3 A SENSE OF PLACE
Mana Pools has its albida forests alongside the Zambezi River. Gonarezhou’s Chilojo Cliffs elicit a similar sense of wonder. Rising 200 metres above the floodplain of the broad Runde River, the 13-kilometre sandstone rampart is magnificent. It’s the defining feature of this remote wilderness. Here the Runde flows south and seems to bump into the cliffs, then has to flow north to meet the narrow, powerful Save. Together, these rivers give the northern part of the park a unique sense of place. From the top of the cliffs, Gonarezhou’s diverse landscapes are clear to see. Most obvious are the extensive floodplains alongside the Runde, which
reminded me a little of those at Mana Pools at the opposite end of the country. The large Tembwahata Pan lies near the confluence of the two rivers and draws plenty of elephant, buffalo and other wildlife during the hot days. The nearby and smaller Machaniwa Pan is just a few hundred metres south of the Runde River, and a superb place for spotting saddlebilled storks and fish eagles, who prance around the muddy waters scooping up unlucky catfish. Vast mopane woodland dominates the basins and plateaus on either side of the Runde. The scene is grand. ‘Gonarezhou has diversity of habitat that most other parks don’t have,’ says private guide Anthony Kaschula, who has been running a mobile campsite here since 2009. Few know Gonarezhou better than he. ‘On a typical five-night safari you’ll see rocky gorges and waterfalls, impenetrable ironwood forest with floodplains and pans, big swathes of mopane and huge areas of sandveld woodland. You’ve got the Chilojo Cliffs themselves and wide, sweeping sand rivers. It’s incredibly diverse, and very photogenic.’ The park could also be Africa’s epicentre of baobabs. There are thousands of these arboreal grandfathers. Near Tembwahata Pan, we counted 60 within sight of us.