Before traveling to Tanzania in 1991, an acquaintance of mine who had been to Africa told me that, once I went, I would be stricken by the bug and would want to return. Irene and I were stricken by the bug and wanted to return to Africa, which we did in August 1994 when we again joined Gary Clarke on a photo safari to Africa, this time to Zimbabwe. The itinerary for the trip called for two nights camping on the Zambezi River in Zambezi National Park, a morning trip to Victoria Falls, three nights at Ivory Lodge outside Hwange National Park, two nights at Makalolo, a permanent tented facility outside Hwange National Park, one night at Sable Valley Lodge, one night in Kariba and five nights camping at Mana Pools. This was Gary’s 20th anniversary safari, celebrating twenty years of leading groups to Africa. He intended this to be one of his best, and he did not disappoint. In August 1997, I accompanied Gary on his “Return to the Zambezi” safari. Since Irene elected to stay behind for this trip, Gary and I roomed together. The itinerary for this trip included Camp Amalinda outside of Motopos Hills National Park, Ivory Lodge, Mana Pools National Park and Victoria Falls. Although many of the destinations were identical to my 1994 safari, the 1997 trip provided its own memorable and unique experiences.

Zimbabwe, formerly known as Rhodesia, is situated in southeastern Africa. Its neighbors include South Africa to the south, Mozambique to the east, Zambia to the northwest and Botswana to the southwest. Unlike the savannas of northern Tanzania, the portions of Zimbabwe which we visited contained more hills and denser vegetation. In addition, much of where we traveled was covered with the sands of the Kalahari Desert. Most of Zimbabwe is situated on a high plateau between 4,000 and 5,000 feet in elevation. The country has a distinct rainy season of approximately five months, generally between October and March, during which it rains almost every day. The amount of rainfall varies throughout the country, with the higher elevations receiving the greatest amount. However, droughts often occur in parts of the country. The end of August coincides with the end of Zimbabwe’s winter and the beginning of its spring. Zimbabwe is a tropical country but, due to its elevation, it has a moderate climate. Temperatures in the summer months range between 77 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit while temperatures in the winter months range between 59 and 68 degrees, although temperatures do fall below freezing in parts of the country (and did on our first trip to Zimbabwe).

Much of our stays were in private tented camps, although some of our nights were spent at lodges. The tented facilities still remained my favorite. The touring vehicle in Zimbabwe is an open-air truck generally with tiered seats across the bed. In most cases there are row bars, and some seats are more padded than others. Although I cannot prove it, I doubt that any of the trucks that I rode in had functioning shock absorbers. Since the trucks were open air, you are constantly exposed to the elements, unless you have chosen to ride in the cab with the driver, assuming there is a cab. This means dressing in layers to stave off the cold of the morning drives but yet still be comfortable during the heat of the afternoon.

A safari in Zimbabwe is more of a total experience similar to our later experiences in the Selous. In many of the Zimbabwe Parks and Conservation Areas hiking is allowed, as is canoeing on the rivers and night game drives. Unlike our first trip to Africa, Irene and I did not study our itinerary closely. We knew that Gary had planned it as his ideal safari and we completely trusted him on his choice of locations and land operators. We were more relaxed than when we accompanied him to Tanzania, this time knowing what to expect and also expecting the unexpected. We limited our luggage this time, reducing the loads we carried between locations and here, like Tanzania, the camp staff did laundry so we did not require that many changes of clothing.