Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Hwange Smorgasbord

Photobucket
Possibly my favorite photograph of my trip: the sun rise over the pan at The Hide in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.

Photobucket
Out on safari, we stumbled on these awesome lion tracks.

Photobucket
It was impossible not to fall in love with the clouds in Hwange.

Photobucket
Out on a walking safari: how ridiculously large is this termite hill? It's insane.

Photobucket
The sunset over Hwange.



Sunday, March 25, 2012

Hwange: Some of the Animals

Photobucket
An elephant and her baby in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.

Photobucket
A male lion pacing in Hwange.

Photobucket
Hello, Zebras!

Photobucket
I had no idea that I would think Guinea Fowls were absolutely adorable...

Photobucket
...or that warthog babies are even cuter...

Photobucket
Hello, Impalas!


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Where's Waldo Zimbabwe Safari Edition: Find the Animals!

In honor of one of my favorite books as a child, here's the Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe) safari edition of Where's Waldo
find the animal in the picture (one of the joys of a rainy season safari: lots of vegetation).

Photobucket
Find: The baby elephant!

Photobucket
Find: The Guinea fowl!
(What, you ask, is a Guinea fowl? Find out here.)

Photobucket
Find: The giraffe!

Photobucket
Find: The jackal!

Photobucket
Find: The bird (whose name I can't remember)!

Photobucket
Find: The leopard turtle!

Photobucket
Find: The frog!

Photobucket
Find: The elephant!

Photobucket
Find: The steenbok!
(What, you ask, is a steenbok? Find out here.)

All the vegetation is definitely an excuse to take another safari during the dry season!

(and if you can't find an animal and want to know, send me an email!)



Saturday, March 17, 2012

The Hide Safari Lodge

Photobucket
After this trip, we arrived at The Hide safari Lodge in Hwange National Park in western Zimbabwe.  This is the tent we stayed in.

Photobucket
The tents at The Hide.

Photobucket
How can you not love this view from inside the tent of the stunning pan?

Photobucket
I love outdoor showers--ah, to shower under the stars!  The view of the pan from the shower.
Reminds me of these tents in Senegal which had fantastic outdoor showers.

Photobucket
Sun rise over The Hide's pan.

Photobucket
The reception area.

Photobucket
Out on safari.


Photobucket

Would recommend The Hide!  Lots of nice personal touches like this note before we left.




Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Road Less Traveled

Photobucket
Embarking on another adventure across Zimbabwe, this time we headed west, attempting to find a specific safari lodge. 
 The hand-drawn map we had wasn't helpful and didn't include landmarks like this very old Shell gas station. 
 Which naturally was the first landmark we saw for many kilometers.

Photobucket
Thinking maybe we have the right road, we flew through across the beautiful landscape, 
hoping that after eight hours of driving from Harare, that we were on the right dirt road.

Photobucket
Apparently we aren't the first to wonder if we were remotely on the right path as we stumbled upon this sign, wishing us good luck. 
 It may have resulted in many minutes of hysterical laughter (and then a silent prayer that hopefully luck wasn't needed.)

Photobucket
And then! Voila! A landmark actually on our map: a water tower and train tracks. We had officially entered into Hwange National Park.

Photobucket
And immediately were relieved to see a sign marking our safari lodge: The Hide
 There was hope we weren't lost in the middle of---literally---no where Zimbabwe after nine hours of driving.

Photobucket
Even if we were lost (and yes our road was this flooded)
how can you not pause and think: Zimbabwe is breathtaking. 
And I was about to go on my first safari. Life is good.



Saturday, March 10, 2012

Au revoir, Chimanimani, I will return...

Photobucket
After seeing this view in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe, I knew I had fallen in love with Zimbabwe.

Photobucket
And I continue to be impressed with the landscape of my new home.

Photobucket
The hike through the mist was more than worth the hours spent lost and climbing up and down moutains, along cliffs, and through banana groves.

Photobucket
Leaving through the town of Chimanimani, I captured the MDC-T office (the main opposition to President Mugabe's ZANU-PF). It was featured in a very vivid segment in Peter Godwin's The Fear in which MDC-T supporters continued to paint it over and over in support of MDC-T. 

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Across the Landscapes

Photobucket
After hiking to a beautiful waterfall, we kept wandering through the amazing varying landscapes
in the Chimanimani Mountains in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe.

Photobucket
We hiked past mist, clouds, and rolling valleys with beautiful streams.

Photobucket
Past clouds rising against the mountains.

Photobucket
And along the sides of mountains that made me think of Lord of the Rings--minus the whole Mordor angle.

Photobucket
And even past banana fields and spots that reminded me of a rain forest.

Photobucket
The mountains were breathtaking.

Photobucket
It was impossible not to love Chimanimani.



Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Pin It button on image hover