Wild is Life!

Why, hello, Sweetpea the Kudu!

While visiting Wild is Life in Harare, Zimbabwe, we had afternoon tea with this lovely animal (she's partial to strawberries....)

How's this for a sign?? Probably best to keep your fingers away from lions...

Wild is Life rescues animals who have been orphaned (due to poaching), are ill, or who would otherwise have been killed.

This beauty promptly walked past..see? The sign has some good advice!

Wild is Life has several lions including one that is blind and one that is missing some teeth (making him unable to survive in the wild).

I instantly fell in love with the premises, so easy to get lost among its beauty.

So easy to forget you're in Harare.

I couldn't resist a second shot, I mean, just look at those flowers!

Mirabelle the Giraffe waiting for afternoon tea.

A boat as a swinging seat? Emphatic yes please!

Sweetpea the Kudu--aren't her stripes just lovely?

Wild is Life has also rescued Levi and Diesel, the cheetahs, from poachers who killed their parents.

For more information on the work that Wild is Life is doing, please visit them here.

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The Return to Hwange

I recently had the opportunity to return to the beyond wonderful Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.

(How can you not love a place whose sunsets look like this?!)

I returned to The Hide, a wonderful safari lodge, tucked away in the middle of Zimbabwe and was treated to this sunset the following night.

Oh, be still my heart, how I love sunsets.

I was traveling with someone who was experiencing his first safari.  The moment of seeing something like these giraffes never grows old,
whether it's his first safari or mine, the number of which I've lost count.

Our safaris were marked with these beautiful female kudus, so gracefully when they run.

Hwange has these stunning zebras and it's easy to be lost in the memorizing nature of their stripes.

Love this Zebra's head markings.

What is it about giraffes drinking that is always so comical?! 

An elephant's skull--this thing was huge and a little creepy.

We had a full moon, visible even before the sun set!

Which boded well since we were also visiting Victoria Falls and I hoped we'd be able to experience the rare lunar rainbow!!

Remember this sign?  I laughed seeing it again--it brought back so many good memories
of my very first safari experience in the company of a wonderful friend.

(Oh! What luck I have to have such wonderful people with whom to experience this world!)

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The Gonarezhou Smorgasbord!

Remember Chilo Gorge Safari Lodge?  It's been awhile since I posted on it. I got distracted by HIFA.

It was a wonderful distraction, but back to Chilo Gorge!

While at Chilo Gorge in Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe, we came across this wonderful wildebeest.

This corner of Zimbabwe is just so incredibly lovely.

And it's easy to spot the last remnants of the rainy season.

Why, hello you impressive kudu, you!

The mighty baobab.  The tree goes right to your soul and it's impossible to weary of seeing it.

While driving, we came across this bull elephant.  He ignored us and ate.

And kept eating, and eating and eating!

Then, holy moly, throw that vehicle in REVERSE right now because he charged our vehicle, and he charged it fast.

My heart went through my toes and I must say, I was glad we were able to back up and back up fast.

This wasn't our only charge in Gonarezhou.  These were the most aggressive elephants I've come across in Zimbabwe.

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Nswatugi: Ancient Cave Paintings

While staying at Camp Amalinda in the Matobo National Park (UNESCO World Heritage site), Zimbabwe, we hiked up to Nswatugi Cave.

The unassuming entrance to Nswatugi Cave.

The cave paintings are between six and ten thousand years old.  That's right: 6,000 - 10,000, as in the Late Stone Age.  Insane.

Here's a scene that includes giraffes, hunters, and kudu.

Ancient cave paintings in Africa very, very rarely include images of women.  Many believe this woman is a healer or rare female leader.

This is a close up of a scene of men, some with bows, hunting.

Kudus and a man.  In 1975, excavations found the oldest known skeleton in Zimbabwe:

a bushwoman, dated 9,500 years ago,

A better image of a man carrying a bow, just to the center of the image.

The view of Matopos from the entrance of the cave.  Nswatugi means "place of jumping" because according to legend

God made his earthly home in Matopos at Njelele Hill, landing from His first leap at Nswatugi hill, leaving a footprint in the hill's granite.

The footprint is a natural mark in the hill that has sadly been slowly destroyed by individuals.
And anyone who knows me in person knows I have a slight obsession with jumping photos.
Seems the perfect cave for me to have visited.

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So Zazu, a Kudu, a Mongoose, and an Eland Walk into a Bar...

The entrance to the Save Valley Conservancy in Zimbabwe: warnings against rhino poaching.

The rhino poaching is something the conservancy is actively working against as the rhino numbers in Zimbabwe continue to fall.

I visited during the end of the rainy season, where the dry season has begun to make an appearance in the dry river beds.

We may have referred to this red-billed hornbill as "Zazu" for our entire visit to Save Valley....

A female kudu.

Confession: prior to the moment of seeing this impressive male eland, I had no idea that elands existed.

They are awesome.  Possibly a new favorite animal (I lie: elephants still win).

Why, hello, Mama and Baby giraffe!

Another confession: I really had no idea that this is what a mongoose looks like...

Et voila!  A young male kudu.

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