Tuskers Campsite - Hwange National Park

Sunday 08 December
No WiFi here, in fact very basic camping. It's a campsite attached to a very expensive lodge, Ivory Lodge. The campsite is a rather scrappy piece of land close to the Lodge, but with it's own facilities. Impressions were not good when we first arrived and we thought we might stay only one night, but as we unpacked and pitched the tent it grew on us. There isn't electricity supply to individual pitches, just to a central covered eating area. We were a bit concerned about mossies and not being able to use our repellant machine unless we pitched very close to the eating area as we don't have a very long cable. We decided to risk it and found a nice corner surrounded by trees and so with some shade. When the man cam to check us in he said there hasn't been enough rain yet for mosquitoes. It is real safari style camping, with hot water supplied from a wood burning boiler. The ablutions area is thatch covered and surrounded by thick canvas. The showers are massive and partially uncovered. We are very lucky as we are here alone, Friday night, the night before we arrived there were 40 people camping here, two overland trucks, it must have been horrendous. So as at Morma Jeanes, we have our own bathroom all to ourselves.
We arrived here late lunchtime after a good drive from Bulawayo. Although there were quite a few buses and several heavy goods vehicles, there was not much traffic. We drove large distances without seeing another car. The road was in very good condition and for most of the way there were large trees either side, with occasional patches of bush. It was all green and scenic, as we left Bulawayo Flame Trees, just coming into flower, were mixed in with the Jakaranda and purple bourganvillea. We passed through one or two settlements, some quite sophisticated where the huts were made from decorative bricks and the thatch was layered. They were usually in groups forming a boma, with a large central hut and an open sided one for cooking. For the most part the land bordering the road appeared to be deserted but tracks leading off into the bush and regular bus stops, often with groups of people waiting at them suggested many more communities not visible from the road.
The Lodge has it's own waterhole, kept topped up with pumped water, which is obviously part of the high cost of staying there. Tall lodges on stilts are arranged around it so it would be possible to sit on your own little deck and watch the animals come and go. It is also visible from the campsite and a high lookout has been built around a tree. We were sitting up in it after we had finished eating when someone came and took us to the Lodge hide which is very close to the waterhole, probably because we are here alone, they would hardly invite 4o overlanders! It was to see the lions, we had watched the elephants, impala and baboons come to drink, but there were two lions which were more difficult to spot as they were well camouflaged by the sand. They looked like two young males, and it was suggested that they might be getting ready for a kill. Then a large herd of buffalo came out of the bush, and a couple of large bulls chased the lions away, who backed off quite quickly. One of the other people in the hide, an expensive paying guest, a bit of a 'know-all' thought there might be a buffalo kill. I know nothing apart from what I have seen on wildlife programmes and learnt from experience in Tanzania, but I didn't think that was likely. Lions rarely kill buffalo and if a buffalo kill is attempted it would be made by a large group, not just a couple of immature males. It was a novel experience, seeing a couple of lions chased away, tails between their legs, certainly illustrating the fact that buffalo are very dangerous animals, not to get mixed up with.
So we had a pleasant evening, no mosquitoes, and a god nights sleep. I did hear lions roaring and was a bit nervous as there doesn't appear to be any protective fencing. There is a list of instructions on the wall about what to do if you encounter a wild animal. Freeze. If they do not go away, back off very slowly to a safe place. Do not run, you will be chased. If you are charged you can try waving your arms and shouting!
We are having a rest day, doing nothing, sitting in chairs with binoculars and watching the water hole. We asked about overland trucks before we decided to stay another night and they aren't expecting one, we just hope one doesn't turn up to spoil our delightful idyll. At first this morning I thought it might rain but the skies have cleared a bit to that typical 'African' cloud cover, and there is quite a breeze. It is also similar to December days I remember in Tanzania at this altitude, hot in the sun, but quite cool in the shade. Although everyone here is hoping for rain, it is late in the year for the heavy rains not to have started here, we hope it stays dry at least until we have moved on in the morning, to Victoria Falls.