WALKING SAFARI, NO STROLL IN PARK: my first hand experience of Mosi-oa-tunya wilderness

Examing Impala droppings.

GOING on a walking safari always sounds like a crazy idea, a don’t-tell-my-mama activity. So what was I doing on a bus heading to the Mosi oa Tunya National Park in Livingstone last Tuesday?

Zambia’s smallest national park, the Mosi oa Tunya that is, is endowed with a lot of natural beauty in form of wildlife, and adventure activities to get one’s adrenaline pumping.

Courtesy of my wife, Sowi, who works in the tourism industry, I have indulged in hair-raising activities such as white water rafting, rode on the back of a full-grown elephant, walked with lions and cheetahs, and I have even done the gorge swing, as well as the zipline across the Batoka Gorge.

But nothing quite prepared me for what I was about to experience that Tuesday afternoon.

A walking safari is surely no walk in the park. But yet there I was, in the park, on a nature walk, inspired somewhat by an unfortunate event.

I was undertaking the venture 10 days after celebrated tour guide Chiinga Siavwapa was killed by an elephant in the same park.

The tour guide had taken a tourist on a bird watching walking safari when an angry jumbo charged. Despite his vast experience in the bush, and with wild animals, he had no room to escape.

His death shed a new spotlight on the dangers of walking safaris. I spoke to Chiinga’s widow, Nina, who worked with her late husband as tour operators, and she arranged an afternoon nature walk for me.

I invited my workmate, Chali Mulenga, who reluctantly tagged along. At 14:30 hours on a hot Tuesday, we set out, picked up by our tour guide Chiwele Mweete.

Chiwele is Chiinga’s nephew, and he bears a striking resemblance to his late uncle. He was donning a Larimer mens cotton safari hat, which could not hide his long dreadlocks. Our driver Evans Sikalinda was the same driver who drove Chiinga and his client to the edge of the park on that fateful day.

Chiwele and I examining Giraffe droppings.

When he asked me how I felt going on a walking safari, I could not hide my apprehension. I was nervous.

Evans was doing his best trying to calm our nerves. “Don’t be scared,” he said. “You will be just fine.” Chiwele told us about the behaviour of wild animals and what to do and what not to do when in the park.

He warned us against using the camera flashlight when taking pictures of wild animals.

“These animals get irritated by the camera flashlight and the camera shutter sound,” he told us.

We picked two rangers on our way, one of them armed with an AK-47 riffle.

The gun somewhat gave me some comfort. But even then, I had to ask the ranger, Emmanuel Mudenda, if it had enough bullets.

Before entering the park, we had to sign an indemnity form. Whatever would happen to me thereafter would not be the responsibility of the safari company, Savannah Southern Safari.

At that point, pictures of my wife and children flashed in my mind. I also noticed from the form, that eight days had passed with no activity for the safari company. Chiwele handed each of us a bottle of water. “You will need it,” he said.

We took off for the starting point of the nature walk, and before we even got there, we came across some giraffes. “You can take pictures if you like,” said Chiwele. “Giraffes are naturally shy animals but one thing you must never do is stand behind it.”

Giraffes have one of the most powerful kicks capable of killing a lion. Chali came out of the vehicle and took a number of pictures before jumping back. We reached the starting point at exactly 15:11 hours, and there was more pep talk.

“We are going to walk in a line. The ranger will be in front, I will be next and so on,” Chiwele said. At this point, I was the one to be at the tail end of the line.

“But don’t worry, you are equally safe,” Chiwele assured me. The nature walks usually take about three hours.

The sun was punishing, and I wondered whether the one bottle of water I was given was going to be enough. But my greatest fear was encountering the elephants. We were in their territory, as evidenced by the number of broken trees.

A few metres into our safari, we came across a heap of dung which Chiwele identified as Giraffe droppings. “These are so hard that artists at the curio market even make necklaces out of them,” he said.

There were a number of birds singing in the surrounding trees, and distinct among them were those of a white-browed sparrow weaver and the hornbill - the hornbill is Zazu from The Lion King movie.

Viewing Rhinos

Chiwele is a walking encyclopaedia with vast knowledge on each of the birds. “The white-browed sparrow-weaver is a predominantly brown, sparrow-sized bird found throughout central and north-central southern Africa. It is found in groups of two to 11 individuals consisting of one breeding pair and other non-reproductive individuals,” he explained.

It is a clever bird which is strategic when building its nest. “If you look at those nests, you will be able to tell that the wind is moving from this direction to such a direction. They don’t build where the wind is blowing from, they always build on the other side with so much reliance on the tree to block the wind to protect their nests,” he said.

The Sparrow weaver was Chiinga’s favourite bird. We then spotted a herd of about 12 zebra’s, and not too far from them was a herd of wildebeests. They were near a solar-powered water borehole which provides water to the animals in the dry season.

We tried to get closer to the zebras, but the more we did, they would look at us warily before retreating. “They are shy animals, too,” said Chiwele. Within the same vicinity, we spotted a warthog.

About an hour into the walk, I was beginning to get tired and had already finished my bottle of water. I was becoming worried about my energy levels. How would I run in case of danger?

Suddenly, Emmanuel, our ranger, stooped to ground to examine something. “This is a rhino’s footprint,” he announced. His next announcement sent chills down my spine. “They are close,” he said.

Emmanuel is a veteran ranger. He joined the Department for National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) in 1989. Chiwele then told us that we were near a point where animals come to feed on supplementary food provided by the DNPW. Yes, there is also relief food for wild animals.

“But during the rainy season, because grass is plenty, you would not find these animals here. You would have to walk for many hours, tracking them,” said Chiwele.

When we reached the feeding spot, we found three white rhinos and eight wildebeests feeding on the supplements provided by the DNPW. At this point, Emmanuel instructed us to stop and stand still in a queue as we observed the animals.

As if they had been bullied away from the food, the wildebeests suddenly took off leaving three white rhinos alone. 

Soon, we heard the ground rumbling. More rhinos were running to join the feast. Chiwele allowed my colleague, Chali, to take pictures, but with caution.

Another set of three rhinos came running. Two playful juveniles almost startled me. They seemed to be sizing each other for a fight. Chiwele signaled that it was time to move to a safer position. The gun the ranger was carrying is not meant to shoot down animals, but poachers.

So what happens if the rhino charges at us? "We can slowly walk to that log there and lie behind it,” said Chiwele, pointing to a spot a few metres away. Well, I wasn’t as convinced the log would stop a charging rhino.

The only animal armed rangers are allowed to gun down is a charging buffalo. According to the ranger, this is because unlike other animals, a charging buffalo never holds back. The eight rhinos were later joined by another rhino which was walking slowly with its four months old calf.

“You have now seen all the white rhinos there is in Zambia,” said Chiwele. The white rhinoceros or square-lipped rhinoceros is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species.

“No one really knows where the white rhino's name comes from, although it is said to come from the Dutch word ‘wijd’,” said Chiwele. Chiwele, who appeared to be in his late 20s, was trained by his late uncle and has been conducting such walking safaris for six years now.

“I am used to it and I love it,” he said. He said Savannah Southern Safari will continue with Chiinga’s legacy. “He was a lover of nature and we have resolved to carry on with his vision as a family,” he said.

Our walk in the park ended with very dusty shoes and our bodies drenched in sweat. Evans was waiting to pick us up. We had our snacks before leaving the animal kingdom.

Would I go on another walking safari? Definitely.

This article was published in the Zambia Daily Mail Newspaper on 29, September, 2019. You can find it on this link http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/walking-safari-no-stroll-in-park/.