Amber eyes, Many stripes, Spiraled horns

Animals at Chikwenya are plenty. There is no hunting here, only wildlife viewing and fishing.
I found the striped horse to be beautiful. Zebra's stripe patterns are just like our finger prints, each one is different.
When zebra colts are born it's up to the mother for her newborn to recognize her stripes and her stripes only, no other.
To live in Africa one must be tough. Whether it be human or anima, there is no room for the weak or faint of heart. Death lives around every corner, so it's up to you to stay alert.
Monkeys, Impalas, termite heaps and birds of all kinds are plentiful. The birds were amazing. Some of the sounds they made sounded like words, or at least to Ken and me. You have the bird that says "GoAway" one sounds like he is saying "A-Hole" one says"NoProblem". We even heard a frog that sounds like he saying.. DonBarone... We stayed entertained for sure..:)
This male hippo is old and scarred from fighting. He weighs in at about 6000 pounds.
Water bucks and this big bull hippo lined the landscape.
The animals you see in the Zambezi Valley will lift your spirit and you will soar.
Tracks of many.

This is a sausage tree. They say monkeys are about the only animal in the Zambezi valley that eats the sausage. It has some medical uses and one is to treat skin cancer.
The dirt from termite mounds or "ant-heaps" is used to make bricks in the villages. Sticky spit I guess..:)
This is a saddleback stork. Pretty colorful, huh?
Baboons and Impala are a daily sight.
This is a very old hippo.

Guinea fowl were plentiful
Eland and Impala keep a watchful eye on us as we drive by.


Our room at Chikwenya had a shower and bath tub outside along with our own personal swimming pool. Spoiled huh:)
From our room looking off the deck.
The design in the wall plaster is tree trunks and branches.
Our bed has the traditional mosquito net around it.
If you chose to shower inside this was it.

This was the sitting area inside our room.
You can see the mountain range across the river in Zambia and the ant heaps speckled across the horizon.

This is an acacia tree
Very nice male Impala, actually gi-normous.
Cape buffalo and Zebra.

Ox peckers eat the insects from the buffalo.


A mom protecting her calf.
This is one of my favorite pics.
The land cruiser we used for wildlife viewing.
It took me awhile to wrap my brain around everything I was seeing.. I would tell Ken to pinch me so I would know this was all real. You could go months here and NEVER see another person.What makes your heart race? What have you seen that has left you speechless? What ever it may be, keep it close to you and never forget where it came from...Africa
The Fish Eagle.
Goose and Turtle.
Kudu standing on an ant heap.
Three cape buffalo bulls.

Ken and Graham are looking for a female waterbuck that was taken from the shores by a croc. Dinner time!! Beware!!!
Ken holding elephant pooooo.
Vervet monkeys and baboons were never too far away.

Waterbuck and Elles
Two kudu checking us out.

Africa week two CHIKWENYA

Chikwenya Camp, I will do my best to describe this piece of heaven on earth. It all started three years ago when Graham invited us to come to Chikwenya to shoot a promotional video on tiger fishing. He had just gotten this concession which had been unoccupied for years. Run down wall tents stood on concrete floors. Your only source of light at night was a fire.
That was then. This is now!!!
The Zambezi River Valley separates Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is a Magical Place Indeed!!!

Butterflies of all colors.
To see a sunrise in Africa is to see the hand of God.
As soon as you get the river in your sights you hear the sounds of the hippo grunts from every direction. Their big heads bobbing around, sinking down only to pop up somewhere else. We fished around them most all of the time.


While we were out fishing a big group of elephants were on the shore mingling around. Then all of a sudden the matriarch of the herd decided to cross over to a nice green island. So away they go, all of them.

At one point the matriarch of the herd stopped, and they all stopped. It was only when she started walking again did the rest of the group walk with her.Every calf had an adult in front and adult in back of them for protection.

Ahh look at the babies.
Here is the Chikwenya Lodge now. From camp you cam see the Zambezi River lined by the mountain range on the Zambia side. Monkeys watch you from the trees. This amazing place runs entirely off a generator. No electricity, but you have AC in every room.
This is the open bar. You can see Ken sitting under a tree watching wild dogs run up and down the shores.
Hot tub and dining area.
Swimming pool with bar stools connected to the bottom so you are able to view all the wildlife from the pool.
Ken with one of the many tiger fish we caught.
Wild dogs are a pretty special sight to see. They are protected, and at one point were almost extinct. They hunt in groups. Together they will bring down an impala. Once down a group of about five will stop to feed, then the rest will continue to hunt until another impala is caught. They continue to do this until all are fed.
What I've noticed here is, most animals have big ears.

Sitting at the bar this was my view. WOW!!
In the mornings when we woke up it wasn't unusual to see cape buffalo or elephant and you always heard the hippos.
The plane we flew in on from Harare.
The landing strip. At the far end after we landed elephants walked across. YIKES!!!
This is a twenty five hundred year old baobab tree. The fruit it bears is a pod which is made into cream of tarter. That's the land cruiser truck that picked us up after we landed next to this beautiful, magical tree.
Me standing next to a giant hole that has worn itself into the baobab tree, assisted by elephants over time.
Look at the different pattens on the wild dogs.
Ken showing off his tiger fish.
Looks like I'm busted now. That's me wearing Hunter's "lost" tee shirt.
Flying over Chikwenya. Zimbabwe is BIG, VAST and Beautiful..

Me getting some of this fighting action. My biggest weighed 13 pounds.
Nice hippo!!! Or water horse. Grunt Grunt Grunt!!!
Red breasted rollers.

From the water you can see camp along with elephants and water bucks
This lamp shade is made from porcupine quills. They also use these quills for bobbers when fishing for bream.

I will be writing and posting more pictures from our journey to Africa. A journey that has touched my soul once again.
Enjoy!!!