Gonarezhou, ‘Gonners’, as it is often referred to by those who love it, had been right at the top of my wish list for quite some time and now I was finally going to discover for myself why this park is so revered amongst safari purists.
Read more
Limpopo Lipadi is a private game reserve located in Botswana’s Tuli Block, just a short drive from the Zanzibar border crossing with South Africa, it is a place where your safari will be delightfully exclusive.
Read more
Hwange – An African Park in Crisis? Interview with Mark Butcher, Imvelo Safari Lodges Hardly a day goes by without another depressing story about the plight of Africa’s elephants. Elephant numbers across Africa are declining at an alarming rate under the onslaught of ivory poachers yet one National Park, Zimbabwe’s Hwange NP, faces an entirely different problem; its elephant population[…]
Read more
NOTE: 01 Feb 2016 I’ve re-posted this interview because the threat to Mali’s elephants is becoming even more worrying. Poachers have exploited the on-going civil conflict in Mali to poach more elephants than ever before and unless action is taken very soon there is a real danger of Africa’s northernmost herd of elephants being wiped out. The Mali Elephant Project has[…]
Read more
Conservation requires cooperation, not conflict Success in conservation cannot be forced; it relies on the commitment and participation of all stakeholders. Everyone must understand what is in it for them; both those on the ground and directly involved and those who donate funds from thousands of miles away. Yet, at times, there seems to be a marked reluctance amongst ‘conservationists’[…]
Read more
Kaingu Safari Lodge My last visit to Zambia was some years ago, when I spent a fabulous week canoeing down the Zambezi river; Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park on one shore and Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National park on the other. Much of our time was spent dodging the hippos that are so prevalent in that area. I remember well the[…]
Read moreHwange’s Dilemma (Please excuse the fact that this is a terrible over-simplification of the issue, but I’ve strived to keep it concise) Hwange is the largest Park in Zimbabwe occupying roughly 14 650 square kilometers. It is one of THE places to see elephants in Africa. According to a 2015 pan-African census it is home to 44,000 elephants, roughly 50% of[…]
Read moreNehimba Seeps – water throughout the year – naturally Zimbabwe’s Hwange NP is known as a place with very little natural year round water; a place where pumps are needed to keep water in the pans for several months each year. But the park is not entirely without natural, year round, water sources. During one of the game drives made[…]
Read moreThree days into my stay at Ngamo and I still haven’t seen any cats. I’ve heard them during the night and a couple of the guides reported seeing fresh tracks but no actual sightings yet. Perhaps it was down to the cold wind blowing across the Ngamo plains but we were lacking a bit of urgency this morning; still dawdling[…]
Read moreThe Heartbeat of Hwange On my recent visit to Hwange we were gathered for coffee before setting off on our morning game drive and – as you do – I asked one of the ladies if she had slept OK. She said that she had not, because the sound of the pump close to camp running all night disturbed her;[…]
Read moreBomani Tented Lodge and Camelthorn Lodge On my recent visit to Hwange I stayed in both Bomani Tented Lodge and Camelthorn Lodge. Although both are part of the Imvelo safari lodges portfolio, they could not be more different. Both camps are constructed on community land close to Hwange’s Ngamo gate, in the south east corner of the park. Where Bomani[…]
Read moreNgamo – a template for resolving human-wildlife conflict in Hwange NP You only have to spend a few minutes in his company to see that Mark Butcher, better known as ‘Butch’, is a man on a mission. That mission, in broad terms, is to ensure the survival of Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park and its wildlife. Butch knows he cannot do it[…]
Read moreSadly it looks as though our planned safari to Mali remains a distant prospect as terrorist attacks still plague the Timbuktu/Gourma region. For the past couple of years we’ve been sitting on a lovely itinerary that combines some of Mali’s better known attractions like the Dogon region, the riverside town of Mopti and Djenne’s mud mosque with some time spent[…]
Read moreI’ve include a few images here from a gallery of photos of the Mali Elephant project posted by Susan Canney Click here to see the full gallery
Read moreNOTE: 01 Feb 2016 I’ve re-posted this interview because the threat to Mali’s elephants is becoming even more worrying. Poachers have exploited the on-going civil conflict in Mali to poach more elephants than ever before and unless action is taken very soon there is a real danger of Africa’s northernmost herd of elephants being wiped out. The Mali Elephant Project has[…]
Read moreAfrica’s northernmost herd of elephants have long been a fascination of mine and I have followed the Mali Elephant Project with both with interest and anxiety as tribal conflicts and civil war have threatened their survival. Earlier this year, as background to a trip I have been planning to visit Mali’s elephants, I carried out an interview with the Director[…]
Read moreOne of my favourite safari camps is Bomani Tented Lodge at Ngamo on the south eastern corner of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. For me, Bomani manages to combine all the necessary comforts of a first class camp without succumbing to gratuitous luxury. The accommodation is superb, with each tent looking out onto the surrounding plains, and the staff are[…]
Read moreDay 4 One of the recurring themes of our trail was Matt telling us of his insomnia. What he did not mention is that when he can’t sleep he talks. He talks to whomever happens to be on watch and if he is on watch he talks to himself or into his voice recorder. We always knew when Matt was asleep[…]
Read more