explorer safari Zimbabwe Conservation and Culture

Transcription

1 Zimbabwe Conservation and Culture DAY BY DAY ITINERARY explorer safari OVERVIEW: ZIMBABWE CONSERVATION AND CULTURE Meet the Long Shield Guardians, a group of courageous men and women who use drums and vuvuzela horns to chase lions away from schools and villages and back into protected areas. Go deep into the heart of the African wilderness alongside the dedicated conservationists, researchers, and anti-poaching patrols that are fighting daily to protect Zimbabwe s endangered species and breathtaking natural landscapes from the threats posed by hunting, poaching, and human civilization. Witness first-hand how these human-wildlife conflicts are being resolved by local community involvement with protected areas and sustainable tourism. Learn how to identify and track game in the remote Gonarezhou bush, accompany anti-poaching squads as they patrol protected areas, and spend time with local populations who are partnering with national parks and concessions to preserve habitats and bring prosperity to their communities. Every day: view spectacular wildlife. In conclusion: celebrate with food, song, and dance at the Mahenye Cultural Festival. Explorer Safaris with Deeper Africa Explorer safaris are for curious, energetic safari travelers open to discovery. They are an adventure in contrast; one night you are dining by candlelight in an exquisite lodge; another evening dinner is served by the campfire of a well-staffed camp. One day you explore by Land Cruiser for thrilling, whisker-close encounters with the Big Five. Another day finds you strolling in the honey sweet air, with attentive local guides who explain the subtle meanings of tracks, bird songs, and infinite other discoveries only an explorer can find.

2 DAY 1 SOMALISA CAMP HWANGE NATIONAL PARK Clive Stockil Stage 1: Introduction to Zimbabwe s Wildlife We ve chosen to start this unique adventure in Hwange National Park precisely because it boasts the highest diversity of mammals of any national park in the world with 108 species, not to mention 470 recorded bird species. Here you will find everything from aardvark to zebra. With so much action, it s impossible to predict everything we will encounter, but elephants, lions, buffalo and leopards are a good bet. Your guide will meet you at the Victoria Falls airstrip. From there we will drive to Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe s largest conservation area, and home of its most famous wild residents. On the way to Hwange, we ll visit the Painted Dog Conservation Center and talk to researchers engaged in the protection of African Painted Dogs, one of the most beautiful and most endangered species on the African continent. We will arrive at Hwange s Somalisa Camp by mid to late afternoon in time to see the sunset slowly over this beautiful landscape. The camp is located on a water-hole frequented day and night, by elephants, antelopes, and all the big cats. Here, it is not unusual to be joined for sundowners by thirsty elephants who like to use the Camp s swimming pool as their personal drinking fountain. After dinner, we will take a nighttime game drive, in search of nocturnal animals including leopards, bat-eared foxes, & hyenas.

3 DAY 2 SOMALISA CAMP HWANGE NATIONAL PARK Today we will view and photograph wildlife from the 4X4 safari vehicle, with opportunities to stop at various waterholes and get closer looks from a viewing hide (like a duck blind for elephants.) Hwange has prides of lions, parades of elephants, gangs of buffalo, troops of baboons, dazzles of zebra, and towers of giraffes. Traditional safari-style game drives allows for whisker-close views with wildlife in their natural habitats. All the while, our guide will be explaining the fine points of wildlife tracking, identification, behavior, and other skills that will prove helpful further down the road. African Bush Camps

4 DAY 3 SOMALISA CAMP HWANGE NATIONAL PARK Stage 2: Wildlife and Humans - Conflict and Coexistence Today we will with meet people who must coexist with some of the biggest and peskiest animals on earth. As residents on Hwange National Park s boundary, they must keep elephants out of the garden, lions away from the livestock, and baboons out of the pantry. And do it in a way that protects both themselves and the animals. Our host will be the African Bush Camps Foundation, a non-profit organization that is committed to empowering rural communities on the outskirts of wildlife areas and national parks. First, we ll visit the Vukani project, a microfinance women s group that produces traditional beadwork using recycled materials. They also maintain a communal garden, and will be happy to share methods for dealing with garden pests such as elephants and quelea birds. Second, in Mambanje Village, we will join a local family for a traditional Zimbabwean meal. After lunch we ll visit Mambanje Primary School with time to meet students and teachers, attend a class, meet one on one with a few of the students, and enjoy some traditional song and dance. The featured presentation of the day will be meeting the Long Shield Guardians, men and women who seek to prevent dangerous encounters between lions and people. Led by Brent Staplekamp of the WildCRU project from Oxford University, their efforts keep lions safe from hunters while also protecting local livestock and the children who walk daily to school where these predators roam. African Bush Camps Foundation African Bush Camps Foundation

5 DAY 4 BUMI HILLS LAKE KARIBA Bumi Hills Stage 3: Patrolling for Poachers The illegal trade in ivory and rhino horns devastates resources. Today we will take a 12-seater Cessna Caravan to Bumi Hills to meet the Bumi Hills Anti-Poaching Patrol. These are front-line rangers who patrol the wilds and confront armed and dangerous poachers. The rangers have removed over 4,000 wire and cable snares and arrested over 50 poachers. They ve rescued a lioness who had a snare around her ankle, a bull elephant with a snare on his front leg, and another lioness who had a snare around her torso. She went on to have a litter of three cubs. The first cubs born in the area in four years. We are staying at the Bumi Hills Safari Lodge on Lake Kariba. Tomorrow will be an action packed adventure, so for today, we can enjoy the comforts and activities of the lodge, including a spa, a pool, and decks overlooking the lake. Wifi As an option, you can also take this opportunity to go looking for wildlife in game drive vehicles or on a boat cruise. In this aquatic environment you ll be able to spot hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and hundreds of birds. Enjoy drinks as the magical African sun sets over the lake. Legend has it that Kariba is home to a Loch Ness-like Lake Monster called the Nyami Nyami.

6 DAY 5 BUMI HILLS LAKE KARIBA Bumi Hiills Anti-Poaching Today will get your adrenaline pumping, as we join the rangers of the Bumi Hills Anti-Poaching Unit on an actual ground patrol. Not in a car we will be walking. The Bumi Hills Anti-Poaching Unit protects the Bumi Hills private concession from poachers by investigating poaching crime scenes, removing snares, and actively preventing poachers from entering the area and making illegal kills. Poachers are constantly surveilling this area because of the large concentration of elephants around Lake Kariba. Whenever poachers see vulnerability, they move in for the kill. The patrol is there to stop them before it s too late. We will patrol with the rangers, disarming and confiscating any snares or traps that are found. Along the way, we will look for signs of illegal activity, record the locations of animals encountered, and record any other unusual activity. The rangers collect this information to keep an ongoing record of poaching activity. Unfortunately due to the rampant poaching that has taken place in recent years, it is common to come across carcasses of poached animals. We may get a firsthand look at a forensic investigation, as the rangers gather detailed information from the scene of the crime, including cause of death, and ballistic evidence. Wifi

7 DAY 6 GONAREZHOU BUSH CAMP GONAREZHOU NATIONAL PARK Gonarezhou Bush Camp Stage 4: The Place of Many Elephants Vast, remote, and untrodden, Gonarezhou National Park is true African wilderness. In the Shona language Gonarezhou means place of many elephants, and the elephants here number in the thousands. The Park s remote location on the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique makes it both a pristine wilderness and a magnate for ivory poachers. A Cessna Caravan will take us from Bumi Hills to Buffalo Range Airstrip, just a few miles from the border of Gonarezhou. Once we get to the Park, we ll move by vehicle to our first remote campsite. There may be time for a walking safari to explore, meet wildlife, and discover edible and medicinal plants. We all pitch in to set up the camp. Gonarezhou Bush Camp is an authentic wilderness camp, simple and comfortable, and no frills just great food, cheery drinks, good company, and a crackling fire. After dinner around the campfire, our guest will be Hugo van der Westhuizen, project leader with the Frankfurt Zoological Society. Hugo will introduce us to the high-tech tools-of-the trade for policing the park and detecting incursions from ivory poachers and illegal hunters. The Zoological Society has agreed to co-manage Gonarezhou with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority. It is proving to be a successful model for sustainable conservation in collaboration with communities.

8 DAY 7 GONAREZHOU BUSH CAMP GONAREZHOU NATIONAL PARK Gonarezhou is Zimbabwe s wildest park and home to Africa s wildest elephants. Wild elephants can be tricky to get close to. Fortunately we ll be led by skilled Shangaan trackers, descendants of the hunter-gatherer bands that have lived on this land for millennia. We will also be led by master safari guide Anthony Kaschula. With a degree in Environmental Science, Ant is both a wildlife tracker and environmental scholar. As one of Zimbabwe s most well-known and respected guides, he will share his encyclopedic knowledge of flora, fauna, and terrain as we explore what is virtually a lost world. As Ant would say touching, smelling, feeling, listening, and breathing in the sights, sounds, and smells. As we travel deeper into the poaching hotspots, we will follow tracks, search out signs, and hone in on subtle clues. A full day of reading tracks, interpreting sounds, and approaching animals while observing their behavior keeps up all the senses. This will be a day of constant surprises, be it disarming a game snare or discovering a new pack of wild dogs. Gonarezhou Bush Camp

9 DAY 8 GONAREZHOU BUSH CAMP GONAREZHOU NATIONAL PARK Beverly Joubert Gonarezhou Bush Camps Having explored a fraction of this wildland of over 13,000 square miles, we will have encountered many of the parks wild inhabitants: elephants, lions, wild dogs, leopards, cheetah, (including the rare king cheetah), hyenas, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, many species of antelope, and hundreds of birds. The landscape lends another dimension of wildness. Three rivers course through the park, the Mwenzi, the Runde, and the Save (pronounced Sa-vey) with canyons, waterfalls, and pools. The rivers are year-round magnets for birds and animals. Towering cliffs, open pans, and forests make for infinite perspectives. The place is alive, constantly changing, and beautiful. This will be a full day of exploration of this unique landscape. With so many possibilities anything should be expected.

10 DAY 9 CHILO GORGE GONAREZHOU NATIONAL PARK Gonarezhou Bush Camps African Bush Camps Today we cross the Sane River and drive to Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge in time for lunch. The Lodge sits just across the river from Gonarezhou National Park, and is perched atop a spectacular cliff overlooking the river. Here, we can take a well-earned rest after camping and bushwhacking through the wilds of Gonarezhou. Take in the view from decks and balconies. Browse through Chilo s library which contains volumes of wildlife literature. There is also a swimming pool. If the pool and view are just too tame, there is a waterfall a short hike up stream. Game drives or hiking safaris are also available options. If we are lucky, we will be joined by Clive Stockil, one of the founders of Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge. Clive is one of Africa s greatest conservation pioneers and the winner of the Prince William Award for a Lifetime Contribution to Conservation in Africa.

11 DAY 10 CHILO GORGE GONAREZHOU NATIONAL PARK Clive Stokil Stage 5: Celebration and Festival The intimate working relationship between the lodge and the local Shangaan community in the Mahenye village is exemplary, and will be a rewarding experience for any guest. Every year, in September, the Mahenye Festival takes place. This is a celebratory festival which includes traditional textiles, bead-ware, food, beer, music, dance, poetry and storytelling. In September 2016, we will join the celebration. As the Zimbabwean proverb says: If you can walk, you can dance. If you can talk, you can sing!

12 DAY 11 INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT Gonarezhou Bush Camps Depart by Cessna Caravan to Harare, where you will be able to board your international flight home. Flight # Departs: Harare, Zimbabwe Arrives: DAY 12 INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT Flight # Depart: Arrives:

13 ADDITIONAL SAFARI INFORMATION IN YOUR SAFARI Full board accommodations in all lodges and tented camps All meals Game drives in private 4x4 safari Land Cruisers All park and entrance fees Experienced and professional safari naturalist guides Enrollment with emergency evacuation service All in-country transportation Bottled water available at all times Extensive pre-departure briefing and materials including health information, reading list, and map 2016 GROUP DEPARTURE DATES & PRICING September 16-26, 2016 $9,985 USD per person October 23 - November 2, 2016 $9,985 USD per person May 5-15, 2017 $9,997 USD per person September 10-20, 2017 $10,375 USD per person All pricing is in US dollars. Single supplements are not required for this itinerary, and singles can book at normal per person rates. Arrivals are into Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and departures are out of Harare, Zimbabwe. Prices do not include international airfare. All itineraries and prices are subject to change. EXCLUDED IN YOUR SAFARI Gratuities Certain brands of alcoholic beverages We plan your wildlife adventures in areas where wildlife habitats are known to exist for the season and time you are traveling. Still, animals in the areas you are viewing are not in a zoo. They run freely, and we cannot always anticipate their movements. Also, Deeper Africa uses best efforts to provide the lodging set out in this itinerary, but occasionally there are circumstances that occur in Africa that require lodging substitutions. We reserve the right to make comparable lodging substitutions whenever necessary Manhattan Circle, Suite 202 Boulder, Colorado fx explorer safaris