Travelling In ZIM Making a comeback!

MANA POOLS

Experience true African wilderness

Every year at the end of the dry season, around September and October, Mana Pools hosts one of Africa’s greatest wildlife spectacles. Thousands of animals descend from the escarpment to slake their thirst at the Zambezi River on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. There are few people who know the area as well as Dick Pitman. He arrived in the country as a journalist more than 30 years ago and soon got hooked on the African bush, travelling to all of the then Rhodesia’s wildernesses in an old Land Rover Series II. Along with Matusadona on Lake Kariba, Mana made the biggest impact on Dick. For several months during the late ’70s he was one of only two people in the vast wilderness – the other being the resident ranger.

His experiences there turned him into an ardent conservationist. He promptly started the Zambezi Society, the only nonprofit organisation devoted to preserving the Zambezi Valley. In 1983, the society was instrumental in gaining World Heritage Status for Mana and the bordering areas of Sapi and Chewore, ensuring official protection from damming, mining and unchecked tourism development. (For an entertaining account of Dick’s experiences, read his book, A Wild Life.) After decades of exploring, Dick has started Zim4x4, a company that guides small groups of self-catering 4x4ers through the remote areas of the Zambezi Valley. Unsurprisingly, Dick has a near-pathological aversion to anything resembling a decent road, so whereas most visitors will drive to Mana straight from Harare along the tarred A1, he likes doing things with a healthy dollop of adventure. His suggestion was to try to find a way through one of the least-visited parts of the country – the so-called Eastern Valley. “We may get through or we may not,” Dick said with the nonchalance of someone who has spent plenty of time getting stuck – and unstuck – in his Toyota Land Cruiser. Dick’s route was to take us north-east from Harare into the Doma Safari Area, through to Chewore Safari Area, then into Sapi Safari Area, and finally we’d make it to Mana – “if we’re lucky”, as Dick liked to repeat (tongue-in-cheek) now and again.

These “safari areas” are proclaimed wildlife reserves, but with special provision for hunting. They are vast and mostly unpopulated, and the roads are almost never maintained. For Dick, it was the perfect route.

The further we drove north off the main road, the higher the grass became (until it stood higher than our vehicles). The screens covering our radiators were soon jammed with grass seeds. A few kilometres of rocky road took several hours to traverse. The diminishing number of locals stared at us as if we were crazy – which perhaps we were, given that no one had driven these roads for several years. We entered the Doma, and we didn’t see any locals at all. As the earth turned and darkness loomed, we struck a makeshift campsite on a hill on the Zambezi escarpment, gazing down onto the valley and across to the distant hills of Zambia. White-backed vultures circled above us, and lions roared as we sizzled our chops. It was hard to believe we were only a few hundred kilometres from Harare. The next day our progress was halted by a small gorge that had flooded during summer, washing away a chunk of the road. After several hours of reconstruction, we eventually made it through.

A night and a day later we arrived at Safari Area, through to Chewore Safari Area, then into Sapi Safari Area, and finally we’d make it to Mana – “if we’re lucky”, as Dick liked to repeat (tongue-in-cheek) now and again. These “safari areas” are proclaimed wildlife reserves, but with special provision for hunting. They are vast and mostly unpopulated, and the roads are almost never maintained. For Dick, it was the perfect route. The further we drove north off the main road, the higher the grass became (until it stood higher than our vehicles). The screens covering our radiators were soon jammed with grass seeds. A few kilometres of rocky road took several hours to traverse. The diminishing number of locals stared at us as if we were crazy – which perhaps we were, given that no one had driven these roads for several years. We entered the Doma, and we didn’t see any locals at all. As the earth turned and darkness loomed, we struck a makeshift campsite on a hill on the Zambezi escarpment, gazing down onto the valley and across to the distant hills of Zambia. White-backed vultures circled above us, and lions roared as we sizzled our chops. It was hard to believe we were only a few hundred kilometres from Harare. The next day our progress was halted by a small gorge that had flooded during summer, washing away a chunk of the road. After several hours of reconstruction, we eventually made it through. A night and a day later we arrived at Chewore on the Zambezi. As we drove in, three lionesses raised their heads and followed our progress. For two days, we were the only campers. “This is what Mana was like 30 years ago,” said Dick. But he was concerned that we had seen so little wildlife. Yes, the lions were nearby, but other than that, we had seen almost nothing else in the past few days. Was it because of the hunting that goes on in these areas? As if to confirm our suspicions, as soon as we moved onto Mana and passed the sign saying “Mana Pools – No Hunting”, we saw a large herd of elephant, their presence seemingly choreographed to our arrival. Mana was brimming with wildlife, even though it was the end of the rainy season. Meaning “four” in Shona, Mana refers to the four huge pools of standing water – remnants of the Zambezi River, which has moved imperceptibly but inexorably north over thousands of years. At night a cacophony of roaring lions kept us awake and several hyenas came sniffing our braai to see what was on the menu. Morning and afternoon, placid bull elephants would walk past our tents and vehicles, munching on the acacia trees. It seemed normal and right that we were sharing our space with the creatures of Mana…the elephants seemed to respect our presence, as we did theirs.

Where to stay in Mana Pools

The only way to travel to Mana through Doma, Chewore and Sapi is with a fully-equipped, self-sufficient 4×4, and guided by Dick Pitman, who has special camping arrangements with the hunting concessionaires. Dick has selected a few spectacular camping spots with no facilities.

For more info, contact Dick on [email protected] or go to www.zim4x4.co.zw

Zim 4×4 also offers various other guided 4x4ing routes in Zimbabwe’s wilderness areas. For prices, contact Dick directly.

Where to stay in Mana Pools
The only way to travel to Mana through Doma, Chewore and
Sapi is with a fully-equipped, self-suffi cient 4×4, and guided by
Dick Pitman, who has special camping arrangements with the
hunti ng concessionaires. Dick has selected a few spectacular
camping spots with no faciliti es. For more info, contact Dick
on [email protected] or go to www.zim4x4.co.zw. Zim 4×4
also off ers various other guided 4x4ing routes in Zimbabwe’s
wilderness areas. For prices, contact Dick directly.