Another Waterhole with Many Elephants

Africa » Zimbabwe
October 16th 2011

Published: June 17th 2017

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jc80

01 View

The view of the dam when we woke up this morning.

Geo: -19.1504, 26.5759

When I woke up during the night, I stood up and looked out at the waterhole. There wasn't much to see, except a few elephants. I did enjoy the experience of sleeping in the hide. We got up at about 6. The waterhole was still looking very dry and in need of water. There were a few impalas drinking. It was now, after being here for a few days that we noticed that there are actually two hippos in this waterhole – unless one arrived last night. Then a bull elephant appeared and drank.

For the next hour and a half we packed up our tent, showered and had breakfast. We then spent another forty minutes back in the hide. There were dagga boys drinking and standing in the mud, as well as an elephant. A herd of impalas and kudus came to drink. The two hippos were floating in the middle with their heads under water and a bird sitting on their back. A dazzle of zebras also arrived for a drink. Side by side at the edge of the waterhole, there were herds of impalas, zebras and kudus.

It was time to finally leave Masuma Dam. We

02 Accommodation

Our accommodation for the night - in the hide.

had many great sightings here and heard from others that we will see many more during the rest of our stay. This part of the park had a lot more wildlife than where we entered at Robin's Camp area. We left Masuma at about 9:30am.

Our next stop was Shumba Dam. Just like the other day, there were many birds of prey – varieties of vultures and Marabou Storks. There was still some of the elephant carcass left for them to eat. This dam also did not have much water in it. A couple of warthogs were drinking water from the other side. There was a muddy hippo floating in the middle of the water.

We continued on driving along the track that ran through the very dry bush. Sightings were now sparse and far between. We came across a dead elephant and got out of our cars for a closer look. The park rangers had already taken the tusks. The skin was so dry and covered in bird crap. We guessed that it was either old age or lack of food or water that caused its death.

Along the way there were also a couple of zebra, a breeding herd

03 Drinking

A trio of impalas drinking at the dam.

of elephants hiding in the shade of a tree, warthogs and a couple of giraffe. Finally, just after 2pm we arrived at Main Camp. After checking in and sorting out the campsite, we went to the bar/restaurant for lunch. After camping it was such a treat to have lunch made for us – even though it was a simple toasted sandwich and chips, it was delicious, even better with cold drinks.

We then spent some time setting up camp and freshening up. Later in the afternoon we went for a short game drive. We saw a group of warthogs running away with their tails up in their air and a breeding herd of elephants. At a little pan there was another breeding herd of elephants and a couple of dagga boys drinking with a dazzle of zebra in the background. A couple of giraffe appeared and seemed to be waiting for their turn to drink. As we looked around we noticed a lioness resting. The other animals did not seem bothered by her presence. We left this pan as we had to get back to camp before they closed the gates.

Our next stop to stretch our legs was Guvalala Pan.

04 Two

Two hippos are now visible in the dam.

Here there is a viewing platform that can also be booked to stay the night. We were running out of time and only spent ten minutes here. I stood underneath the viewing platform and was in awe of the sight. There were many herds of elephants coming and going from this waterhole. The elephants were not fazed by us being so close to them. The area was full of elephant dung. Some of the elephants seemed quite bony – possibly not enough food around for all of them at this dry time of the year. They were both swimming and drinking.

We left here at about quarter past 6 and quickly drove back to Main Camp. Along the way we saw a dead baby elephant – just by the side of the road. We were a little bit late returning and the attendant was okay about it.

Later that evening we sat around the fire as we listened to the sounds of the bush.

Additional photos below

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