A Rare Privilege at Ingwe Pan Camp
A Blog By Mike Garden
Seeing a leopard in any of Zimbabwe’s free-roaming National Parks is one of those rare privileges that is generally only experienced by regular visitors to those special wildlife areas. My work colleague and I were recently invited to spend a few nights in Machaba’s Ingwe Pan Camp situated within the inland Jesse bushland, some 15 km from Mana Pools Reception.
On day one at 6.30, whilst we were enjoying a delicious continental breakfast, our tour guide for the day rushed over to our table to tell us that a pristine-looking female leopard had just walked in front of one of the lodges. Five minutes later, he stopped our vehicle barely 5 metres away from this beautiful lactating leopard, obviously out looking for a suitable meal for her cubs hidden away in a den nearby.
We had arrived in camp just before lunch the previous day when we were introduced to our separate, well-appointed tents camouflaged amongst the Jesse, a short distance away from the central meeting area. Late afternoon, we were driven to a smaller pan nearby to sip cocktails and watch the sunset. Lo and behold, we were treated to an even rarer sighting of a Sharpe’s Grysbok – a small, shy, solitary antelope that I had only ever seen twice before in Gonarezhou. – two major ticks for my lifelong bucket list!
As I’ve said before, one of the top-drawer benefits of staying at an up-market lodge like Ingwe Pan is that you have your own allocated professional guide to take you on overland drives or walks through the bush. Our guide this time was AJ – truly one of the most knowledgeable that I have walked with.
It all started with him kicking apart a few Elephant dung droppings first to tell what the elephant’s been eating – grass or the more desperate splitting of small branches in the dry season. Then, to see if it’s just termites or maybe butterflies nibbling on the dung. Next, he was describing the variety of residents in holes in the ground, along with probably diggers – Ardvaark or Warthog or?? And that bird you hear chirping in the background is the Meyer’s Parrot – the other sound is from a Red-Billed Hornbill.
And did you know, he related, that the male Hornbill finds a vacant hole in a tree where he drops his pregnant lady off to deliver her chicks, then seals up the hole so that predators don’t raid it. Every time he comes back with food, he nibbles away a small hole, which is resealed right after the delivery. If, for some reason, he doesn’t return, the poor female starts uttering loud distress calls until another male decides to take over the family.
The large tents we stayed in were very well kitted out with all the mod cons necessary for a relaxed stay, including an outdoor shower with solar panels for heating and lighting. Being in the Jesse is a very different experience to the one we had at Mana Pools River Camp – both five-star and highly recommendable. The months of September and October are traditionally much better suited for viewing wildlife, as those that had disappeared to the hills in the rainy season start returning.
Ciao Mike G.
