Southern African Safaris

- David Bowden

Zooming in on Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is one of Africa’s leading safari destinations with its vast national parks supporting abundant wildlife. Most of these parks are remote so travelling around this landlocked nation is best done in small aircrafts which land on bush airstrips. Eager to see as much as I could, I arranged an itinerary that included two of Zimbabwe’s finest parks as well as the amazing Victoria Falls.

Mana Pools National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Zimbabwe’s northern border with Zambia, was my first destination after resting overnight in the capital Harare. After touching down on the laterite airstrip in the middle of nowhere, the welcoming committee of one was my guide in a safari jeep that transferred me to Kanga Tented Camp. No matter how much research I’d done I was totally unprepared as to what to expect as the wildlife encounters were overwhelming.

Kanga Camp is located beside a waterhole or pan as they’re known in this part of the world. At the camp, I was greeted by staff who thrust a cold Zambezi beer into my eager hand while ushering me to an armchair for what they called an ‘armchair safari’. I watched animals drinking at the pan and couldn’t have been happier as it was like being in a corporate box at a zoo.

Expansive trees cast shade over the accommodation of six elevated ‘tents’. While canvas on the exterior; my tent had a luxurious and comfortable interior. From my open but shaded verandah I was able to observe the animals and could even shower in the semi-open while watching elephants doing basically the same thing in the waterhole.

During my time at Kanga Camp I went on exhilarating morning and afternoon safaris in a semi-open jeep and saw many iconic animals and even lesser-seen wildlife such as painted dogs.