Archives

July 2007

Latest News and Wildlife Sightings at The Hide

The sightings of game on drives, walks and right at the camp have been exceptional over the last few weeks. This is what Barry our camp manager had to report:

Mpofu (male lion) the new boy on the block who has taken over from Rogan (our resident male lion) as the dominant male lion in the area, has found three new bodyguard's to escort him around. With the new confidence of safety in numbers, he and his mates have been quite vocal at night and have been seen drinking at the pan at The Hide several times in the evenings lately. They managed a botched attack on an old dagga boy buffalo behind the camp the other night, the noise and commotion enough to keep the guests awake for nearly 45 minutes. Mpofu was also lucky enough to charm a young lady, and spent two days by the platform mating.

Mpofu and his girlfriend

A pride of 12 lionesses and their offspring have been seen by the Kennedy 2 and the surrounding areas as well. Our last group of French guests was lucky enough to watch the Lion research team collar a lioness.

Two Cheetahs have been seen around the Dom waterhole for the last few days, as well as a rhino bull.

The rhino at Makwa has been quite obliging with his presence at Makwa. Cindy Parker and her friends had the pleasure of encountering the rhino and Daffy got some amazing photos of the rhino and our guests.

The Rhino at Makwa being admired by some of our guests or vice versa?!

Lots of elephants can be seen in all areas, as well as ample kudu, roan, sable, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and some smaller antelopes. Eland, which are not very common in our area, have recently been spotted on a regular basis. An aardwolf was seen at Mbiza, a rare sighting in the park for us.

A herd of 300 buffalo has been at The Hide's pan and along the Kennedy vlei.

Hyenas have been seen on the night-drives recently, enjoying the bones of the carcass of the old elephant that died near the camp from old age. This old bull died of natural causes right in front of the camp at our waterhole. The death of the old bull was sad but just imagine what an amazing life he must have had living in Hwange all these years!

The old bull that died in front of the camp.

For the next few months the wildlife sightings will continue to be amazing and there will be lots more news next month.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Donna and Grant Stewart on their marriage on the 3rd of June 2007.
It took place at The Hide with family and friends! Judging by these photos it was a fantastic day!

Thank you to Christopher Scott (scottyphotography@gmail.com) for the use of his photos.

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

news-news-news

!Big 5 Challenge!

We are finally able to share these VERY EXITING NEWS with you. The Hide will be hosting Animal Planets Big 5 Challenge. Three teams of 2 people will go head to head in search of our Big 5. All teams will be accompanied by an armed pro-guide for their safety, but he is not allowed to help with tracking or spotting of wildlife. Several challenges will be set out for the teams for which they receive points! This exiting Animal Planet series will take place at the end of October and will be screened on Animal Planet. Preliminary dates for the screening are the 1st and 2nd week of April 2008 on Animal Planet but we will keep you posted on any developments!

Recent lion kill in front of the camp. The Big 5 Challenge might be easier than we thought with all the activity around camp at the moment!

Riding in Hwange

We have just received the wonderful news that we have been given permission by National Parks to conduct Horse Riding Safaris in Hwange. We have gone into partnership with Varden Safaris – the leading horse riding safari operator in Zimbabwe. This is a fantastic opportunity for experienced riders to go on safari into the bush and see Hwange and its animals from horseback!
The safaris will take between 3 -7 nights for a maximum of 6 guests. The safari will be fully backed up and camp will be set up every day for you. No more than 2 nights will be spent at one camp.
For more information please contact info@thehide.co.zw or riding@vardensafaris.co.zw

Guest Comments

The Hide was all you said it would be and much more. Words can not express the experiences provided by this magnificent place. It was better then we could have ever dreamed. From the amount of animals seen on foot, in vehicles, and right at the Hide to the accommodation and food everything was perfect.

Member of Classics Safari Camps of Africa

Thank you to Daffy, our man with the smile, for his amazing photos to use in this months Newsletter!