Day 14, August 7: Mana Pools National Park

Our morning drive visited several of them. 

Day 12, August 5: Mana Pools National Park

We drove across Harare, to a small airfield to catch the charter flight to Mana Pools, on the Zambezi. It was a dirt airfield. They picked us up in the usual Land Rover, and we drove for a while, checking out a couple of the eponymous pools, since apparently the previous guests hadn't checked out yet.

Lots of birds and wildlife on the drive...

An African spoonbill.

An arrow-marked babbler

A black heron

Black-winged stilt

A crowned hornbill

A marabou stork and a black-winged stilt, mostly to give a sense of size.

A female kudu

Eland

Hamerkop

Namaqua doves

A big flock of Lillian's lovebirds

And here's just one...

A female Namaqua dove.

An African spoonbill.

A southern red-billed hornbill.

A very warty warthog

A waterbuck

A white-headed vulture

A white-browed sparrow weaver

A white-crowned lapwing

A white-fronted bee-eater

A big croc.

A crowned hornbill in flight.

Female waterbuck. Their rear ends are distictive.

A somewhat more dignified shot

A white-crested helmetshrike

A black heron

And the formidable goliath heron, with a black heron, again to show scale.

Arrow-marked babbler.

Meves' starlings.

And finally, a mommy elephant, baby elephant and an unfazed vervet monkey.

When we finally arrived at the camp, which is right on the banks of the Zambesi

and found our tent, which was quite livable, we went to the central area to eat. This really is a camp. They set it up at the end of the wet season, and take it down once the rains come. 

A yellow-bellied greenbul, hanging at the bar.

An unexpected guest  came to visit for after-dinner drinks. Hazel, a spotted hyena, is still wild and alpha female of her pack. She has been befirended by the camp owner, Stretch Ferreira,  and stops by in the evening to chomp some bones. Quite an experience to have a wild hyena within crunching distance of one's ankle.

Day 10, August 3: South Luangwa National Park

Out again in the early morning, to see guineafowl. Lots and lots of guineafowl.

We actually tooka long, looping drive up the Luangwa. 

A spotted hyena, hugely uninterested in us.

Weaver finches at a massive nest

Tawny eagle

Meves' starlings, and go-away bird, in the mud.

Crested barbets, boy...

...and girl

The mighty wildebeest, slummin' with some impalas.

The magnificent martial eagle

A handsome white-browed coucal.

A rather splendid looking racket-tailed roller

 ...and from the side

A southern ground hornbill.

Yellow-billed storks and  an African spoonbill (at the rear)

An African fish-eagle, harassing the storks

A white-fronted bee-eater

Red-billed quelea, part of a larger flock.

Here he is with a yellow-crowned bishop.

Three-banded plover

Southern red-billed hornbill.

And a sleepy kitty.

A hippo, being groomed by red-billed oxpeckers.

A white-browed sparrow weaver

African openbill stork.

We returned to the lodge for lunch, and a big fight. Her majesty decided we were going to visit a textile store. I have no interest in souther African textiles, and this struck me as a bit much. Furthermore, we had a 2 hour break, and if the older ladies in our party wanted to go groove on some textiles, I had no problem; I just didn't see why my wife and I had to be part of it. Eventually, it was decided to let them go check out textiles (the store was only aboput a mile from the lodge), return, and pick us up. 

This is where we went that evening, lraving from the textile store. We crossed the Luangwa via the human-powered ferry, and went hunting for wild dogs. On the banks of the river, we spotted a...

...common greenshank

A white-fronted plover

Puku male at sunset

After much searching, we did eventually find a pack of wild dogs, who who hidden in the bushes. After too many fumbles with my camera, this is the best I could do.

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