After leaving Nxai Pan National Park in Botswana and a quick one-night stand en route to Zimbabwe, we crossed the border at the remote border post of Pandamatenga and made our way to Kazuma Pan National Park. And to my great surpise, I actually have cell service at our campsite, presumably because we are not too far from the Botswana border where there must be a cell tower:
Kazuma Pan National Park at 121 square miles was first established in 1949 as a reserve, then deproclaimed in 1969, and later proclaimed as a National Park in 1975. The Park is little known and rarely visited, located in the northwest corner of Zimbabwe just south of Victoria Falls. In all my years of overlanding in Africa, I had not heard of this Park until this year when researching the route for this year’s journey. I came across this Park on the map and it fit well with my itinerary, being en route between Nxai Pan in Botswana and Hwange in Zimbabwe. Little did I know that this would be a real hidden gem and quite possibly the sweetest camping site (if I can call it camping; see below) in all of my Africa overlanding.
Kazuma Pan is relatively unspoilt wilderness consisting of extensive grasslands fringed by Mopane and Kalahari sand woodlands. The highlight of the Park is a series of seasonally flooded pans that attract a wide variety of wildlife, especially waterfowl. The open landscape of grassy plains, reminiscent of the great East African plains, is dissimilar to the usual Zimbabwean bush or woodland landscapes, and thus offers a unique experience within Zimbabwe. Within the Park some of the pans are kept continuously filled by water pumped from boreholes during the dry season. This permanent water source causes large concentrations of wildlife to seasonally migrate between Botswana and Zimbabwe, especially towards the end of the dry season from September through to the first rains of November or December, this owing to the fact that there is no border fence, allowing free wildlife movement across the international boundary. Here’s a couple of pictures from our drives across the pans, at least the dry portions, as we got stopped by water/mud on one occasion:
What made this Park so amazing for us was the spectacular campsite. We stayed in an elevated hide overlooking a large water-filled Corner Pan. This was no simple hide, but rather a two-story structure 20 feet high situated about 30 feet from the edge of the pan and the fresh-water supply to a well that overflows to fill the pan. The upper deck was perhaps 20×30 feet with viewing windows, bar stools, table, and beds with mattresses for as many as 6 people. The lower deck included a toilet and shower, wash basin, table and chairs, etc.. Words cannot adequately describe what an incredible setting this was for sleeping, eating, siestas and watching all the wildlife in and around the pan. More on this below, but first here’s a few picture of our accommodation:
What made this place so amazing is that we sat 15 feet above ground directly overlooking the fresh-water input to a small basin and the Pan, which was a magnet for the resident elephants. We were entertained by a steady stream of elephants, including a small family unit and lots of bulls of various ages, all evening long and through many hours of the night. The noises of the “Ellies” communicating with each other and, more importantly, from the loud noises they made as they sucked up the fresh water from the small basin, was deafening at times. This made for a great experience, but much less than normal sleep. We also were entertained by an adult female hippo and her two youngsters. In addition, lions roared from nearby locations all through the night, but we never caught a glimpse of them. Most of our time, however, was spent watching and identifying all the various water birds in the Pan. And did I mention the spectacular sunrises and sunset from our elevated hide? Here’s some pictures:
Ok, my heart breaks to say goodbye to this amazing site, but we must move on to other great sites and adventures. Next stop, Hwange National Park and three different exclusive campsites. See you there!