While my brother and friends were visiting recently from overseas — Peter, born here, has lived in the UK for decades, Neri is from Israel and Jorge, from Madeira —we took them to Mukuvisi Woodlands for lunch at the coffee shop and some time at the game viewing platform.
Outdoor with Rosie Mitchell
We had a particularly good time watching the game from there, and Peter and Neri on our recommendation resolved to squeeze in a horseback safari before heading home. Considering all the action that was packed into their three-week visit, which included Vic Falls, Hwange, Haka Game Park, Chikupu Caves, numerous delicious meals out, family gatherings and parties, it was amazing they pulled this off — during their second to last day in Zimbabwe.
They had a really wonderful time with the knowledgeable and articulate Chris Matonhodze as their guide, saw lots of animals, got really close to them, and Neri, on his first trip to Africa, declared this to be the highlight of their entire trip — as thoroughly enjoyable as all else had been! They rode in the mid to late afternoon, so were able to enjoy the beautiful golden evening light, and thoroughly enjoyed getting very close to Maxine, the almost year and a half old young giraffe who was born in the Woodlands, is sponsored by Umax, and is truly thriving. Maxine has made it past the time that game reserve managers seriously worry about baby giraffes — one year, at which time weaning naturally takes place. This is a vulnerable time, especially in areas of our country that are not ideally suited for a giraffe, due to the types of trees that are available to eat. Mukuvisi falls into this category. Once reaching adulthood, however, giraffes fare well at Mukuvisi.
Having learned recently that supplementing the diet of a young giraffe during this vulnerable period with lucerne has been found to be effective, Mukuvisi Woodlands put the word out and received generously donated lucerne seed and cubes for Maxine from Prime Seed. Maxine is doing extremely well, and there are high hopes of a sibling in the up-coming breeding season, from her equally healthy parents. So this type of safari in the Woodlands, is highly recommended for great game viewing and lovely scenery. The wildlife is not at all bothered by the horses, and the riders can get closer than on foot, as a result.
Meanwhile, Sarah and I spent some happy hours last weekend with the very knowledgeable Leonard Mugoni, the staff supervisor who has worked at Mukuvisi Woodlands for over two decades, and consequently knows the area like the back of his hand. Our enjoyable mission was to chart the route for the up-coming Mukuvisi Woodlands Half-Marathon, to be run on trail through the Woodlands, and the Fun Ride using the same route, in which the Pedals 4 Paws Team will participate. Led by Jeremy Borg of Painted Wolf Wines, Pedal 4 Paws cyclists are pedalling their way through various parks and reserves where wild dog still survive, including Gona reZhou, Save Valley Conservancy and Mana Pools, raising both funds and awareness for the African Wild Dog, an extremely endangered species which we are lucky enough still to be able to find in this lovely country of ours — but only just.
The Half-Marathon Trail Run, which will include a shorter 10,5 km run as well, and the Fun Ride, take place on Sunday June 30 at 9am, and follow hot on the heels of the preceding day’s fundraising Taste of Africa Safari Luncheon under the trees in the Woodlands, also raising money for Wild Dog conservation efforts by the two well-known organisations working to conserve the wild dog, Painted Dog Conservation and African Wildlife Conservation Fund. As it is also the last Sunday of the month, those who feel slightly less energetic can still take part in the regular Walk/Run on the shorter trails of 3km and 5km. Our recce party ensured that little room was left for collisions en route, of participants in the different distances and events!
We have come up with an ingenious recycling solution to markers for the route, making fine use of those ubiquitous drinks cans, and pre-registration will be possible at Mukuvisi Woodlands reception nearer the date, details will be made available soon.
