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Caption: SAFARI IN Zimbabwe
Video of Ruckomechi Camp
Caption: Getting here After a nearly 40 hr trip from California, we landed at the Wilderness Safaris landing strip in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe.
Picture of Ruckomechi Camp
Caption: THE CAMP Ruckomechi, Little Ruckomechi and Chikwenya camps are situated in a prime area for viewing Lions, Elephants, Kudu, Zebra, monkeys and other exciting wildlife. This area also offers something pretty unique in the safari world: walking safari (more on that later).
Picture of Ruckomechi Camp
Caption: GLAMPING? Our camp offered a star bed option, where you can sleep in your own tree house style bed above a water hole, which gets you closer to the animals and really accentuates the wilderness experience.
Picture of Ruckomechi Camp
Caption: There was also a refreshing plunge pool!
Video of Ruckomechi Camp
Caption: And food was delicious at every meal!
Picture of Ruckomechi Camp
Caption: This was the view from my “room.” Not bad, right?!
Picture of Ruckomechi Camp
Caption: SAFARI But we were here to see animals! And that we did! Starting with lots of elephants!
Video of Ruckomechi Camp
Video of Ruckomechi Camp
Caption: This was one of my favorite shots from the trip, these animals are so majestic!
Video of Ruckomechi Camp
Caption: On our last morning, we went with Wilderness CEO and two guides on a 2 mile walking safari from our camp to the air strip where the plane would take us to our next camp.
To be on foot in the same environment where lions, leopards and buffalo roam free, was an exhilarating and incredible experience. You have no choice but to trust your guide no matter what they say.
Picture of Ruckomechi Camp
Caption: We did manage to sneak up on a young male elephant which was exciting...and also somewhat terrifying when you don’t have a safari truck to dive back into! He saw us 👀
Picture of Ruckomechi Camp
Caption: Thankfully we made it to the airstrip safely and our guides didn’t have to think about using their weapons for protection.
Video of Linkwasha Camp
Caption: LINKWASHA CAMP After a quick flight, we landed in Hwange National park and made it to our next camp: Linkwasha. Hwange is home to nearly 40,000 elephants!
Picture of Linkwasha Camp
Caption: The elephants were everywhere!
Picture of Linkwasha Camp
Caption: Though lots of other big game animals were also abundant!
Picture of Linkwasha Camp
Caption: Our guide in Hwange was Peter. Peter is awesome.
Video of Linkwasha Camp
Caption: This is a little preview of what we were doing in Hwange!
Video of Linkwasha Camp
Caption: A team of Wilderness Veterinarians use GPS tracking collars on elephants to help mitigate the human and wildlife conflict in the surrounding area. After we sedated this elephant, they replaced the collar and set her on her way!
Picture of Linkwasha Camp
Caption: The craziest thing for me was being able to listen to the elephants loud, gentle breath and to feel it’s skin and incredibly thick, almost wire-like, hairs!
Picture of Linkwasha Camp
Caption: Once the sedative wore off, they were back on their feet and reunited with their herd!
Picture of Linkwasha Camp
Caption: It just so happened that this day was my birthday, so the camp team made me a cake...which was an elephant turd covered in frosting. For the record, I didn’t have to taste it to know I wouldn’t like it. It was pretty hilarious when I cut it open and realized what it was, however!
Picture of Linkwasha Camp
Caption: On our last day at Linkwasha our guide spotted a broken elephant tusk on the ground. I couldn’t believe how heavy it was (maybe 25lbs). It was similarly crazy and sad to think about how much it would be worth on the black market (more than the phone you’re holding!).
Video of Linkwasha Camp
Caption: We had one last “sun downer” out on the plains surrounded by elephants. So many fond memories from my first African Safari!
Picture of Linkwasha Camp
Caption: THE EXPERIENCE And after all that, we were seeing our last sunrise in Africa. I had been privileged to have a lot of luxury travel experiences through my work, but I was shocked and delighted by my experience in Zimbabwe with wilderness safaris. As far as adventure travel is concerned, I don’t believe there is a more thrilling and fulfilling experience than safari. The icing on the cake is that Wilderness is a global force for good in the travel space, having been carbon negative over the lifetime of the company and also directly responsible for the resurgence of certain species in the areas they manage.
Video of Linkwasha Camp
Caption: To watch my vlog from the trip, click the link or find it in my bio: https://youtu.be/hwewosBdM5Y
