Short trip to the big five / Zimbabwe part 1

Zimbabwe Hwange national park

When you like to take images, a safari to Africa is an interesting challenge, even though you are not specialised in wildlife photography. When you are additionally invited by Wilderness Safaris, this is an opportunity that you should not let slip away. Therefore, I flew in autumn 2017 to Africa for a short trip to the big five and visit Zimbabwe and Botswana. The trip went from Hamburg via Frankfurt and Johannesburg to the Victoria waterfalls. Arriving there, we were welcomed by Wilderness Safaris.

From the Viktoria waterfalls, we flew with a small propeller machine, Cessna C208, from Wilderness Air into the bush. Compared to the huge jets, you get a more direct flying experience. But not only is the flying experience compared to the huge jets different, but also the available space. This means that the total weight of your luggage should not exceed 8 kg. In case you have photo equipment with you, this is a challenge. Fortunately, the Micro Four Thirds cameras from Olympus are small and light. Directly after arrival, we started to a so-called game drive. This means driving with an off-road car to explore the landscape and wildlife.

Hwange national park

Our first destination was Linkwasha in the Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Besides breathtaking wildlife, this location also has breathtaking landscapes. Shortly after touchdown, if I remember correctly, it was less than 10 minutes, we saw the first elephants. Proceed to a so-called pan to observe several elephant herds while drinking. An unforgettable experience, especially as the light was different from what we are used to in Europe.

When you are in camp, the daily routine is full of game drives. As the animals are not very active in the noon sun, you start the day before sunrise, to observe the animal activities in the early cool morning hours. During the noon, you make a siesta, and two hours before sunset, you start again with a game drive. Besides the game drive, I enjoyed most being away from the busy world, as neither telephone nor mail nor other modern communication possibilities are available in the bush.