island Lodge

Day 5 (Spurwing Island) Early morning boat trip to Sanyati gorge Rest of morning and early afternoon spent birding/relaxing on Spurwing Island Afternoon game drive in Matusadona National Park Overnight at Spurwing Island Lodge

Day 6 (Spurwing Island-Chirundu) Early morning birding around lodge Depart after breakfast for mainland After visiting Kariba Dam Wall, head for Chirundu Arrive early afternoon and overnight at camp on Zambezi River, Chirundu.

Day 7 (Chirundu) Early morning boat trip on Zambezi Rest of day spent birding riverside and woodlands around Chirundu. Overnight at camp on Zambezi River.

Day 8 (Chirundu-Mana Pools) Early morning birding around camp Depart after breakfast for Mana Pools Afternoon birding and overnight in mobile safari camp in Mana Pools

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Days 9,10 & 11 (Mana Pools) Days spent birding and game viewing Overnight at Trichilia camp

Day 12 (Mana Pools to Marondera Early morning birding around camp Depart after breakfast for Marondera, arriving early afternoon Afternoon birding in Gosho Park, Marondera Overnight at Farm Guesthouse

Day 13 (Marondera Day spent birding in Gosho Park and wetlands near Marondera Overnight at Farm Guesthouse

Day 14 (Marondera-Harare-Johannesburg) Early morning birding in Gosho Park Depart after breakfast to Harare for flight to Johannesburg