Off at 6am again and on the A1 heading north. The road is busy with trucks heading up to Zambia.
"The Farmer's Wife" is a wonderful lunch spot about 20kms north of Karoi. Simple food and good coffee. Do stop and support them..
Don't forget to check in at Chimutsi before heading off the tar road to Nyamepi Camp Reception, Mana Pools.
We couldn't all fill our tanks with water at main camp due to very poor water pressure.(same story as in Harare ) And our caravan's water pump was playing up anyway. Luckily with four vehicles we are always able to help each other out, so showering was going to be behind Hanlie and Andrew's caravan now.
There's always a flat car battery drained by a fridge or a faulty light that needs a repair.
I have never seen Mana Pools so dry. How will the animals survive the next 3 months until the rains come?
We arrived at Mucheni 2 before dark. This is one of the exclusive sites along the Zambezi with lovely views out over the river plains; a constant vista with elephants, antelope, baboons, zebra and warthogs.
23 August
Wake up to the sounds of honking hippos and the cry of the fish eagle.
Go to sleep to the call of the hyenas and lions roaring in the distance.
Game viewing is still special.
We were lucky enough to find the wild dogs too.
In the evening we drove to "carpark" for sundowners. A lioness strolled through just as we pulled up so we changed our drinks plans and drove down to the rivers' edge for GnTs.
24 August
At the main reception they have a pretty good wifi signal. It's not too far to pop down to catch up on messages and what's app.
The resident elephants sometimes have other ideas. Round and round the merry - go-round!
Hippo Pools is the only pool that still has some water. Bird watching is good... some favourites include ground hornbills, lillian's lovebirds and yellow billed storks.
We are enjoying excellent meals. Every couple takes a turn to cook a brunch and a dinner. We help each other out but it's good to get the days off inbetween.Today was so windy in camp though that we all had to shelter behind our caravan to cook and eat.
It's always fun for me to serve something a little exotic in the bush..like magnum ice creams for dessert or smoked salmon, creme fraiche and caviar nibbles.
25 August
We have met Boswell, one of the local elephants with really big tusks.
We have a silly looking hat, ceremoniously handed out to the " plonker " who makes the faux par of the day!
Every night we sit around the campfire after dinner listening for rustling just beyond the camp. Shining the spotlight reveals the hyenas waiting in the shadows.
26 August
Trust local knowledge and take the shorter route back to the main road. We are making excellent progress until we find a huge Catepillar TLB broken down in the middle of the road with thick bush on either side of the road. Our long cruiser/caravan combo can't fit through the makeshift detour. A saw, two axes, a pair of secatuers and four old adventurers chop down trees and remove branches until Neil,amidst yells and instructions eases the caravan through the gap, with hardly a scratch.
We are free to continue but R and Rs vehicle battery is flat! What a win- Neil's portable USB chargable battery booster and we are on our way in no time at all!
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