Our first game driv of the day after arriving at Imbabala was very enjoyable. We rode down to the Zambezi River with our guide Richard. There was aherd of obviously pregnant impalas. They were waiting for the rains to come so there would be enough food. That is the case for many of the animals n this area. As we left the river, it began to rain and then it began to pour. It was not a long rain, just a hint of the season to come. Along the way, Richard told us about the area, the elephant corridor, game management (none), and other interseting facts. We saw a large variety of birds including nesting vultures and Marisol storks, half a dozen leopard tortoises, and a browsing giraffe. We stopped midway for refreshments while standing beside and learning about termite colonies and the mounds. When we returned to the lodge, we had a lovely dinner on the patio overlooking the now dark Zambzi River.
We decided that the night was perfect for a night game drive and at 8:30 we took off. We looked into the large trees to see if we could spot a leopard but no luck. The highlight of the ride was a large bull elephant that appeared in the road/track. He stood looking at us (our guide Jefferson turned of the lights on the truck), then the elephant turned away and ambled down the track, then turned into the brush. We searched for and finally discovered where he had turned off the track. It was an eerie yet exhilarating sight. Later were saw some zebras moving along a tree line. Although we saw very few animals, the ride was still very magical.
This morning it was an early rise and departure for the game drive. The reason for leaving at 6 AM is to go and be back before the heat of midday. The ride started out slowly with just bushbuck, baboons and impalas. We stopped and looked at different rees and saw the impact-especially damage-of the elephants. Suddenly we heard a strange noise and knew we had a flat tire. Changing the tire was an efficient effort of Jefferson and Paul. Soon the spare was on, the truck was lowered, and it became obvious that the spare was flat too. Richard called the lodge and we soon had a new truck.
Now we headed to the river hoping to see some grazing hippos since it was very overcast. No such luck! However, there were warthogs, impalas and waterbucks. The waterbucks were built like American elk and were quite impressive. A pair of warthogs were fight as were a few pairs of impalas. We were not sure if the head butting and horn twisting was real or practice, but it looked serious. Soon afterwards, we saw a group of African Cape buffalo. I was very happy to be in the safety of the truck.
For some reason the vultures were not flying and they had collected in one area. The trees were festooned with vultures. We saw other birds and some African tree squirrels. Once we headed back to the lodge, we were luck to see a colony of banded mongoose playing in the road. Then Paul spotted a kudu bull browsing. Unlike the group of female kudu we saw later, this bull was all by himself. There was no more game to be seen this morning. When we got back, there was a wonderful brunch waiting for us. Now for a quiet afternoon before heading out on th Zambezi River later today.
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