elephants – Clancy Abroad

St Lucia to Glensheiling to Drakensberg.

Our St Lucia accomodation was one of two campsites behind a guesthouse. The only campsite in town had bad reviews, being run down and expensive. An overlander had come a few years ago to their guesthouse and camped out the back in their garden. That overlander left a review on the iOverlander app, and thus grew their little camping business.

St Lucia is a tourist town. The side streets are full of guesthouses, and the main street is restaurants, tour operators, and shops catering to tourists.

The first day there we headed into iSimangaliso Park. We drove into side loops off the main road to Cape Vidal. The first loop went to a waterhole with maybe 10 hippos all out of the water because it was a cool overcast day. We headed down another loop, but it was eventually closed of by flooding. We drove down to Mission Beach, a rocky beach on the Indian Ocean.

Then along the main road was a traffic jam of cars because a herd of maybe 20 elephants were blocking the road. We waited 30 minutes or so for the elephants to clear the road, so we could pass. We headed into another loop to see if we could follow the elephants, but they had disappeared onto scrub. This loop led to an unsigned posted lookout tower called Kawashelini. This was an interestingly designed lookout tower that was gradually falling apart as a result of lack of maintenance.

We then drove out of the loop to the main road, this time blocked by three white rhino, including a suckling baby rhino.

The next day we walked a 10km route around St Lucia including the boardwalk and the beach. The boardwalk is probably one of St Lucias biggest tourist attractions, a tour bus was there when we walked it. However the boardwalk is falling apart and needs maintenance.

Sunday we headed off south along the N2 to see how far we could get to the Drakensberg. We decided to go right into Durban, only to find some of the N3 was closed, and we were forced into a detour through suburban Durban. Durban is a dense city, way more dense than Joberg. Around 5pm we made it to Glensheiling caravan park for an overnight stay which was located in an area called the Midlands, an area full of food and art places.

The morning we headed into the strangely named town Nottingham Road. We got more supplies at the Spar supermarket, and then headed to Injusuthi campsite in the Drakensberg.

White Rhino blocking the Cape Vidal road

Chitove camp to Chivillia Camp to Rossi Pools, Gonarezhou National Park

Chitove camp was even better than Fishans camp. We were right next to the water. When we arrived, a couple of elephants left. We had crocodiles resting on the opposite bank. Baboons, Zebras, Elephants and more came down to the water, somewhere along the bank. There was pretty well something going on all day. After 3 nights at Chitove we headed about 60km to Chivillia. Firstly we needed to cross the Runde at a causeway, which we did without it being much more than 30cm deep. We then stopped on the opposite bank to watch a couple of hundred Cape Buffalo head into the water to drink. We then headed to Chilojo cliffs picnic area. There we watched an Elephant wander across the Runde, eventually coming back to comprehensively scratch itself on a tree near us.

We continued on to Chivillia Camp which was a rocky downhill track. We were a bit disappointed with Chivillia, it was away from the water, and there were not a lot of animals. However the first night during dusk, Karen spotted a lion sitting about 100m away. It roared a few times then wandered off. We were pretty careful around camp the next two nights.

After 3 nights at Chivillia Camp we headed for the long drive south to Rossi Pools camp. Firstly we needed to detour to Chipinda Pools camps to get some extra water. Then it was the well built but steep winding descent to the Nkwangulatio causeway. The causeway was built in 2019, and was well done. We crossed it and continued south. We passed a couple of heavily armed rangers making patrols, then followed the electrified park fenceline for tens of kilometres. At 4:30pm and after a long day we arrived at Rossi Pools camp.

Cape Buffalo opposite our campsite at Chitove

Another huge Baboab protected from Elephants with rocks

Occasionally we have some home made bread

Driving down the park fence line, don’t touch the electric fence!

Fishans camp to Chitove camp, Gonarezhou National Park

We spent 3 days at Fishans camp. We had two elephants wander through camp passing within 3 metres of the camper. We had the occasional Baboon stalk us. A monkey managed to get a small bag of flour. There were lots of birds. We had various antelope nearby almost all the time. The mornings were cool, but build up to a warm day in the high 20s.

The Runde river bed below the campsite, with the solar panels set up

Gregs feet are big, but elephant feet are bigger

the Chilojo viewpoint on top of the cliffs

Looking down onto the Runde river from the Chilojo lookout

Great Zimbabwe Hotel to Save River Conservancy

The next morning it was cold, but at last not raining. We got packed and drove the 30km into Masvingo, for more supplies, fuel, and water. We found a Pick n pay supermarket, which would also take a credit card.

I went over the road to another supermarket to get water. They wouldn’t take a credit card, so I had to pay with USD. So the bill is USD$3.20. So they have no change less than a $1USD note. So what would I like. So I grab a couple of bottles of water out of the fridge. That leaves 22c changed owed, what do I want to do with that? I don’t care, keep the 22c. However the checkout attendant says, can I buy myself a chocolate bar for 20c. I say fine. We then go out both of us to be checked by the guards for my bottles of water, and her chocolate bar.

We try a servo for fuel with a credit card, no luck, but they suggest the Puma out of town. We go to the six month old Puma with attached KFC about a km out of town and buy fuel with a credit card. We are trying to conserve our supply of USD.

We drive east around 140km, decreasing in altitude and with increasing warmth. A couple of police road blocks, but they wave us through. We then turn onto the Save river conservancy, which is so big, that its a 60km drive from the front gate to the camping spot we have booked.

We drive past (and nearly collide with) Elephants. We also see Zebra, Giraffe, Kudu and other antelopes. After a river crossing we arrive at the Humani compound. We don’t know how to get to the campsite, eventually someone guides us out the 3km to the campsite next to the Turwi river.

We saw Elephants down river from us the first night. Occasionally we hear lions. The second day we spent the afternoon game driving down to the Save River, but didn’t see a lot. When we got back to camp, there was an elephant next to our campsite.

The solar panels set up on the bank, because the campsite is under trees

Hillside Dams Bulawayo Zimbabwe to Farmhouse Matopos

I struggled getting power at Hillside Dams the next morning. I got power until 10am then load-shedding started. With all the solar panels up I managed to charge up the batteries by mid afternoon. I then headed to Karen’s lodge that she was staying at. It was very nice, they also had their generators running as well because they had lost power too.

We went out to dinner with Karen’s colleagues. It being Zimbabwe, and a few South Africans thrown in as well, there was a lot of meat for dinner. Everyone got a good feed though and there was meat left over which people could take home. We stayed in Karen’s room overnight, a big change from the camping I had done for the last 3 weeks.

We headed out the next morning for the Farmhouse camping site about 50km south of Bulawayo, which is just north of the Matapos National Park. We went through two police road blocks, but we were not stopped. Karen thinks they are under orders not to hassle tourists. Farmhouse is very well run. We had hot showers from a donkey boiler, and we had great views. They have Giraffe and Wildebeest on the property, so we walked down to the feeding of the Giraffes which happens every day at 4pm.

Karen by now had got pretty sick from something she caught from being in all those meeting rooms, so Saturday she spent a lot of time asleep. I was fine but I was going to get sick eventually. I went on a cave guided walk, and say a couple of caves with 2,000 year old cave paintings.

On Sunday we drove into Matapos National Park. We headed west on looked at the rock formation called mother and child which is actually pictured on the mysterious ZIG currency. ZIG is the official currency of Zimbabwe, but almost no-one has seen it, everyone works on USD. There are so many balance rocks both in and around Matopos. We headed further west to a dam looking for animals (and maybe white rhino), but we saw evidence of Elephants, but only saw Hippos and klipspringers.

We then headed east to try to get to Nswatugi Cave. The first track got rougher and rougher, until I thought it was too rough for our heavily loaded camper. So we spent about an hour carefully reversing back down the track including cutting scrub out of the way. We ripped off one of the rear mudflaps. This time it was the old one that’s been on for years, rather than the new one. We then headed back and approached the cave from a different direction. We were more successful this time, and made it to the cave late afternoon. The cave had been excavated about 5m down, finding evidence of people living in it 9,000 years ago.

Some of the paintings in the rock shelters

200 year old grain stores made of termite mound mud

Nunda River Lodge to Muduma National Park

It took us a while to pack up at Nunda, we had been there for four days, and we had spread ourselves out. It was 9:30am before we left. We went first to the Hardware store in Divundu and after consulting with the security guard bought a Potjie, a South African cast iron pot with legs that you place on a campfire. We had not been able to get any more gas canisters, so it was wood fires from now on. We got more supplies and drinking water from the Metro supermarket in Divundu, one of the largest supermarkets we had been to in recent weeks. Then it was off west along the strip towards Kongola. We stopped to look at an elephant wandering near the road, part way to Kongola. We got more fuel at Kongola, then headed south. We stopped at a village and bought their entire stock of firewood (about $9 worth), all the kids coming out to help with the sale.

We arrived at the entrance to Muduma Park. We had heard you couldn’t book ahead, and that camp 3 and 4 were the best. However Camp 3 and 4 were booked, so we paid for Camp 2 for one night, then would shift to Camp 4 for 3 more nights. The camps in Muduma are wild, no facilities at all, not even a pit toilet.

Camp 2 was good, if not somewhat scary. There were Hippos in the Lagoon in front of the camp, Elephant dung everywhere. We saw Zebras, warthogs ,Baboons and antelope driving in. We also knew that there might be lions around as well. There are no fences anywhere.

We lit a fire and used our Potjie for the first night, and it went well.

Next morning after a night of Hippo calling we shifted to camp 4. During the drive to camp 4 we got held up by a herd of 40+ elephants blocking the track, which we waited 30 minutes to pass. At camp 4 we jammed ourselves in a spot overlooking the lagoon, which was great for viewing the Hippos, and Elephants in the distance. We stayed four days, five nights in camp 4. We extended our stay part way though, driving back to the entrance office.

The Hippos entertained us every night. The Baboons woke us up some mornings. We had Elephants walk past on afternoon. We had Warthogs having mud baths near us, and Antelopes. Bats at night catching the bugs. It was hot weather, 39C most days, cooling to 22C overnight.

Elephant traffic jam that stopped us for 30 minutes along the track from Camp2 to Camp 4

There were lots of baby Elephants in this group.

Fixing the solar input cable. The cable was damaged last year when I hit a pothole in Zambia, the fix failed, and I had to fix it again.

We drove back to the gate office to extend our stay. On the way back we stopped at the hide to watch a herd of elephants come and drink and cool off in the lagoon.

Some other elephants we passed on the way back from the gate

We had lots of great African sunsets from camp 4

the view over the lagoon and the island, a panorama

We stopped for breakfast when leaving Muduma, next to a hundreds of years old Baobab, that the bottom of the tree bark had been rubbed away by Elephants scratching themselves.

Moorings Farm to Livingstone

Campsite at Moorings farm was good, because it was 2km from the road, and thus very quiet. Everyone left before me, I got to the main road by 9am. It was 350km to Livingstone.

Pretty uneventful drive. I passed a town around lunch time that advertised a Steers, which is a South African burger chain. I thought a chicken burger would make nice lunch. It cost 75 Kw and I handed over 100Kw, but as is typical of Zambia they don’t have enough change. It takes an extra 5 minutes to come up with 25Kw change (just over $A2). The campsite at Moorings charged 140Kw, but they cannot change 150Kw I gave them (less than $A1), so I paid 150Kw. Same with Wildlife Camp at Mfuwe, it cost me an extra 20Kw because they could not give me change. I find it interesting that the supplier of the service is never willing to take the loss.

I stopped at the side of the road for a stretch, then went to start the car, and nothing. I had no ignition at all. I thought this is not good, as the battery failed already? A bit of investigation showed a broken fusible link. I think the link probably stretched under load with all the temporary cabling putting the AGM battery in. I temporarily fixed the link and everything was good.

I got to Livingstone, stopped at the Shoprite, which was the most supplied one ever. I bought some pink lady apples. Then off to Thorn Tree lodge, about 2km from Victoria falls. There are elephant droppings everywhere, the lady who greeted me said they were here a few minutes ago. I can hear the helicopters making flights over the falls. I will go and see the falls tomorrow. I have seen the falls from the Zambezian side, tomorrow from the Zambian side.

After that its 75km to the Botswana border.