Advertisement
Published: June 17th 2017
01 Buffalo
Part of a large herd of buffalo, slowly moving through the bush.Geo: -18.8075, 26.3452
Last night's sleep was great, so much better than the night before without a bed! We had a bit of a sleep in this morning. We got up at about 7, had breakfast and went for a morning drive. Today we were travelling in a south east direction and eventually leaving the park from the other side. We spotted a large herd of buffalo, but were in a rush and didn't stay long with the buffalo and they were quite far from the track.
We drove straight to the lion's zebra kill. We were hoping to see lions on the carcass. Once again we could smell the kill and the site was also given away by the large number of vultures in the area. There were a few different vulture species each sitting on the top of small dead trees. As we got closer to the kill, the vultures flew off the carcass, but didn't fly very far, only about 50 metres away.
The only things visible on the zebra carcass were the rib bones. Between the lions and the vultures, this carcass was very quickly disappearing! There was no sign of the lion, so we continued on.
We saw
02 Vulture
A Lappet Faced Vulture guarding the zebra carcass. a herd of impalas and a couple of kudus. At the salt pan there were quite a few bird varieties. On the way back to Robin's Camp we saw a couple of shy warthogs and an ostrich that ran away from us.
Back at camp we packed up, as we packed up we noticed a huge herd of buffalo approaching. There was a little waterhole about 50 metres from the fence. We think that this must be the herd that we saw on our morning game drive. They just continued to come out of the long dry grass. Claudine and I stood at the fence and watched the buffalo, while Paul and Neil got closer to take some photos. The buffalos did notice our presence and quite a few stared at us. I'm glad we had the fence between us and them – even though it was pretty flimsy.
At about 1pm we left Robin's Camp and drove towards our next camp. We were on the gravelled main road and it was in a shocking state! So bumpy with so many pot holes. Luckily we weren't in a rush. On the way to Masuma Dam we saw zebras, impalas and
03 Vulture
Another smaller vulture also guarding the zebra carcass. baboons.
We then came across a large herd of buffaloes that were crossing the track ahead of us. They were possibly the same herd that we saw near the camp this morning. Paul slowly drove closer to them. They didn't like this and they ran off, leaving us in a cloud of dust.
Further along we stopped to stretch our legs and I closely examined an animal's skull. Just after 3pm and as we were getting closer to our next campsite, we spotted elephants! There were just two of them, resting in the shade of a tree. With today's hot weather – that was the best place to be. We then came across a little water pan. Here there were kudus, zebra, impalas and various birds drinking.
Slowly we were getting closer to our camp site for the night. We then came across a large breeding herd of elephants. They were just a few metres from the track. I don't know what they would eat as the bush is so dry. As we drove along, the viewing improved. We stopped and observed the elephants as they ate. Then a couple of them moved onto the track ahead of us, which
04 Flying Off
Suddenly the vultures flew off. gave us a great view. Before long we were surrounded by elephants on both sides of the vehicle. The elephants were not bothered by our presence and continued to eat. It was a great sighting, especially watching the young ones.
We continued on and just before 5pm arrived at Masuma Dam. Here there is a picnic spot, very large viewing platform/hide and campsite. We were staying the night here, although we had not booked the site. Campers that we met over the last few days had booked this site and said that we were more than welcome to also stay here. We were told by regulars to Hwange that this place is a much better spot to camp than the place we had booked. We parked the car, took the cameras, a drink and went into the hide.
Wow – what an amazing sight before us! Just below us was a waterhole that was filled with pumped water. There were herds of elephants coming and going from every direction. It was the equivalent of Piccadilly Circus at peak hour. I didn't know where to look. Looking closer there also was a herd of buffaloes drinking, but most of their herd were
05 Vultures
Some of the many vultures in the area. walking away. Having not seen much water at all in the park, this place must be like heaven for these animals.
There was a lot of noise from the elephants, they seemed to be communicating between the herds. It didn't sound too friendly. The elephants were mainly breeding herds and they were all busy drinking. Right in front of us was the pump and water ran along a trough and then ran into the waterhole. Some elephants were here and drinking the freshly pumped water from the trough. They really seemed to enjoy this water. The waterhole was not very full, but then with the amounts of elephants here I don't think it has a chance to fill up! It was such a busy area. Most of the elephants arrived at the waterhole with a quick pace and when leaving they slowly walked away.
A dazzle of zebra were slowly approaching the waterhole and then drank from the edge. We then noticed a hippo emerge from the middle of the waterhole. It must have been under the water until now. The hippo wasn't doing much, so I went back to focusing on the other animals. Only a few of the
06 Track
The track we drove along on our morning drive. elephants threw water over themselves- maybe the rest of them are wise enough to know that there isn't enough water to do this!
The elephants were so close to us as they drank from the trough. Kudus and waterbuck also appeared out of the bush and drank at the waterhole. As the late afternoon passed, more and more herds of elephants appeared. While we sat watching the animals drink, we were also lucky to enjoy an amazing sunset. This hide also gave us a great view of the surrounding area. The waterhole was quickly drying up as the pump could not keep up with demand.
I was spellbound by the number of animals we saw in this amount of time. I understand now why Masuma Dam is so busy and the accommodation books out quickly. We watched the waterhole and all its activities for an hour and a half. It was nearly dark, so we went back to the car and pitched our tents. We could still hear the elephants trumpeting at each other. I think the animals must come all through the night to drink here.
We started the fire as we put up the tents. Then it was time to
07 Ribs
All that is left of the zebra - its rib cage. organise our food the evening. In between organising dinner, we took turns in walking back to the hide to see which animals were at the waterhole. It was the usual suspects - buffalo and elephant. It was a great night and so good to be viewing lots of animals again.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.245s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 8; qc: 49; dbt: 0.081s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
