Archives

August / September 2007

The Big Five

Yes it is possible to see the Big Five in one trip and the Save Foundation Australia Group were fortunate to see the top 5 of the animal kingdom during their four night stay!

Elephants are plentiful especially this time of the year and as mentioned in the previous Newsletter the rhino at Makwa has been extremely willing and presents himself to our guest on a regular basis. The lions and buffalo have also been seen around the camp regularly and then the group was lucky to see the elusive leopard close to the Kennedy 2 waterhole.

A beautiful Hwange sunset, with a rhino and elephants

They were also witness to quite an exceptional event. As most of you know our concession is close to the railway line and accidents with wildlife do happen. An elephant was hit by a train and sustained several injuries. We called the vet to dart the elephant to clean his wounds and give him some anti-biotics hoping to make his recovery a quick one. The group was fortunate to witness the darting and helped nurse the elephant.

Sadly in the end nature took its course and the elephant was killed by Mpofu and his sons (our local lion pride) a few nights ago. Previously, about a week before they had killed a buffalo. Both kills were made very close to camp, macjing a "racket" (as Barry calls it) and kept our guest awake. Mpofu and his entourage have since dispersed, probably to check on their territory and hopefully to detox after so much meat!

A pride of lions at Makwa recently killed a kudu and they were seen giving a buffalo a good run a few days ago! Other carnivors such as hyenas and jackals can be spotted feasting on the varíous carcasses as well as several species of vultures.

A couple of nights ago a young leopard was spotted drinking out of The Hide’s waterhole – let’s hope he becomes a regular visitor to camp. Last night 22 Sable Antelope and a large herd of Eland were seen drinking at The Hide pan.

For the Bird Enthusiasts: The migrating birds are starting to arrive for their summer holidays and with our large number of resident birds, bird watching and photographic opportunites are exceptional.

European Bee-Eaters © Doug Fitzgerald

African Walking Safaris

There is a new exiting activity for the more active and adventurous, available in Hwange! The company is called African Walking Safaris and as the name implies, carries out walking safaris in the Hwange National Park. A temporary camp is set up, for a maximum of six people with an armed professional guide, in a remote spot in Hwange from which walks are carried out. A new, exciting, exclusive way to discover the big and the smaller miracles of the Hwange bush!
For more information on African Walking Safaris please contact us info@thehide.co.zw.

Best Regards from Barry, Bridget, Lauren, Lorraine, Angus, Gavin, Maha and everyone at The Hide.

Proud Winner of the ASTA (Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents) "Best Tented Safari Camp in Zimbabwe 2006", for the 8th year running!

The Hide is featured in the new book "1000 places to See before you Die - A Traveller's Life List."

Contact & Reservations
The Hide Safaris, The Triton Centre, 176 Enterprise Rd, Chisipite
PO Box HG 261 Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe
Tel: +263 (0)4 498835-6
Fax: +263 (0)4 498480
Email: info@thehide.co.zw
Bookings: lorraine@thehide.co.zw
website: www.thehide.com

"Best Tented Safari Camp"

We are proud to share with you that The Hide Safari Camp has won the AZTA "Best Tented Safari Camp 2007" Trophy for the 9th time running!

Update on The Big Five Challenge

The count down has begun ……three weeks to go before the contestants and the film crew descends on The Hide and Hwange! The 6 contestants have been chosen from all over the world, they are all city slickers with exceptional characters, who will be visiting the African bush for the first time in their life! Exiting and, I am sure, humorous times ahead!

Guest Comments

A note to thank you very much indeed for making my visit to The Hide such a memorable one, especially for those thoughtful and lovely touches – the delicious birthday lunch in the bush, champagne etc. All hugely appreciated.
What a glorious place you have there. Everyone was so welcoming and couldn’t do enough for us – just a great holiday. And, of course, the daily outings with Nicholas were awesome. My only complaint is that I have put on so much weight with all the delicious food and wine!!
Many, many thanks to everyone at The Hide!
Kathy Berry, UK

Congratulations

Congratulations to Quinton and Shelly "to be" Riddle on their engagement at The Hide in August 2007.
This is what they had to say:
Literally unforgettable... Thank you so much to Barry, Lauren, Nicholas for making us feel so welcome and giving us the experience to see everything! Thank you again for making and being a part of our special occasion and life, the commitment to each other and making it so much more.....

Friends of Hwange

The Friends of Hwange Trust is soldering on in Hwange, trying to keep the water problem at bay and herewith a short update from the trust. Please support this worthy cause!
“The trust is installing a further three windmills in Hwange at the moment, to reduce our diesel costs in the long run. The windmills will only become fully operational once the rains start because we currently have to use the diesel engines to pump water to keep up with the demand.
This year will be another long hard year for our wildlife in Hwange. The rains were not great and it is already very hot in Hwange! The pans are drying up fast with up to 1000 elephants drinking at all the waterholes in the Park every day and this is just the elephants. In order for us to keep the water supplies up we need diesel – desperately! Please help us with funds for diesel! THANK YOU
For more information about the Trust and their requirements please email Maha maha@friendsofhwange.co.zw.”

Shapi waterhole run dry

Member of Classics Safari Camps of Africa