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Activities, Canoeing, Chewore Safari Area, Chitake Springs, Geography, History, Inland Habitats, Mana Pools, Poaching, Sapi Safari Area, Walking Safaris, Wildlife, Zambezi River

History

The Lower Zambezi Valley, which encompasses the lowlands east of the dammed Lake Kariba between the Zambezi Escarpments, has been inhabited by early hominid ancestors for at least two million years. Stone age tools have been found in the region and later, around AD 400, the hunter-gatherer Khoisan (San or Bushman) people arrived in the region.

Early bushman paintings can be seen in various places in area, including around the headwaters of the Ruckomechi River on the Escarpment. The San later adapted to raising sheep and some cattle. This tribe later became known as the Mbara.

Arab and Portuguese traders used the route of the Zambezi River as a conduit for moving elephant ivory from the Lower Zambezi region to the Indian Ocean going back to the 1500s.

The small towns of Luangwa and Zumbo, located at the confluence of the Zambezi and Luangwa rivers became significant trading centers at this time. The Portuguese and Arabs also captured slaves in the region, which only ceased much later, with the arrival of the British.

In the mid-1700s, the Shona people arrived to the Zambezi Valley, migrating from the south. Led by Chief Nyambira, the Shona fought and defeated the resident tribes. As is the case throughout much of Southern Africa, the San people were eventually killed or displaced by the more warlike tribe.

Very few people lived in the Zambezi Valley in those days, mostly due to the prevalence of the tsetse fly, which causes sickness in cattle and makes farming nearly impossible. The valley's sparse population subsisted by fishing and growing small grain crops, such as sorghum and rapoko grass.

In 1889, Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company (BSAC) negotiated with local chiefs to obtain hunting and mineral rights in the Lower Zambezi Valley on both sides of the Zambezi River, in exchange for British protection. The BSAC focused most of their attention on the lands south of the Zambezi River, and hunting began to seriously decimate the wildlife, especially elephants, which were killed in huge numbers for their ivory.

The famous hunter Frederick Selous was quoted as saying that every year elephants were becoming scarcer south of the Zambezi River, making it impossible to make a living there as a hunter. By the end of the 19th century, elephants had been virtually exterminated south of the Zambezi River.

In 1923, at the request of the BSAC, Britain declared the lands south of the Zambezi (today Zimbabwe) as a self-governing British colony, which they named Southern Rhodesia. The lands north of the river were also annexed by Britain and became Northern Rhodesia (today Zambia).

In the early 1960s, in an effort to stem the rampant over-hunting of the area's wildlife, Southern Rhodesia's government declared that the floodplain land south of the Zambezi extending all the way to the escarpment a "Non-hunting Reserve".

In 1963 it was gazetted as an official Game Reserve. As a result, all people living within the new reserve's boundaries were evicted and moved to lands south of the Zambezi Escarpment. 

In 1964, Northern Rhodesia gained its independence with a black majority rule and became the Republic of Zambia. The predominantly white government in Southern Rhodesia worried the same wave was coming their way and to block a similar transition, declared a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from the United Kingdom. The British petitioned the United Nations for sanctions against Rhodesia (Southern Rhodesia was now simply called Rhodesia), which was agreed to.

Civil war broke out in Rhodesia in July 1964, with three separate forces fighting for control of the country: the Rhodesian white minority-led government of Ian Smith, Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), and Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU).

The guerrilla war lasted fifteen years and finally ended with universal suffrage granted in 1979 and the end of the white minority rule in Rhodesia. Elections were held in March 1980, with Robert Mugabe elected as Prime Minister of the new country of Zimbabwe.

The bush war had deleterious effects on the country's natural areas and tourism suffered with some national parks and tourism destinations closed for safety reasons. Nevertheless, during the conflict, in 1975, Mana Pools was declared a national park. After the country's independence, tourism came back, with visitors once again arriving at Victoria Falls and Zimbabwe's other national parks.

Geography

The Zimbabwe side of the Lower Zambezi is one section of extensive, unfenced natural habitat and wildlife-rich land stretching from Lake Kariba in the west, all the way to the Mozambique border in the east. A large portion of this land, including Mana Pools National Park and the Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. This extensive wilderness is bordered by the Zambezi River on the north and the Zambezi Escarpment, which rises to over 3 300 feet (1 000 meters), on the south, forming one of Africa's most important wildlife regions.

The total area of the World Heritage Site is 2 613 square miles (6 766 sq kms), broken down as follows: Mana Pools NP (848 sq mi/2 196 sq kms); Sapi Safari Area (456 sq mi/1 180 sq kms); Chewore Safari Area (1 309 sq miles/3 390 sq kms).

Zambezi River
The lifeblood of the entire region is the Zambezi River, which begins hundreds of miles away in far northwestern Zambia, flows south through Zambia, turns east where it forms Zambia's southern boundary with Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, and then flows over The Victoria Falls.

The river continues east to Lake Kariba and finally enters the Lower Zambezi Valley. This valley is bordered on the north and south by steep escarpments, which are an extension of the East African Rift system.

The Zambezi River forms the boundary between Zimbabwe and Zambia and the floodplains on both sides of the river and between the two Zambezi Escarpments are fertile habitat and home to an abundance of wildlife. Directly across the river from Mana Pools are Zambia's Lower Zambezi National Park and Chiawa Game Management Area, which, like Mana Pools, also offer superb wildlife safaris in a protected wilderness.

The Mana Pools
'Mana' means 'four' in the Shona language and refers to four semi-permanent pools that are remnants of an old course of the Zambezi River. The pools are one of Mana Pools National Park's best locations for wildlife viewing and they are frequently used by large numbers of hippos and crocodiles.

Inland Habitats
Further south and away from the alluvial plains along the Zambezi River, the landscape transitions to a more wooded habitat, with forests of baobab, mopane, sausage, mahogany, fig, and huge Faidherbia albida (commonly called ana or winterthorn) trees.

The ana tree is one of the Lower Zambezi's most recognizable trees, forming beautiful, open-floored woodlands. Their nutritious, indehiscent seed pods are much favored in the spring (July-October) by a variety of animals including elephant, baboon, buffalo, and various antelopes. Dry deciduous thickets of 'jesse bush' (Combretum species) are also common.

Chitake Springs
Another region of note in the Mana Pools National Park is Chitake Springs, which is located along the escarpment about 30 miles (50 kms) south of the Zambezi River. During the dry season (April-October), this natural spring creates a pool of fresh groundwater spanning about a kilometer along the dry riverbed of the Chitake River.

During the rains (December-March), the Chitake River, which originates in the escarpment, flows into the Ruckomechi River and then into the Zambezi River, but from April onwards, when the rains have ended and the tributary rivers and most water holes have dried up, this natural spring provides a critical water source for an abundance of wildlife.

Wildlife viewing at Chitake Springs, especially during the driest months, can be incredible and it is a popular camping area, with several seasonal bush camps and self-camping sites available.

Sapi and Chewore
To the east of Mana Pools are two additional protected areas, the Sapi Wildlife Area and Chewore Safari Area, which together extend almost to the Mozambique border. While Mana Pools gives full protection to all wildlife within its boundaries, Sapi and Chewore allow a mixture of hunting, fishing, and photo safaris.

There are no fences dividing any of these protected areas and some wildlife have learned to avoid the hunting areas, gravitating to the national park instead.

There are some newer safari camps located in Sapi, which is good news, as it means tourism is getting a foothold in this massive wilderness area. Sapi and Chewore offer good wildlife viewing, superb fishing, canoeing, birding.

Wildlife

The Lower Zambezi is renowned for superb wildlife viewing in a remote and uncrowded wilderness that feels untouched by time. Although the black rhino is no longer roaming here, the rest of Africa's Big Five animals - lion, elephant, leopard, and buffalo - are present. 

The region is perhaps best known for its elephants, and in particular, its magnificent relaxed bulls, which often walk right through safari camps and campsites. These old bulls have grown used to human presence and provide up close wildlife interactions for visitors. A fascinating sight, which you may see if lucky, is a big bull elephant rearing up on its hind legs to extend its trunk high into a tree to reach tasty branches or seed pods!

Besides the region's impressive elephants, buffalo are found in herds or small groups of old bulls. The buffalo, like elephants, freely cross the Zambezi River into Zambia, often stopping to graze on one of the islands in the river.

Lions are often seen following the large herds of buffalo or waiting at one of the waterholes during the dry season. Leopards are elusive but seen regularly and cheetah are here in small numbers. Spotted hyenas are here in good numbers and are usually seen in small groups.

African wild dogs are one of the most interesting of Africa's predators and they do well in the Lower Zambezi, with several packs roaming the national park and into the adjoining protected safari areas to the east and west. Packs of these lithe and entertaining predators can often be found hunting along the river at dawn and dusk. Mana is one of the best places in Africa to see wild dogs.

The Lower Zambezi is one of the best places in southern Africa to see sizable herds of eland, Africa's largest antelope. Other herbivores seen regularly includes zebra, impala, waterbuck, greater kudu, bushbuck, and warthog. The shy nyala, which is almost exclusively found only in South Africa's Kruger National Park region, is found here in small numbers. Giraffe are notably absent from Zimbabwe's Lower Zambezi and there are no records that they ever existed here.

The lower Zambezi River, which forms the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, is home to incredible densities of hippo and crocodile. Many 'pods' of hippos live along the banks of the Zambezi River, emerging at night to graze on the floodplain grasses and spending their days sunning on the banks or relaxing in the river's water.

Long Pool, one of the "Mana Pools", is a favorite spot for hippos and crocs and this is a great spot to see huge numbers of both species sunning on the banks of the pool.

Wildlife viewing is best during the dry season months (June-October), when the rain water has evaporated and most waterholes have dried up. At this time, the herds and predators are usually not far from the Zambezi River.

Chitake Springs (read more above) provides a year-round water source for animals well away from the river, making it one of the prime wildlife locations during the dry season.

The region's diverse habitats provide for superb bird life, with almost 400 species recorded. Some specials include Lilian's lovebird, Shelley's sunbird, Livingstone's flycatcher, eastern nicator, African pitta, and many more. African skimmers and carmine bee-eaters are often found along the Zambezi River, where both breed and raise their young.

Poaching
Like most of Africa's wildlife destinations, overhunting and poaching, especially of elephants (for their tusks) was rampant in the Lower Zambezi throughout the 19th century. By 1900, it is estimated that only 4 000 elephants remained in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). Fortunately, the CITES ban on the commercial trade of elephant ivory in 1975 gave these animals a chance to survive again.

The last nationwide census in Zimbabwe (in 2014) showed around 80 000 elephants in the country, of which around 3 000 were living in the Lower Zambezi. However, some illegal hunting still occurs in the Zambezi Valley, and the safari areas outside of the national park do allow controlled commercial hunting.

In 1984, when the Lower Zambezi region was inscribed as a World Heritage Site, it was one of Africa's most important refuges for the endangered black rhino. At that time, there were an estimated 500 of this iconic species living in the Lower Zambezi Valley. Sadly, over the next 10 years, poaching reduced the black rhino numbers in the valley to just ten individuals, which had to be captured and relocated to protect them. Today, there are no black rhinos remaining here.

Activities

The Lower Zambezi offers some of Zimbabwe's finest game viewing in a beautiful wilderness far from any substantial human settlement. Its rich and diverse habitats include a long stretch of Zambezi River frontage and the park benefits from a similarly protected wilderness across the river in Zambia.

The options for accommodation range from a very small number of upscale safari lodges, a handful of eco-friendly, seasonal tented camps, and self catering campsites and national park chalets. The very low density of accommodation and tourist numbers make the Lower Zambezi one of southern Africa's most exclusive destinations for wildlife safaris.

Walking Safaris
Game drives are the most common activity in the Lower Zambezi, but even in the national park, visitors are permitted to walk on their own (only along the floodplains along the river). That said, it is unadvisable to walk without an armed, well-trained guide, as there are substantial numbers of dangerous animals in the region. Most safari camps offer walking safaris and those camping on their own can hire a walking guide at the park headquarters.

The road networks in the national park and adjoining safari areas are minimal, but this is a positive thing for the region's wildlife, as there are huge tracts of land that are only available to wildlife (or to people on foot).

Self-drive visitors are admitted during the dry season (April-October), but during the rains (usually mid-December thru March), many of the roads are too muddy to drive and access to the park away from the river becomes very limited. Besides game drives and walking safaris, limited fishing is permitted, but in the national park, only from land.

Canoe Safaris
During the dry season months, no motorized boating is permitted on the Zambezi River, but canoeing is a popular activity. The famous multi-day 'Mana Canoe Trail' offers one of Africa's greatest safari adventures, bringing participants up close to a variety wildlife, including elephant, hippo, buffalo, crocodile, and more.

Canoe safari options include the stretch from Kariba to Chirundu (3 days; on the tame side), Chirundu thru Mana Pools (4 days; best game viewing), and Mana Pools to Kanyemba (4 days; wild and untouched- ending on the Mozambique border).

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Activities, Canoeing, Chewore Safari Area, Chitake Springs, Geography, History, Inland Habitats, Mana Pools, Poaching, Sapi Safari Area, Walking Safaris, Wildlife, Zambezi River