Trip
report –
At
the end of July, a group of us set off for a trip around
Finding
information about the country, fuel, currency etc proved fairly difficult,
therefore I am dedicating the end of this (lengthy) trip report to providing
future travellers with what I hope they will find useful information.
Day
1 – Letaba to Honey Pot (West of Xai-Xai)
Having
all met up at Letaba on the 27th July, the
group departed the camp at around 06h30, heading for Giriyondo.
At the crossroads outside the camp, we saw out first “good” bird of the day, an
African Hawk-Eagle. Some Double-banded Sandgrouse in the
road were a bonus – a first temper loss moment for me as some idiot decided to
race up to us to see what mega mammal sighting we had – he stopped right
between us and the birds, so a piece of my mind was given to him…We had some
good sightings as we drove up: Martial Eagle, another pair of African
Hawk-Eagles, Kori Bustard, Gabar
Goshawk, Tawny Eagle etc. We arrived at a quiet Giriyondo
border post at 08h35, and had completed the formalities on both sides short
after 09h00 – what a pleasure! We travelled through the
We
arrived at Massingir dam about 11h15 and headed onto
the tar road – it was fairly potholed and limited our speed to around 80km/h.
Numerous Lesser Striped Swallows were seen, as well as a fair number of Grey rumped Swallows. We stopped at some wetlands alongside the
road which produced amongst others our first Collared Pratincole,
an Osprey and 3 slightly out of range juvenile Lesser Flamingoes.
A Wahlbergs Eagle was seen flying – we had also seen
2 the previous day, some early arrivals. Yellow-billed Kites were also seen in
quite a few places along the road. We arrived at The Honey Pot around 15h40.
Our vehicle being the only petrol vehicle in the trio needed to refuel, so we
headed of to Xai-Xai to top up. At the floodplain we
saw African Marsh Harrier, Glossy and Sacred Ibises, African Jacana, Collared Pratincole & Water Thick-knee. Back at Honey Pot we
enjoyed some cheap beer (R8 for a 450ml can of 2M) and got some take-away food
which was not bad at all.
Day
2 and 3 – Honey Pot to Hyliota Camp
This
was to be the longest day of the trip – we were short one waypoint being a
turning to the right to find the “quick” route to Hyliota
Camp. We travelled back to Chissano and turned North to travel along the flood plains. Scanning along the
route produced African Snipe, Striped Kingfisher, Fan-tailed Widowbird,
Croaking, Rattling, Zitting and Rufous-winged
Cisticolas, Openbills,
Black-bellied Bustard, Black Saw-wing, Pygmy Kingfisher, Collared Pratincole, Wattled Starling,
Dark-capped Yellow Warbler, Pink-backed Pelican, Yellow Weaver, Scarlet-chested Sunbird Rufous-bellied
Heron, Black-chested Snake-Eagle, Grey-headed
Bush-Shrike, Temmincks Courser and African Harrier
Hawk.
We
headed East towards Manjacaze,
where we bought some decent local bread, through to Mawaiela.
The first of many Pale Batis were seen along this
route. We turned North at Mawaiela, heading towards Hyliota. Our first Bohm’s Spinetail of the trip was seen at the turn off. The road
was thick sand, which made heavy going – at one point the locals had laid
sticks in the road for about 1km, which kept getting stuck in the wheels,
brakes etc. This proved to be close to a disaster later that evening, as a
larger stick stuck in my brake line and ripped it from its mountings. Thank
goodness for cable ties! We came across a large Leadwood tree which had burned
(deliberately we think) and fallen across the road – a section of the trunk was
chopped off and some delicate manoeuvring between the stump and the fallen
trunk saw the 3 vehicles through. We then got lost… Some 6km West
of the camp the road started veering further West and we then decided it was
time to call it quits and go the long way around to Hyliota
– negotiating back past the tree and head North East to the traditional road
into Hyliota – for which I had several waypoints. We
eventually arrived at the camp shortly before 01h00 – encountering yet another
fallen tree 5km before the camp.
Filthy
from vehicle maintenance and in need of a shower, we discovered that as yet
there was no warm water at the camp – a cold shower was still necessary, as
were some cold beers. As Etienne described the camp, we certainly did find it
“rustic”!
The
adventures of the previous night behind us, we got up at first light and
strolled around the bush near the camp, picking up things like Pale Batis, Long-billed Crombec,
Yellow-breasted Apalis, Trumpeter Hornbill and
Collared Pratincole. We then set off in search of
some Weavers. The previous night we had seen huge stretches of woodland with
Old-mans beard all over the place. Birding was good and birds seen included Kurrichane Buttonquail, Pygmy Goose, Yellow Weaver,
Purple-banded Sunbird, Retz’s Helmet-Shrike, White-breasted Cuckooshrike,
Red-headed Weaver, Gabar Goshawk, Grey-rumped Swallow, Pale Batis,
Southern Hyliota, OLIVE HEADED WEAVER!, Green-backed Honeybird and Scaly-throated Honeyguide
in the same place, White-headed Vulture and Black-bellied Bustard. Around the
camp in the evening we found Crested Guineafowl, and
a walk along the road found a Fiery-necked Nightjar with a peculiar call – we
assume it was a sub-adult. Wood Owls and Square tailed Nightjars were heard in
the evening, Green Pigeons the next morning.
Driving
the road slowly, as well as driving in thick sand pushing the fuel economy
scale to 23 litres/100km, I needed to top up my tank from Jerry cans while at Hyliota – something to bear in mind!
Day
4 – Hyliota Camp to Vilancoulos
The
drive out of the camp was going to be taken slowly, birding along the 45km
stretch of road through the woodland, which is in far better condition than the
traditional Weaver site. Birds seen included Scimitarbills,
White-breasted Cuckooshrikes, Black-headed Orioles, a
lot of Sunbirds, White-bellied, Purple-banded, Neergards – no Plain-backed unfortunately. Retz’s and
White-crested Helmet Shrikes were plentiful, but although looking at every single
Retz’s with binoculars, no Chestnut-fronted were seen. Stunning views of
Olive-headed Weavers were had by all.
We
proceeded towards Panda and stopped at the traditional Weaver site – after the
awesome sightings and habitat we had seen the Weavers, we looked around, and
decided not to waste any further time there. We proceeded to Maxixe where we all refuelled. The fruit on sale by the
passing by vendors can be recommended – we bought some large Naartjies which were good value and very tasty. The trip North
to Vilancoulos got rapidly worse as the road surface
deteriorated. The Volvo tended to handle the smaller potholes OK and we
proceeded at a more rapid rate than the two bakkies,
giving us some time to stop at the Baobab “grove” to scan for Spinetails. Bohm’s were
plentiful, but we were not to see Mottled there or in fact for the rest of the
trip. A juvenile Shikra also gave us a good flight
display while we waited. As we neared Vilancoulos the
road got better – after turning right towards the coast we stopped along the
way to scan the pans. They produced a group of 50 Lesser Flamingoes,
around 30 Avocets, Stilts, Kittlitzs Plover, Pied and
Giant Kingfisher, Red-billed Teal, Comb Duck, Little Egret and Grey Heron.
Driving into town, a Bee-eater flew over the car – Etienne’s recent report of
the “Villains” made me check and lock the car before dashing up a small bank to
see great views of a Madagascar Bee-eater hawking insects, just about in the
middle of the town! The other 2 vehicles had already stopped further back as
they saw another Bee-eater around the same time as us.
A
drive to the (windy) beach produced very little apart from a White-breasted
Cormorant flying over the sea. We then headed off to Blue Waters, the
Day
5 to 6 – Vilancoulos to
We
departed Vilancoulos before day break, wanting to
spend some time at Save Pan. We saw loads of Doves at first light, being
On
the road again, we decided to stop for “good” birds only to get some km’s behind us. The next “good” bird was a Steppe Buzzard –
another early arrival to
We
loaded our tents and luggage into the boat – amazing how the luggage mounts up!
On arrival over the river we were greeted by a Pied Kingfisher having a raucous
argument with a Mangrove Kingfisher. Once tents were up, I sampled the beer – a
little pricey at M50 for a 330ml bottle, but beggars cannot be choosers! We
dined at the restaurant, the food cost roughly the same as we are used to
paying in
Day
7 to 8 –
We
had a fairly short drive to Levasflor so time was
available to stop and do some birding. Refuelling was to be done inbetween
We
drove to the BP outside
Levasflor, although small, is very
well done, the huts are clean and comfortable. There
are 4 two sleeper huts, 2 with en-suite and 2 without, using shared ablutions.
There is a dining area (it is self-catering) and if you really want to catch up
on the outside world, they have DSTV. On arrival in late afternoon we heard the
East Coast Akalat – not all in the group got to see
it however, me being one of the unfortunate ones.
The
following morning we travelled from Levasflor to Chinizua, after seeing a Broadbill displaying in the camp.
Some good birds for the day included the local race of Red-necked Spurfowl, Lizard Buzzard, Stierling’s
Wren Warbler, a lot of Helmet-Shrikes (again no Chestnut-fronted!!), Trumpeter
and Crowned Hornbills, Grey-headed Bush Shrike, Pale Batis,
Green-capped Eremomela, Violet-backed Sunbird,
White-breasted and Black Cuckooshrike, Long-crested
Eagle, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Southern Hyliota, Ashy
Flycatcher and Red-faced Crombec.
Day
9 & 10 – Levasflor to Mphingwe
and Caia
Another short drive to Mphingwe, so we had
time to bird around the camp, some of the group finding the Akalat
as well as Woodward’s Batis. Just before leaving another Green-backed Honeybird
was seen, which was a lifer for 7 of the group. On a
walk looking for Racket-tailed Rollers (plentiful in the area we were told!) we
found a Scaly-throated Honeyguide – but no Rollers.
The drive out gave much of the same birds as the previous days, but was also to
give me my 700th bird in the form of African Cuckoo-Hawk. The drive North produced a beautiful Crowned Eagle perched in a tree.
A Klaas’s Cuckoo was seen at a stop to look at some
Red-backed Mannikins, Grey Waxbills, Brown-headed
Parrots and several Sunbirds. As usual, every group of Helmet Shrikes caused a
stop to scan for Chestnut-fronted.
Mphingwe proved to be an extremely
busy little camp. Nelson and Yvonne met us and ensure I got some nice cold 2M.
The evening calls were of Wood Owl, Barred Owlet, Fiery-necked and
Square-tailed Nightjars.
We
drove North to Caia in the
morning – the construction work going on meaning more noise and people than
normal. The area near the bridge produced several waterbirds
and Burchell’s Coucal and
as we were about to head for Caia Lodge Pieter jnr heard a Moustached Grass Warbler – it was located and
great views had by all. The road to the lodge produced African Golden Oriole,
Black Crake, Red-billed Firefinch and Lesser masked
Weaver. The pan was not wide in variety, White-faced and Fulvous Ducks, Openbills, Fish Eagle and plenty Jacanas. Red-throated Twinspots were seen in the bush. We refuelled at the new Petromoc station, the new shop being a hit with the ladies.
A stop on the way back at a river bridge produced Lesser Jacana and Magpie Mannikin for a few.
We
visited the bush beyond the saw-mill in the afternoon, picking up White-backed
Vulture, Brown Snake-Eagle, Livingstone’s Flycatcher, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater
and another Tiny Greenbul. This area looked ideal for
the Alethe and we decided that it was worth a visit
the next morning. Getting back to the
Pieter
had met a guy in the camp the previous evening who discussed Gorongosa, the Regulo and ceremonies
with him. He put Pieter on to Piet van Zyl who runs
the Envirotrade camp just outside of
Day
11 and 12 – Mphingwe to Gorongosa
Up
early in the morning, we set out to try for the Alethe.
The group split, armed with radios, to cover as much area as possible. It was
not to be, although hearing several birds scuffling in the leaf litter, none
turned out to be the elusive Alethe. Pieter jnr radioed me to tell me that his dad had seen the Chestnut-fronted
Helmet-Shrike. We quickly played the call and were rewarded with a flock of 30
flying out and landing right over our heads. I radioed back to let the others
know, they came driving through and fortunately the birds had stuck around and
everyone got a good look at them. This was to be our only sighting of these
birds, so fortunately they really did perform for us. We picked up Green Malkohas, Bearded Woodpecker and Dark-backed Weavers along
this stretch of road as well. Klaas’s Cuckoo was seen
on return to camp.
Packed
up and ready to hit the road – my washing was still damp, so I left it in the
sun for another half hour before setting out to catch up with the others. While
waiting we took a quick walk, Dalena saw a Narina Trogon fly, I pursued but didn’t find it, having to
make do with an Eastern Nicator sitting out in the
open.
On
the drive to Gorongosa we saw plenty of raptors,
including plenty Bateleurs, Yellow billed Kite,
Lizard Buzzard, Brown Snake-Eagle, Southern-banded
Snake-Eagle with freshly caught snake and Long Crested Eagle. Bohm’s Spinetails were seen
again. On arrival at the road into
Getting
to the camp, Piet’s son Sakkie was very helpful and
apologised for the lack of camping space, as they were unusually busy. He is
constructing a further campsite, about a month away from completion. The demand
for camping has hugely increased due to the campsite inside the park being
closed.
Birds
around the camp included Arrow-marked Babblers, Crowned Hornbills, Amethyst,
Variable and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, Lizard
Buzzard, Yellow throated Petronia and Black-crowned Tchagra.
The
following morning Garry accompanied us to the mountain to show us where to
walk, as well as communicate with the local community. The drive to the start
of the trail proved to be almost more strenuous on the cars than the walk up
the hillside. Birds on the way up included African Firefinch,
Singing Cisticola, Dark-capped Yellow Warbler,
Variable Sunbirds, Red-throated Twinspot, Grey
Waxbill and Woodward’s Batis. A tribe of local boys
came running down the hillside and then accompanied us up the hill, being
amazingly quiet! They loved having their picture taken and then looking at
themselves on the camera screen. On arriving at the forest edge, we could hear
Green-headed Orioles calling. We headed into the forest and soon located the
first ones. Other birds included White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Chirinda Apalis, Grey Cuckooshrike, Stripe-cheeked Greenbul,
Livingstone’s Turaco, Black-fronted Bush-Shrike, Yellow-throated
Woodland Warbler, Swynnerton’s Robin and Eastern
Bronze-naped Pigeon. On getting back to the cars, we
saw an Augur Buzzard hovering over the grassland.
Day
13 to 14 – Gorongosa to bVumba
We
departed around 07h15 in the morning, to head for
The
drive to
We
paid Cecil Kop a quick visit to see what Miombo
specials we could get. Miombo Double-collared Sunbird
and Cabanis’s Bunting being the most noteworthy.
We
had no accommodation booked, I had called Seldomseen to find they were fully booked (school holidays
in Zim). I drove there and arranged to walk with Bulawesi the next morning. He advised us to try the
Botanical gardens. We drove there and were very confused by the rates. US$2 for entry (or R60), US$5/person camping (or R60) and US$1 for
the car. We enquired about the chalets, which they had no US rate for. I
quickly converted their Zim $ rate which equalled
US$4 – I asked if this was per person – “No, that is for the chalet” – which
sleeps 4…. So, we paid $4 per person for two nights plus $1 for the car. I’m
sure this imbalance will be quickly fixed!
The
next morning the walk with Bulawesi was enjoyable as
usual. Birds included Roberts Warbler, Starred Robin, Swynnerton’s
Robin, Orange ground Thrush, Crimsonwing, Gurneys
Sugarbird, Malachite, Amethyst, Miombo
double-collared, Variable, Bronzy and Olive Sunbirds, Augur Buzzard, Lemon
Dove, Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Chirinda Apalis, Cape Batis, Stripe cheeked Greenbul
and Black-fronted Bush Shrike. After the walk, Pieter and Ben’s vehicles headed
to White Horse Inn to reminisce and we headed down
Day
15 – the long trek home
As
I was driving right through to Jo’burg we targeted
setting off at 05h30. We eventually beat the target and were on the road by
05h20. We passed through 4 roadblocks, getting stopped at 3 of them, but the
police were pleasant and we had little delay. On driving through Masvingo I gave Kevin Ravno a
call and asked him to send me the co-ords where we
had seen Boulder Chat in February this year. He SMS’ed
them, I plugged them into the
What
a trip. Pieter snr went over 800 birds on his list
(13 lifers), Pieter jnr (20
odd lifers), Ben and I (15 lifers) went over 700. Anita went well over 600 (30
odd lifers). Cecilia added over 50 lifers. We left some birds to tick next
time, and oh yes, we’ll be back!
Some useful information
Accommodation
Xai-Xai: The Honey Pot
Two sleeper chalets or 4 sleeper houses.
Ablution block separate for the two sleepers, clean and plenty of warm water.
Take
aways available, as well as cooldrinks
and beers at a reasonable R8/450ml can
Hyliota Camp
Maans Booysen
Email:
maans@telkomsa.net
Self
catering, at this point in time, no warm water, own drinking water needed
R1200 to hire out entire camp, which includes two 4 sleeper reed huts,
still W.I.P.
Blue Waters - Vilancoulos
Camping or rondavels. We were told by some travellers we met later that the ablutions for the
camp site were not in the best of shape. The Rondavels
have a en-suite.
Camping or chalets. We camped and ablutions
were clean, warm water available (if the gas was lit!)
There
is a restaurant, and cooldrinks and beer available
(2M @ M50/330ml bottle)
You
park your car across the river in secure parking, so you need to take
everything you are going to use across in the boat with you.
Levasflor:
Dave & Ellen Smythe,
+258 82 501-0761
Email: Condueprod@hotmail.com
Comfortable
cabins – 2 sleepers, 2 with en-suite, 2 with shared ablutions, which were
clean.
Self
catering, they provide wood to braai on.
Mphingwe (Catapu)
Chalets,
not en-suite, although there are 2 “houses” with all facilities as you drive in
– I am not sure of the rates. It’s quite a big camp but appears popular with
contractors at the Caia river bridge as well as a
good stop-over for those heading North.
There
is a restaurant with fairly good food, expect Jo’burg
prices. Beer was M40 / 550ml bottle.
Caia Lodge
We
did not visit the lodge, but Joe (?), the owner, passed us on the entry road
and said we were welcome to walk through the grounds down to the pan. His setup
is similar to Mphingwe, perhaps a little more rustic.
The pan is where Garganey were
seen in 2007.
Envirotrade camp (4km before the gate to
Piet van Zyl +258 82 501-0614 or +258 82
209-9030. SA number 082 875-5656,
Email:
piet.vanzyl@envirotrade.net
Food
is self catering. They do have a bar which is also frequented by the local community, hence they keep their prices low. 2M was M30 for
a 550ml bottle, Cokes were M10 for a 200ml bottle.
Seldomseen
New
manager: Sandra Beru. Tel: +263 2068482
Self
catering cottages
Bird
guide available (R20/hr/person)
Fuel
I
had the only non diesel vehicle, requiring unleaded petrol. I have an 80 litre
tank and took 4 20 litre Jerry cans on the roof. These were necessary at Hyliota camp and in
Cash
We
only found it necessary to have Mets at the BP near
Police
Apart
from my run in with the cops at Dondo, which was
partly due to my impatience, the cops were fairly pleasant. I got stopped at
one road block in Moz, but he didn’t even ask me for
papers, he waved me on once I’d stopped. In Zim, they
usually want to see your T.I.P. and drivers licence, some check the vehicle
licence disc. It seems if you are friendly, they will also be.
After
writing the above, I got Pieter’s feedback. They had left later than us and got
to the border about 2 hours after us, perhaps the corrupt police rise late. His
feedback is as follows:
We got our first road
block in Mutare, but were waved through, after that
six or seven. I had to produce my drivers licence at
3. At 2 they also asked for the T.I.P. At the 5th one Ben was pulled off: car
too dirty. Fine: Many trillions of Zim dollars. Ben
said he had no Zim dollars. Then he wanted USD200.
Ben said, no ways, he does not have that kind of money on him. The officer then
enquired as to what he had with him. Ben opened his wallet and showed there was
only R30 inside!!. The officer took the R30 and handed
back his licence. In the meantime another