The Regeneration of the Bush.
The last few months have been incredibly dry
and the first showers of rain have been welcomed
with open arms by all and sundry. This is an
amazing time of the year, the rain drops are
soaked up, spurning new growth and everything
appears green over night. As soon as the rains
arrive the animals start dropping their young
and the wildebeest were first, closely followed
by the impala and other mammals.
Also our pan has filled up and the vlei is slowing
turning into a small stream with rather large
puddles forming all over the place.
The puddles and clouds down The Hide vlei line.
The jackals and bat-eared foxes on our concession
also have numerous youngsters. A female cheetah
and her five cubs have been spotted hunting
along the Kennedy Vlei and we hope they will
settle in and stay for a while.
The large herds of elephants have dispersed,
we now only have a few herds and our resident
bulls taking mud baths. With the easy prey of
young elephants gone, Mpofu and his brothers
in arms (our resident lions) have had to resort
to conventional food sources such as impala,
zebra and wildebeest and they can be heard at
night roaring in frustration. Their efforts
were rewarded a few nights ago as they managed
to kill a giraffe – I am sure that kept
their bellies full for a while.
Our grumpy old men- the Buffalo dagga boys
have been close to camp nearly all year and
seem to be sticking around. They often take
refuge from Mpofu and his entourage close to
Gary’s house at night.
Baby Roan Antelope, Jackal and Impala
We also had a visit to the area by a hippo.
The hippo appeared one morning in the Kennedy
1 pan and moved off after a few days, only to
be found in Sinanga a few kilometers away and
it again moved off after a few days and we sincerely
hope he has found a suitable permanent home
by now.
The smaller animals in Hwange, such as frogs
and insects, especially the flying ants, have
also got a new lease on life, providing food
for many birds and animals right in front of
the camp. Our choir of frogs, cicadas and other
insects, has also started rehearsing again for
their nightly performances.
Mbiza at Night, ©Barry Wolhuter
A chuckle…
The rains certainly bring about a transaction and nothing tops the outstanding marathon dance performance by one of our staff member at our Christmas party. Zulu was so overcome with the occasion that he turned into a Duracell bunny and danced non stop for about 26 hours. Fortunately we had no clients in camp the day after the party and everyone had plenty of time to rest and recover before our next guest arrived.
We would like to take this opportunity
to thanks our agents, friends and families for
their support over the last year. We wish you
all a wonderful festive season and happy and
successful 2008! We hope to see you all at The
Hide in the New Year!
` Baby Wildebeest and Warthog
Best Regards from Barry, Bridget, Gavin, Lorraine,
Maha and all the staff 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
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Photographic Competition
We are starting an annual photographic competition!
Please send in your best photos by the 29th
of February 2008 and you stand a chance to win
2 nights for 2 people at The Hide.
Please email us your photos.
Here are our conditions and rules:
- Max number of photos to be submitted is 5
- Max size of photos 1 MB – please!
- Photos had to be taken in 2007 while on safari with us
- By submitting your photos you give us the right to use your photos for marketing purposed – credit will be given to the photographer.
- No staff member (permanent or freelance) may enter the competition – sorry Barry and Daffy!
©Doug Fitzgerald
News-News-News
Please note that our annual shut down (we don’t
take any bookings for this period only) will
be from 12th January to 9th February 2008, during
which we will be doing some exiting refurbishments
and general maintenance work in camp.
We are refurbishing the outside bath for Tent
10 and including an outside shower with his
and hers shower heads.
The breakfast area is getting re-tiled with
Gwaii tiles, which are produced in Gwaai, just
down the road and are absolutely beautiful.
The Platform and Dove’s Nest are being
completely refurbished; including the bathroom
is getting a facelift. Soon some hammocks will
be available at the platform for you to relax
in. The Dove’s Nest is perfect for your
night in the bush.
Photos of our refurbishments will be posted
in the new year, after the work has been completed.
The African Walking Safaris will resume on the
1st of May 2008 and will run until the 30th
of November 2008.
Baby Eland and Zebra
Member of Classics Safari Camps
of Africa
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