July 3

It was awesome to watch the sunrise from bed and the daybed on our balcony this morning. The weather is as beautiful as the sights. At one point a heron flew overhead - wow! Bill was kind enough to get a tea and a mimosa for me while I relaxed outside and scrolled though some photos.

We were able to have a more relaxed morning and another incredible breakfast. Mid-morning we headed to the airstrip and flew 40 min to Mana Pools.

Kudus were beside the Mana Pools airstrip as we landed and Canaan greeted us and briefed us on our stay. We drove for an hour and a half to the lodge, Nyamatusi Mahogany.

Along the way we saw:
Impalas
Zebra
Waterbuck
Eland
White-fronted bee-eater
Brown snake eagle
Blue head and white tail feather
Red-billed hornbill
Crowned hornbill
Baboons
Elephants
Warthogs
Hippos

After a delicious lunch on the upper balcony we had an afternoon drive and saw:
Hippo trail
African hoopoe
Winterthorn tree with bulges on the trunk because of elephants stripping the bark; red pods are good food for buffaloes, elephants, and antelopes
Helmeted Guinea fowl
Impalas
Red-billed hornbill (a cure for "wandering" husbands)

Medicinal plant for herpes and abortions Swainson’s spurfowl
Little bee-eater
Warthogs
Slender mongoose
Maeve’s starling
Male lion (our first good look at an adult male & relaxing after eating buffalo with his ladies)

We were able to get out of the vehicle and meet up with a few other guides and guests to walk up close the the lions and their kill. It was a thrilling experience!

We had a wonderful quiet dinner at the lodge and played more euchre (more ass-whopping by Ron and TL).

July 4

We are enjoying our stay at Nyamatusi and our rooms are beautiful. Although I am not delighted to hear that Ron and Teraleigh have a snake as a roommate. Dear Lord!

We were up early with Canaan and were joined by Reid and Leo for the morning. Reid had been with us the evening before and Leo had decided to rest from their long journey from San Diego.

This morning we saw:
Zebras
Hyenas (we were able to walk up and see them now that the lions have left their kill. Not sure if they were more afraid of us or if we were more afraid of them)
Dead buffalo
Fred Astaire aka Freddie (one of the two elephants that will stand on his hind legs to reach higher leaves and branches from the camel thorn trees)
Eland (with babies up close)
Chine pools, Long pool, Green pool, the big old stumps and lots of baobab trees
Baboons
Impala
Squirrel
Crocodile
Spoonbill
Black-winged stilt
Glossy ibis
Three-banded plover
Hippos
Dwarf mongoose
Mom and baby elephant browsing
Cape turtle dove
Green-spotted wood dove
Bozo and a herd of elephants
Open-billed stork flying over in a flock overhead
Bataeleur (was eagle flying overhead while watching Bozo, they bring good luck)
Lilian lovebirds
Crowned hornbill

We stopped for tea, coffee, beer, and cookies by the river, then walked to try to find Bozo again but he was gone to the river by that time.

We saw:
Fig tree strangling the camel thorn tree
Vervet monkey
Fork-tailed drongo
Jackal
Marshy pond with hippos
Goliath heron
Sacred ibis
Saquacco heron
White intermediate egret or yellow-billed egret
Grey heron
Glossy ibis
Whited-faced whistling ducks
White-fronted bee-eaters
Lappet-faced vulture flying overhead
African grounded hornbill
Eland with Oxpeckers
Brown snake eagle
Hooded vulture flying
Fish eagle

During our long morning drive, we had to endure lots of whining and bitching from Leo. We were all annoyed by his childish attitude and did our best to not let him spoil such an incredible experience. I dubbed him "Precious Prick" because he was repeatedly saying “what now?” and "You can’t even see anything” when we would stop to view and take photos of birds and animals during our drive.

We had a wonderful pizza lunch. They have an outdoor wood burning oven. We were able to select our toppings and then Chef Catherine baked our pizza in the outdoor oven. What a fun and delicious lunch!

Afternoon drive without Reid and Leo (thank God!):
Herd of buffalo with babies
White-fronted bee-eater
Lilian’s lovebird
Lilac breasted roller
Double-banded sandgrouse
Crested Francolin
Senegal coucal
Blacksmith lapwing
Hippos
Scrub hare

We were able to have our sundowner along the Zambezi with the hippos grunting, splashing, and yawning! Wonderful!

We had a great dinner with two new families from the US. One family has traveled to Africa many times for his work through a US College. Maria, Luna, Matthieu, and I don't recall his name. The other family were trying to experience travel in all seven continents. So delightful!

We played cards again. I think we finally won a game or two? Maybe not?!

July 5

Our mission this morning is: Going on a lion hunt!

After leaving the camp we saw:
African harrier-hawk
Lions ( great sighing of the big daddy! Also, lionesses, teenage male, and two kittens aka cubs. We were able to walk around the lions with other groups of guides and guests. It was so incredible!)
Crowned hornbill
Meyer’s parrot
Black-winged stilt
Banded dove
Fish eagle
Baboons
Trumpeter hornbill
Red-billed Oxpecker on the baby zebra
African Harrier-hawk
Black collared barbet

We had a short break and had tea and coffee with amurula, Zambezi, and Windhoek along with some cookies.

We saw:
Hippos & crocodiles
African hoopoe
White backed vulture (flying in the sky)
Bozo (and his entourage)
Brown-hooded kingfisher

At Green pool we saw:
Black-headed heron
Goliath heron
Egret on the hippo's head
White heron
Sacred ibis
Glossy ibis
Egyptian goose
Green heron
Sqauccol heron
Long-toed lapwing
Blacksmith lapwing
White-fronted bee-eater
Meve’s starling

We then saw:
Vervet monkey babies
Freddie in the trees
Bushbuck
Gabar goshawk
3 week old baby elephant

On our canoe safari we saw:
Goliath heron
Fish eagle (dive bombing the heron)
Three-banded plover
Hippos
Elephants
Back-winged stilts
Green-backed heron immature
Water thick knee or dik-knee

We had a great meal with the two American families and Ruvimbo my angel aka medic tended to my banged up arm again this evening before we get ready to head home. She has even given me some extra supplies so I can redress it on our way home.

I think it has been clear for the entire trip - Ron and TL are the euchre champs!!

July 6

We woke up early so we could have a leisurely drive to the airstrip for our 8:40 flight.

Hartlaub’s or arrow-marked babblers were singing to us while we had breakfast by the fire pit this morning.

The team sang and danced for us to say good-bye. Taffy, Ben, Beven, Catherine, Benji, Ruvimbo, and the entire team have done an excellent job of making our stay here so special.

So many animals and birds came out this morning to send us off:
Lions (big daddy, the females, a young male, and some younger lions were out in the open this morning. One female was injured and limping.)
Buffalo herd with babies
Waterbuck herd
Elephants
Vervet monkey with babies
Brown hooded kingfisher (such a boring name for a beautiful bird)
White egret
Glossy egret
Black-winged stilts

We arrived at the airstrip and lots of people are departing today. There were three planes and ours had not arrived yet. Baboons were the ones to send us off this time. We said goodbye to Cannan, we are so sad that it is over.

We arrived in Hwange, had layover. Did our best to find something decent to eat, then sadly parted. Ron and TL were off to Cape Town and we were headed back home.

The rest of our trip was long and thankfully I slept a lot. After 33 hours of travel we arrived back home safe and sound to two grumpy kitties!

Trip quotes:
Bamboons
I’m not a birder - Ron
Sea cows
Cute little ears
Baby butt
Butt

Nyamatusi - Mana Pools