It’s warming up and everyone’s getting out and about more, with lots of great outdoor activities on offer. Today I’ll be heading out to Lake Chivero for a new experience — attending a Sailing Regatta. The Mazoe and Jacana Sailing Clubs are participating and the event which kicks off at 9.30am is being hosted and sponsored by the Harare Safari Lodge. If you’re looking for a way to spend a pleasant Sunday with the family, you could join the relaxed crowd out there, see what sailing is all about, and what Harare Safari Lodge has to offer. I confess ignorance of both and look forward to being fully enlightened. Watch this space next week!
BY ROSIE MITCHELL
- Haka Game Park continues to bounce back following those difficult years we all experienced (needing no elaboration!) and it has been fascinating to see the bush regenerating in the large swathes of land reclaimed and re-incorporated into the areas covered by this lease, a couple of years ago. Most of this land had been illegally cultivated for many years. It is amazing to see how quickly new trees start to pop up and indigenous plants re-establish their claim to their rightful place on the land, given half a chance! If you still haven’t discovered this gem of a place to visit, it’s about time. You can drive, walk, run, cycle, horse ride, hire a canoe at adjacent Cleveland Dam and then paddle in to see birds and potentially game from the water, have a braai or picnic, or simply sit somewhere pretty — and quietly stare. This is an oasis of unspoilt beauty in our city, and there is plenty of game and bird spotting to enjoy. On request, you can go on a horseback patrol with one of Haka’s team of scouts. Entry is left off Mutare Road just past Jaggers roundabout and Danhiko School, as if going to Cleveland Dam, with the Haka entry gate about 300 metres up on the left.
- Mukuvisi Woodlands is another great place to take the family on Sunday to enjoy a touch of the wild close to home. Have a bite at the coffee shop, go on a guided walk or horseback safari, or simply sit and watch the game from the viewing platform. Take up membership at a modest fee and you can enter free, year round, enjoy a free copy of the interesting book A history of the Mukuvisi Woodlands and receive a voucher for a free safari, among other benefits.
The Marden singers in concert
The Marden Singers are offering another “Night at the Opera”, while you picnic under the stars, on September 21 and 22, following the runaway success of last year’s first edition. I’m sorry not to be singing in the show this time — I’ll be in the UK attending a wedding. But it promises to be a very enjoyable evening at the British Ambassador’s Residence. Tickets are US$15 each, pensioners US$10, a family of four US$50, and must be bought in advance from The Spotlight, Picture Frame in Newlands, Veldemeers in Arundel Village, Coconut Joe at Sam Levy’s Village or Hello Harare, Herbert Chitepo Ave, and there will, as last year, be some fantastic raffle prizes.
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Umfurudzi Safari, Hippo Pools beckon
Umfurudzi Safari Area and Hippo Pools Wilderness Camp are for many city dwellers another paradise waiting to be discovered, and can easily be enjoyed on a weekend day trip, or, better still, go and spend a whole weekend or longer.
This is only two hours’ drive from Harare city centre. Years ago, I was a very regular visitor to this vast, unspoiled area of wilderness, with its undulating terrain, well-forested mountains, San rock paintings and large tracts of beautiful miombo and riverine woodland. I haven’t been out there for far too long and will be visiting in October with a view to telling you much more. Meantime — Hippo Pools has recently announced the opening of the beautiful new Sunungukai lodges.
Hippo Pools has marked out over 200km of exciting scenic hiking trails in Umfurudzi Safari Area, and you can explore these to your heart’s content, unaccompanied, as well as hire canoes or go on guided walks. Existing infrastructure in the form of chalets, cabins and camping facilities are all being refurbished, and there are big improvements already.
Hippo Pools, for over 30 years run by award-winning conservationist Iain Jarvis, actively assists in promoting eco-tourism through the Ambuya Foundation which funds Wilderness Africa Trust, in the adjacent Mazowe River Game Reserve, Garura and Nyagande sections, involving the whole community and helping the people who live here reap benefits from their wildlife and environment. Proceeds support schools, water and other community projects.
The Umfurudzi Safari Area and Mazowe River Game Reserve are home to a vast number of animal and bird species. Animals to be spotted include sable, bushbuck, kudu, bushpig, klipspringer, zebra, porcupine, impala, leopard, lion, hyena, genet, civet, aardwolf, duiker, Sharpe’s grysbok, wildebeest, hippo, warthog, dassie, baboon, vervet monkey, roan antelope, bushbaby, crocodile, water monitor lizard, jackal, aardvark, and yes, more! Vegetation in the area is unique.
To get there, take Enterprise Road out of the city, turn left into Shamva Road and drive through Shamva. The tar ends 2km from Madziwa Mine. Turn right into Madziwa Mine village, drive past the bottom end of the old mine and after 18km, you reach the National Parks Gate to Umfurudzi Safari Area. From there, bear left at the junction and drive a further 15km to reach Hippo Pools.
- Feedback: [email protected];0772 212 730.
