Overlanding Zimbabwe | Kariba, Matusadona & Hwange | Ep3 #overlanding #adventuretravel #zimbabwe

this episode brought to you by serith Logistics a leading cross-border Transport company and srg gold customizing your gold and silver in this episode crossover into Zimbabwe I added this vision of Boom [Music] this is amazing this place really really is amazing if you do do this dirt road just be very careful welcome to martusadona enjoy golden sunsets on the shore of a lake make the hard drive down to wangi I thought I could smell lion and encounter wild moments at a dam this one is not to be missed where's the elephant [Music] thank you where the real Spirit of over Landing is [Music] overlanding is something that too many different people can mean many different things but in its simplistic wall I think over landing at its core is basically getting out and enjoying an adventure [Music] I Overland because I enjoy the wilds and that adds to the adventure and exploration of new places foreign [Music] in this episode 3 of our Zambia and Zimbabwe Adventure we pick up after having already traveled through Botswana and into the western side of Zambia 13 days and 1745 kilometers already traveled we pick up as we leave in Vu Lodge and campsite and head for the Zimbabwean border post the aim of this episode is to visit some of the national parks on the western side of Zimbabwe with six days left to go of this adventure enjoy as we visit new wild places [Music] Zambia has been magic to say the least and adventuring this part of southern Africa is simply stunning as we follow the mighty Zambezi River alongside the Zambezi escortment the road into and out of the lower Zambezi is a gravel road that occasionally experiences washouts during the rainy season and will take you an hour and a half to complete from Lodge to Tar Road it is a well-used road as we pass through tribal lands and it is something else as we catch glimpses of elephants drinking on the Zambezi River's Edge and this feels like true overlanding magic and we have had good times enjoying the spectacular country that is Zambia [Music] Reese what did you think of the lower zambisian and Vu Lodge in Zambia for the low zambisian and fruit Lodge I really enjoyed it it was good fun got some fishing in which was awesome a great campsite great abolitions awesome fire fire area um yeah and lots of Wildlife including the one that scares Ryan the most and what would you advise people coming to the lowest Zambezi National Park or this area a lot of times they're busy I would advise just keep your wits about you there's a lot of wildlife all over the place you don't have to be in the park you can be pretty much anywhere and you could run into elephants you could run into lion wild dogs so just keep your wits about you make sure you can see everything that you need to see don't drive like a maniac keep your eyes open and how is over Landing for you over Landing for me this is my first big trip it's exhausting but good fun it's up early setup lights get there and it's good fun though I mean it's nothing I enjoy it in the long hours on the road uh besides the heavy clutch they're perfect they it's all very Scenic unless you get into the cities then it gets a bit boring and monogamous um but Chuck coming to new country it's always nice because you you never know what to expect around the next corner and where are we off to next next we're off to Zimbabwe that's gonna be a different one but good been to them before so yeah let's see what it's like [Music] back on the top we realized that the two and a half hour earmark trip is going to take us a good four and a half hours to do on account of windy roads the border crossing and the odds stop here and there the excitement levels are up as we can't wait to be back in new parts of beautiful Zimbabwe the roads are in okay Nick on the way to the Zimbabwean border post take care when driving back up the Zambezi escortment and down again watch out for the occasional Rock slides and potholes some are quite bad but overall this is such a Scenic trip as we pull into the Zambian border post and make our way to Zimbabwe foreign we have just left Zambia a lot easier to get out of Zambia than to get into Zambia and we're crossing over and I never knew this we have to cross over the Kariba Lake wall now just behind me is the construction to try and sort out the issue with the structure of the dam walk at the lower end what's happened is when the sluice gates open it's created a massive massive glory hole at the bottom of the dam and if I tell you guys it's about 80 meters down the side of the wall it is unbelievable we're going to cross over now and get into Zimbabwe [Music] this this parking here to get out and have a look at the damn wall and shame a fellas just come up to us now and asked us to please get across the wall because they're going to do some blasting and we can actually film it from the other side of the damn wall on the Zimbabwean side so you see everyone is saying go go go go so this blasting that's going to happen I hope we can catch it on camera and that's pretty exciting absolutely exciting but have a look at this [Music] the Kariba dam is a double curvature concrete Arch dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi River Basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe the dam stands 128 meters tall and 579 meters long the dam forms Lake Kariba which extends for 280 kilometers and holds 185 cubic kilometers of water [Music] probably in about two minutes [Music] oh that is a bit of a disappointment I added this vision of boom and it was very very controlled explosion and uh and that was it there was no I thought pieces of rock were gonna fall on us maybe the dam will crack open and burst out and we'd have to get to Kariba quickly well that was uneventful baboons are running they don't even look bothered well when did Karima do as the Caribbeans do [Music] okay so just to give you an update we are in Zimbabwe and it's a good feeling to be here we absolutely loved Zambia we crossed over this afternoon at about half past one into Zimbabwe very little areas or issues at the Zimbabwean side we crossed the Kariba Dam or lake wall and it was something spectacular they were blasting and it was uneventful to say the least we thought it was going to be something epic and it just wasn't like that what you see in the movies but all of that does not matter we've been on the road now for how long it is uh six hours six hours six hours it's taken us to get from the lodge and campsite to wait where we are now warthog campsite now there's a little bit of a story behind this and I hope I don't come across too negative but I initially found and searched for campsites before I left South Africa in Loma Gandhi campsite Lodge and campsite came up quite uh quite prevalent and we obviously pulled in there this afternoon after a hard days are on the road and they wanted to build US 20 US dollars per tent per night and five dollars per person per night so that was equivalent to 50 US dollars 50 US dollars that's 950 Rand at the time of this recording in May 2023 and and the campsites in all honesty look like they're right on top of each other so you don't even you're not really getting anything for your 950 Grand and um so we did the next best thing we pulled over to war talks under the advisement of the caretakers there good old chaps and thanks for the support they watch the shows and they said go and try warthog and we've pulled into water campsite and I tell you it's 10 US dollars per person per night flat that's it and we walked into the restaurant Good Vibes music going on in the background Happy People greeting us and we've got three four Elephant swimming in the Kariba we've got a herd of zebra we had water Buck moving through the Reeds here ground hornbill moving just in front of us and I tell you what that's worth 950 but warthog don't change your prices please encourage people to come here and the way you do that is by offering them great rates good beer and good food but yeah we'll talk thus far absolutely loving it brilliant and my first cold Zambezi as in Rome do as the Romans exactly this is amazing this place really really is amazing we are on the shores of the lake Kariba and I'm sitting here now and we've got elephant that have just pulled in to the inlet or stream that flows into the creeper [Music] oh [Music] only a few places in Africa that you can get to experiences things like this and this is one of them and I'm so happy that we came into warthog campsites absolutely Magic so the best foreign it's a good morning indeed we stayed at War talk Lodge and campsite last night which is fantastic if you get to stay and visit warthog Lodge and campsite and I suggest you do make sure to order yourself the lemon butter brim it was fantastic we are driving into Kariba Town Pick and Pay stock up and then onwards March for three nights to matusa Donna we were gonna stop at cesareera but it's just far too expensive it's a hundred US dollars so we are not doing cesarea unfortunately and um we will then push on from back to Sedona to chakabika in huangi and I'm looking forward to that because that'll be a spot of proper wild camping and that'll be something special to look forward to but yeah join us as the adventure continuous here in Zimbabwe driving the cariba Lakeside Shoreline and it is absolutely stunning [Music] it is nine o'clock in the morning and we've just left the town of Kariba they pulled into a pick and pay and we grabbed some odds and sods just to restock filled up with fuel everything is in US dollars so it hits the wallet quite hard if I'm honest we put 60 US dollars of fuel in just to top it up help us get to matusa Donna I think it equivalates to about 32 liters of diesel and you know even the shops I think I had the most expensive Bill I've ever had it was 128 000. Zimbabwe dollar or wand which is quite crazy which is about 75 US dollars they're about so yeah an expensive morning to say the least or we didn't buy much potatoes um hot dog some cool drinks and uh waters you know just just the butter the ARB stuff the stuff that when there's two of you it just seems to go a little bit faster than usual we're currently driving now I've punched in on tracks for Africa we're going to tashinga Campsite in the Medusa Donna National Park and um you know it says we've got 370 kilometers to do and I think we're going to join up with the karway dirt road I just don't know when but what an adventure I tell you driving here is absolutely spectacular it's beautiful on the Kariba side of the lake there are a lot of mountains and hills and it's just so picturesque but yeah I think it's going to be a long day on the road fingers crossed everything works out it seems that we are nursing the the Ford Ranger there's a couple of odd strange sounds metal on metal knocking that is coming from the front end of the vehicle and these roads are very windy and um very uneven tarmac surface so it's a bit of a challenge to drive but anyways let's carry on with the adventure and let's just enjoy we make it to the karoi Bingo Road turn off this turn off is clearly marked and is before the town of karoi when driving from Kariba it is what appears to be a well-used dirt road expect heavy corrugation on most stretches with the occasional degraded and worn washouts [Music] deflate your tires when driving off the tar Road and enjoy this road as you cross over single track bridges that will make this part of your trip truly Unforgettable [Music] thank you from a driver's perspective this is a road that will make you feel like you are in your element as you pass through rural settlements and informal Farmland amnesty Zimbabwean lovers and busy escoffman and the bush is looking at its best [Music] we're still driving it's been a long day on the road been in the car for six hours and I think we've still got maybe another three hours to go we've been on the dirt road for probably four of those six and um you know the road is not too bad to be to be honest I'm okay with the road being like this it is quite a hard road to drive it's not in the worst condition but it's not in the best either and but it's a rural road so well what do you expect [Music] the title distances that we've done today I think we when we started the drive it was at 343 kilometers from War talk campsite yeah so you have about a hundred hundred kilometers of called semi-graded road with some pretty gnarly sections it goes from a two lane down to a single Lane down to a really thin single Lane and then we have 84 kilometers to drive from the gate into the Medusa Donna National Park or to tishinga Camp we've used tracks for Africa the whole time on this trip and it hasn't skipped a bit once so pretty tough with that on the Garment we haven't seen any Wildlife or any signs of wildlife if you do do this dirt road just be very careful for oncoming traffic uh you know we nearly had a head-on collision a little bit earlier passing through a titty fly control gate we finally make it to the matusodona National Park turnoff and head towards the tashinga campsite [Music] keep an eye out for the turn off to the check-in African box office on the right [Music] [Music] welcome to martus adona we left the gates about an hour ago the main check-in gate to manchusadona and it's a I think it's an 85 kilometer Drive In and it's amazing because you go through you go wow you go through the escarpment you come down the escarpment you go up Gomez you go down Gomez you go through Rivers and they're all dry at this time of the year being May and uh it's a tough Drive eh just because it's long it's a long drive it's a long drive and it's tough because you're you're constantly constantly trying to watch where you put your tires because there's some sheer drops man and how beautiful does that look look behind me it's a stream a stream one of the rivers that flows in to the lake Kariba oh it's just a beautiful placement really really beautiful such a picturesque drive but it is a long drive so you know keep looking at the tracks for Africa on the Garment and you know kilometers are only dropping only dropping very slowly we're tired we're actually we're actually pretty knackered if I'm honest we're pretty knackered we just want to get into camp uh we haven't seen any Wildlife no Wildlife at all and very few signs of Wildlife on the way to tashinga camp [Music] but the strange thing is is when we turned off of the main dirt road to drive towards matusadona we saw a lot and I mean a lot of lion sport a lot of lions play in the road a lot of lions go and we chatted to one of the ranges for Africa parks and he said there are plenty line here in fact that side of the park as you drive in is a pride of 14 lion no it's just quite nice I think but yeah just beautiful there all these Reds Golds yellows greens just wow which is so so pretty yup let's get you camp [Music] exiting the escarpment we crossed the last few riverbeds and as the roads looked worked on and fresh we feel like we are getting close it's been a long one [Music] thank you [Music] so we've just pulled in to what will now be camp for the next three nights and we are here at tashinga campsite and we're right on the lake Kariba it is just simply stunning we've got a magic Sunset happening in the background over there we didn't choose that side of Camp because there's quite a few people already there and there's another couple or family just to our left here but this when the Sun rises tomorrow morning is going to be something truly remarkable what a drive that drive in from the top gate all the way down the escarpment just remember when you do come to the top gate you do have to go and sign in it's 900 meters up the road and on the right and you get to meet the Africa Parks chaps there and you will sign in and you will then hear the words you are not too far from tashinga Camp well you are you're 75 kilometers maybe 80 kilometers from the campsite and it is a drive it's a drive that I don't know I think just because we're so tired it just didn't want to end so we just carried on and on and on and it's just so beautiful and we're just tired it's been a long day on the road again and we are now day 14 in on our trip day 14 in on the trip so we are absolutely shattered you know I'm tired it Reese is tired Rhys reckons the over Landing game is not easy and it's not you know you're working late nights and then you are up early and you're working all the time washing up cleaning up anyways I'm not complaining how can I complain when you're in a beautiful place like this really have a look at this hmm questions we set up camp and enjoy the atmosphere of this stunning place around the fire and call it an early night absolutely shattered we take the new day off as a means to catch up and rest which at tashinga Camp is a very welcome relief and the day is easy going [Music] to realize that at tashinga campsite the wild is all around you the camp is alive and in all honesty with the lake Kariba waves crashing on the shoreline we can't help but feel unbelievably settled and relaxed immersed in the sights sounds and smells of the Wild [Music] [Music] fishing at Camp Comes Alive early mornings and evenings and keep an eye out for baboons and elephants that could visit at all times of the day but rest assured that the African Park staff are always available to help a keeper watchful eye out over your campsites thank you there is plenty of space to Camp under large trees that Supply a great balance between shade and Sun for solar charge wood can be ordered from the Camp staff and in some campsites you have the option to make your fire on the ground in Dugout pits foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] be aware that this is a wild campsite elephant hyena line and leopard frequently visit these campsites so be cautious and always try to put yourself in a considered position of safety [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] so it is time to be the second time we empty the fuel of the top of the Ranger into the tank the main tank yesterday was a long drive and I didn't have enough dollars to completely fill up the tank so we're at three quarters fuel left so just pumped this 80 into the reserve tank in the main tank and more should be good but yeah the sun is getting up and it's getting hot and I'm making my brother in law work and he's keep on this chop but it's strange though because I'm the one up here and he's the one down there gotta be honest with you I really really enjoy this front runner roof rack very capable very strong piece of Kit can hold my weight can hold 80 liters and I'd say another 30 kgs of boxed Goods on the top of the roof just brilliant everything with that this front runner roof rack makes so much sense and I'm very happy with the new alignment of everything so a big shout out to the guys at FrontRunner thank you so much guys for helping me out and sorting it out for the perfect setup I really appreciate it [Music] sitting up on the roof just got this extended Jiggler I always use an extended Jiggler just in case you need extra length thank you and uh yeah I'll tell you what it's getting hot here it was overcast this morning we've had a lovely morning just relaxing in Camp trying to catch up find a breather get a bit of a break we're absolutely shattered and um yeah just put up the easy on 270 degree manta ray uh awning and it's just absolutely fantastic it's been a great great addition to the Ford Ranger and uh the eye camper behind me absolutely loving it being able to store all my bedding in what a pleasure and carrying Reese's bedding and his pillow so it's three pillows extra bedding plenty of space left to spare over the teshinka campsite thus far absolutely superb we do have two groups of neighbors they're very peaceful and quiet people and it's always nice to have an elephant strolling through Camp just add such wild and Wilderness experiences to a campsite such as tishinga thank you so so a really big shout out to Africa pox for for helping us we've got no mobile network connection or data connections so the chaps have kindly assisted us to go to the office and plug into their Wi-Fi just so we can reach out and say how's it to the wives let them know we're okay and uh I tell you Africa Parks doing such a good job here at matusa Donna roads are in excellent condition and just such friendly people and always willing to help and go the extra mile so thank you Africa parks what a day it's been at matusa Donna absolutely loving it the African Parks group offers three self-catering and fully catered campsite units to those that prefer this the camp has a newly built communal abusion block three toilets and three showers per his and hers bathroom with external wash-up facilities [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] sets in this campsite are some of the best I have experienced simply spectacular and absolutely Unforgettable [Music] all right remember to leave the campsite you know then you found it so cover up those fire pits when you leave and dispose of any and all rubbish collected during your stay [Music] yeah but you said on a national park covers 1 400 square kilometers of flat Plains and rugged mountains protecting a diverse flora and fauna the creation of Lake Kariba caused profound ecological changes in particular the availability of grazing on a lake shore which has contributed to an increase in the populations of large mammals in the park especially those of elephant and Cape buffalo [Music] good morning and an early early morning for reason I trying to capture that sunrise this morning and it was spectacular I've been having very restless sleeps I'm not I'm not sleeping too well if I'm honest um yeah I just can't seem to catch up and every little sound I hear at night I'm up and properly up but this morning we are doing our first matusodona game Drive and we just had a really nice encounter with the an elephant Bull on the side of the road and he seemed calm and peaceful he did move his ears and his feet a bit just to let us know that he was there and we kept a good safe distance maybe 100 meters from the elephant and he seemed fine [Music] lots of Impala a lot of ramps and this time of the year it's the racking season so these guys are running around this place owning it and making a lot of noise and if you know anything about Impala that sound is almost devilish it's uh the horrid sound and like that goes off the whole night so I think that's one of the reasons as to I'm not sleeping too well but yeah a pretty uneventful evening nothing too major to report some weird sounds last night we heard I think it's the village in the area I think they had a bit of a shin dig last night which is not always lacquered to here but anyways we're driving the roads now and we've just passed Rob's point and yeah we're just gonna see it's not a long drive I don't think but we do we do need to get those lithium batteries in the back charged so we're just gonna plot around and see what we see Rhys what do you have to say for yourself and for the trip thus far buddy uh should have been fantastic I've really enjoyed everything different places I've never been to so yeah new places new exciting things what do you think about matusa Donna you can't get off that easily uh Medusa Turner to me is a bit I really dig the like that's amazing uh I don't know there's there's something about it that uh I can't put my finger on it there's a lot of Impala and a lot of it feels very game farmy for them at the moment because you haven't seen anything like really crazy um it's the views and the the scenery is amazing but Joe we're just trying to find that wow factor the wow factor I mean you're camping right on a lake it's still a lake nobody's like Kariba but mostly it's still why are you always so negative about not to Sedona I'm not he's a rocket Rhys is always very negative early at this time of the morning it unfortunately doesn't drink coffee because if he did he'd be he's missing out on my extremely amazing coffee and yes I just said that it but uh very grumpy this morning how's it sleeping in your little ground entries it's amazing because I get sneaked so yeah I enjoy it [Music] matusa Donna was proclaimed a non-hunting area towards the end of 1958 before being declared a game reserve in 1963. in 1975 it became a national park under the Parks and Wildlife Act of Rhodesia [Music] Okay so you know I don't know these elephants here in matusodona and the Rangers say that they are you know fairly calm and Placid but we've got a fella standing in the road and he's quite a big boy and then he's got a mate of his just on the right I just feeding on the bushes so he's quite reluctant to get out of the road and um I think how far are we away from him now he's 50 meters yeah we're about 50 meters from him and we're just parked up in neutral and uh yeah hopefully this big guy moves but he's yeah I don't think he's one to be messed around with I mean he's got quite decent sized tusks and like I say if you don't know the elephants and you're not familiar with an area you know there's no there's no rush you're on a game drive you know just enjoy anything are you kidding and we've got an elephant coming up behind us mom what do we do I don't know dude we do too [ __ ] yeah so we've got an elephant coming up behind us we have two elephants in front of us and we've just decided to hear these moving he's moving wow he's a big boy as well that's the same to our films yesterday I don't think you can go forward like those things are too big eh so yeah so hey I tell you what Dang this is quite an adventure um yeah I think you're making the best move here this is to reverse the one has gone off on to the right here of the Bush so I don't know how deep he's going to go in but yeah you know that series on Discovery when animals go bad well elephants can be very predictable but they can also be very unpredictable and let's put it this way we don't want to be the first vehicle that gets nailed in matusodona you could start to the game driving it's so bizarre because I sang Therese yesterday when we came into matusodona we didn't see we didn't see Ace this lesson there in the bushes and we didn't see a single animal on the road we didn't we saw not so much evidence of activity on the road but yeah this morning already we've seen four really really big elephants like proper sized Elephants or males or bulls I don't see any must stands on the sides of their faces so I don't think they're in Musk but yeah things can happen hey so just try and put yourself in a better position I think that's the only advice I can give you [Music] poaching in the National Park was a big problem and a deterrent to visitors but the African Parks group in partnership with Zimbabwe national parks and the surrounding communities has made impressive progress in deterring poaching and as a result this is one national park that is on the rise to claim its spot as one of the best in Zimbabwe we've been driving around now in the matusadona national park on a game drive for I'd say about two and a half hours three hours we haven't seen any any wildlife and I think that's primarily because there is just so much thick thick thick thick bush and it's Relentless the thick bush it never eases up we we took a dirt road that is yeah good in some sections there are some River Crossings is where the road will obviously be a little bit harder to do and a couple of off-camber little obstacles in matusa Donna I think there might be an opportunity to do a lot of bush clearing I think you know there's not enough it seems to me there's not enough area or space for Planes game to move around in this area or on this road in particular that we've taken we're heading back we'll probably see more in the campsite than we will do on a game Drive is becoming NASA alatia heading back to camp and realizing that we had it to ourselves on account of neighbors moving on we packed up our campsite and headed to a spot that really was spectacular we head to shinga for our last night all to ourselves Magic [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] for dinner tonight my man it's not to keep you very simple we're doing lamb chops broad chops and potatoes roasted in the fire got a better bit of seasoning why are we keeping it simple because we're quite tired and we have a long drive tomorrow where are we headed we are heading to wangi so yeah and it's the road that we came in on which took forever so yeah we've got to take the road that takes forever to get out again so it's going to be a long one so keep it simple keep energy tomorrow's a new day okay [Music] so over the three nights of camping here on the Kariba Shoreline we noticed something amazing and very peculiar at night you'll notice thousands of lights glimmering on the horizon line of the lake Kariba after researching this massive phenomenon I found this news article and as posted on the herald as breaking news saved Kariba from being fish dry it is formally estimated from an official survey that there are over a thousand kapinta fishing rigs coming in from the side of Zambia and 600 more from the side of Zimbabwe to overfish and poach the small sardine-like fish locally known as capenta a staple protein-rich diet for many populations throughout Africa to see this firsthand we asked the question of sustainability and no matter how amazing it might look from our first world camping chairs around the fire I realized that something just isn't right with this picture a massive shout out to my mate Ed for Lending me his trail camera as we capture this rather special visitor to the outskirts of our camp a side stripe Jackal brilliant [Music] are you now on the edges of Camp every night and did he a line in the far off distance but with a big Drive ahead we close up shop and rest up for an early morning foreign good morning and a very early morning this morning yes we make our way out of the lovely matusodona National Park but you said what do you need to know about matusa Donna at the moment and thankfully so is under management from Africa parks and they've got a very big job they're obviously bringing it out of being quite derelict and maybe not necessarily so functional so they've got a big job in doing that and they've started with all the main roads in the National apartment they have quite an operation going on at the offices and look well worth and capable of straightening out muchodone there's quite a bit that Africa Parks has to do with the community they have to form relationship they have to work with the communities in and around the Medusa Donna National Park and it's something that they Pride themselves in and I think it's a very great idea things like Training Game ranges and scouts at the moment I would say matricidon is not really a self-drive game Drive reserve the bush is very very thick at this time of the year in May 2023 and you can't really see much Wildlife the further you drift away from the campsite however at the campsite it's a totally different story all the game comes to you and you will experience amazing wild encounters and for those reasons matusa Donna is great for a two or three night stay I would say yeah it's a really lovely place and a place I'm so happy to have finally made it to it's one of those tick off destinations for myself and now we just enjoy the adventure to huangi stick with us folks as we travel a really hard Road number one out of the matusodona national park that's about two hours and then on the road to Wang [Music] we're on a gravel road and on tracks for Africa it says 4x4 Gravel Road and it's it's a proper Drive the proper proper drive I'm driving with 1.8 bar in the front and two bar in the back [Music] 33 inch tires are working I'm very impressed by what they've done I mean some of the stuff we've driven Shale hard rocks [Applause] [Music] we have hit a couple of big holes though I'm not gonna I'm not gonna lie we have to readjust the whole back because everything essentially jumped around and if anything that might be one of the biggest problems with having loading space in the back of any vehicle really so we just had to realign everything in the back and we're driving through Villages and heading towards huangi [Music] breathe [Applause] [Music] we've been driving now for a good four hours and I have my conclusion on the dirt road from karoi to Binga I reckon it's a very very tough road and there are parts of this road where we're two kilometers an hour it's too fast the vehicle is absolutely wet the car man I feel so bad for it today and I'm taking a hammering myself but I know Reese's too it's hard going we are trying to remain in High Spirits we have 260 kilometers to go to get to the town of boengi I don't know which villages we are driving through quite a few settlements happy people and sorry about the Dust foreign [Music] and I tell you after spending six hours on the dirt road it almost feels trippy to be on a Tyro how is that driver is exhausting all I did was watch for potholes and big holes probably portals bottles and a toilet yeah I just watch for big holes and where the road was no Road so yeah it's been Non-Stop my brain saw bars are sore and I think I inhaled 500 tons of dust there was a lot of dust Chris are you looking forward to wengi what are your expectations bud uh never been inside a job looking forward to see what it is and how it is and how Wild it can be I'm not gonna lie I'm in a tent so on the ground could be exciting and uh the big question what's for dinner have no idea yet come on you're the chef I don't but I have no idea [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] Okay so we've just got to wangi and the time now is half past three in the afternoon we've got about 32 kilometers to get to cinema teller where we've got to pay our Park fees and our vehicle entry and then we've got to make it to chakabika and I think the speed limit in wengi is 30 30 40 K's an hour so if you work that out it's about two hours drive roughly give or take so we're driving now through the coal mines and I've done this before in a previous episode we're driving through the coal mines but yeah we're we're moving hastily just because time is not on our side [Music] a wrong decision driving through the park meant for meeting up with a washed away bridge and road as the sun was setting we turned back I need to drive all the way back to the main entry gate and then lost our way to the chakapika lodge and campsite we did make it finally to the lodge [Music] good morning and an early morning here in huangi at chakavika private Lodge and tonight campsite so let me catch you and get you up to speed with what happened yesterday it was quite a schlep if I'm honest probably if not the longest day on the road we've had on this trip thus far driving from matusadona to huangi we'll take you a better part of eight hours to do we left at seven o'clock in the morning and we drive into huangi at half past three in the afternoon we drive into cinematella really nice to see the reception area looking so green So Fresh So welcoming they even have a little Coke and Fanta kiosk machine which was quite lack of because we just bought a nice cold scope in the Zimbabwean traditional glass bottle and I'll tell you what if you know anything about Coke and the Zimbabwean glass bottle there is nothing that tastes quite like it and it's Super Fresh we eventually pull into the lodge at about half past nine in the evening but all of that doesn't matter when you wake up in the morning number one feeling actually quite fresh I think I got some sleep last night which is which is brilliant because I haven't been sleeping too well we had elephant come into the campsite last night and he was busy feeding off of the trees and again it was superb absolutely self-purpose so a brilliant day and today we game drive so let's see what we see Rose how are you feeling this morning Matt I'm a little bit tired that's due to the fact I had elephants ripping branches down around me the whole night that was quite cozy in my Bungalow with a real mattress not sleepy on the floor anymore wow tilt it out again feel good re-energize revitalized and ready to rock and roll [Music] thank you [Music] thank you foreign [Music] what are we up to oh man we are in the wangi national park and we've just had a really cool morning game drive we haven't seen much in the way of Planes game or anything really but the bush is very thick and the leaves the mapony leaves are going from green to Orange which looks spectacular through the lens but we are here now at bear bear pen and when we pulled in I thought I could smell lion they've got a very like unique smell but the smell is gone now we're making a cup of coffee and sticking very close to the vehicle and we're keeping an eye out in the bush because like I say it's very thick but I just wanted to tell you and show you something I'm using this hammer down coffee now I bought this this one here this is the harden up coffee this sorry all the doves took off this is really really nice coffee and it's a fresh pack we've been using the other one which is really strong I think that one's called Harden the [ __ ] up like this is just hard enough and this is a really good coffee so yeah let's make that cup of coffee and let's stay vigilant but [Music] we make our way to the cinema tele Park offices to pay up for our stay in huangi for the next two nights but also with the purpose to visit the cinema Taylor campsites and viewing dick to have a spot of lunch [Music] thank you [Music] hello welcome to US National Park I hope you enjoyed your trip [Music] [Music] you know everyone always talks about when they come to cinematilla the view and yes the view is absolutely spectacular but in this little story I think it's about a glimmer of hope um and that for me is that since the two years I've been here last there's a little bit of progress cinematilla the main head office is looking good you know they've got some they've planted some lovely flowers the grass is looking nice and green and it looks a lot more welcoming than the last time I came here and I believe George was telling me that they've actually started renovating two of The Bungalow units [Music] [Music] we're making a nice chip and mayonnaise sandwich chip and cheese mayonnaise sandwich what you got going on there is making some salt and vinegar crisps with mayo and cheese sandwiches nice and simple I think it sounds delicious [Music] after a quick lunch stop we make our way and head for Masuma Dam the Reds and huangi are just how any Overlander would prefer them but for the off-road Enthusiast driver no low rider sedans and huangi that's for sure [Music] expect gravel roadway shots on low-lying bridges corrugations on straight to Road sections and the odd Rocky art crop section loving it is an understatement as I finally get to explore more of this area in hwangi [Music] so we've just come to a real magic spot in fact I think I saw this spot on 5410's YouTube video and on Andrew Saint Pierre White's video and it is just stunning and that is Masuma Dem if you come to huangi I reckon early morning if you can make a beeline straight to Masuma Dam it is a high of all activity there are 18 hippo in the stem and they are what looks like to be four super crocs with one of them being the absolute Croc boss of bosses it's a massive Croc animals come down here to drink we've got three white-headed bulges just drinking the fresh water that's pumped up from the borehole and uh replace what an absolute place to be I reckon we should have just hit it here first Harry's yeah it's incredible yeah we're just enjoying and I hope you are too this is fantastic simply fantastic put some Impala coming down to drink and the big boy clock is moved and the big boy Croc The Croc boss has moved she was because he's a tank thank you [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] I've been sitting here for about an hour I'll tell you what happened was the big Crocs they pull into the water and they started looking like they were taking up position at key points around the dam and uh I'd say 10 minutes 15 minutes after they got in the water all the animals started coming in we've had Kuru waterbuck warthog Impala essentially all coming to Masuma Dam midday to drink water that's it's fantastic baboons like I think the biggest troop of baboons I've ever seen came through drinking water it's borehole Fed so it's got a pump there's fresh water coming up from the ground so the one crocodile has positioned itself in such a way that anything that likes fresh clean water is in a death trap for sure she's she's right on the edge and every time the baboons came past or Impala came past she just slowly lowered her in and was waiting but yeah what a place eh head to Masuma Dam you come to huangi you make sure you head to Masuma dammit and and sit here for a good hour two hours I think we could sit here the whole day we can't but we could and it's just spectacular absolutely fantastic [Music] with this being our second night and last one in huangi National Park and having permissions granted by the owners of chakabika to do a spot of wild camping we head back to the lodge and then onwards to what would now be our campsite for the night now named sausage tree campsite spectacular we set up recess ground tent and then head back to the lodge to grab some wood for the night and to show you this amazing private Lodge [Music] thank you it is simply a stunning place and the owners have a slice of Heaven in this fantastic part of the National Park [Music] so there has been a discussion or two on whether or not this Lodge will be opened up as a self-catered lodge to the public and maybe campsites but these things take time all I can say is that what a privilege it is to be able to show you this place and talk about first class [Music] burst five air-conditioned chalets with external showers that overlooks the main man-made water trough the chakabika river and spring Source it has a self-catering kitchen with fridge and freezers an outdoor patio and cozy outside fireplace we really love the spot for its integration in the landscape and wild and as always look forward to getting back and visiting it again [Music] thank you foreign [Music] sausage tree now I think about 90 of its fruit has fallen and I'm just keeping it a little bit done and I'll tell you why just to the left of me is the Chaka Beaker River and if I tell you it's eight meters from where we have camped that's how far it is and we're a bit nervous and on edge because the elephants use this River as number one a highway number two they dig for water in the river sand and they like to drink fresh water we've heard a hell of a lot of elephant activity like grumblings screamings and shoutings further down the river and when we pulled in there were maybe nine elephantia so we're just gonna sit quiet now assess the situation if we don't like what's going on and the elephants don't react to us quite nicely or the way that we're hoping they do we will pack up and go back to the lodge but I tell you what absolutely exhilarating a bit nervous if I'm honest I don't think anyone's camped here hopefully a magic night but stay tuned so fantastic to be in the wengi and even better to be a chuckabika camping it's my brother-in-law Reese who's shivering and shaking behind that camera man I tell you it's next level it's next level but yeah let's enjoy the sunset and the fire all right there is wrong what's going on buddy tell us what's happening here how are you feeling but we are camping in the wild we've had elephants game bananas we had them snorting and trumpeting and growling and farting carrying on it laugh like this one behind us breaking trees eh yeah dude it's like different worlds I don't know if they're happy elephants like I don't think or Dumbo's in the woods that's a bit scary actually it's quite scary not gonna laugh and my biggest thing the biggest fear at the moment because I'm gonna go on tinch so I'm a grand team so I'm close to their feet you're up by their head I don't know which is better I'm trying not to think about it I don't know if I want to open my tendency feet I tell you I had that one Adam Vu campsite then that was really scary man really really scared me I like this one in the bushes yeah they're breaking things I just waiting for it to come running out it's a bit scary [Music] it sounds very close yeah I'll just try and find cheese at a movie and I think they all know we're here we've been hey I think I see our fire and then when I come sit pass tell you I've never seen your eyes this open the whole trip wasted torches yeah torch batteries we're charging other big torches this little torch is gonna die then we're just gonna sit in the darkness where's the elephant [Music] but that one sounds natural so yeah this is as wild as Wild As It Gets I reckon we're busy contemplating we've said we'll leave it to a half past seven to make a decision on whether we stay where do we go and uh I'm beginning to settle down now just just because the elephants aren't screaming and barking and growling as loud as they were earlier I mean it just reverberates right through this whole riverbed I don't know if you've ever heard an elephant screaming proper but it goes right through you hey this goes right through you and we heard a lion actually maybe about 10 minutes ago and quite far off that way far off in the distance stay tuned this is this is something else I feel I feel so worn out from being on AJ yes I tell you what leave a comment what do you think do you think we're making this up do you think you could camp in a place like this that's totally wild where elephants are not really familiar with people are we making the right decision by doing this should we go back to the lodge or should we stay here um by tomorrow all answers will be revealed but by the time you watch this it might be an interesting thing to just think about and if you've watched it then obviously we've made it through the night based on whatever decision we end up making but is this something you look forward to doing like proper wild camping and if so is this something you would do here if you were here and you can smell the elephant I mean if you were here I tell you what it's not the atmosphere of the area I think the atmosphere of the area is pretty cool it's just the unknown the unexpected you know we have this idea that the elephant will pop out any minute and you're right here in front of us yeah and if that's a good thing or a bad thing the like I said the elephants here so far seem very well mannered I'm okay we've got a good fire guy we've got a nice light going and we've got the big torch charging in the background that uh Ace beam x70 I tell you what that thing is an absolute daylight so I think we'll be all right what would you do leave a comment down below and don't forget to smash that like button this is amazing brought to you from huangi buy us 4x4 Ventures taking you on the adventure really has been an adventure for sure but we'll chat later okay so what a night it was we stayed underneath the massive sausage tree down at the pumps at chakabika lodge and now campsite it was awesome I mean we were a little bit worried at the beginning you know with the elephants using that River as a highway and also as a place to get fresh water underneath the sand we were quite worried how they would react to us but as range and yati said who's based here at chakabika lodge elephants can reason and I think he's absolutely hit the nail on the head they can reason they saw that we were in the area and they just behaved which I think is absolutely fantastic could it have gone wrong yeah maybe but I think when we drove in there we realized that it was going to be a good evening and boy it was I think it's the best night's sleep I've had in the last six nights so I take that as I would but this morning we head to Robin's camp and then onwards to Panama Tenga thank you by this stage of any trip we no longer go buy timings between one destination and the other at 18 days in we simply know better the simple fact is that we aim to try and make it to any campsite destination by 3 30 in the afternoon as best case 5 30 at worst [Music] let's head for the Zimbabwe Botswana border post and sure enough wangi isn't done with us just yet thank you [Music] boys we've just come across a lone Bull on the road and he's unhappy he's unhappy is coming out to the road we're just giving him some space here he comes [Music] so probably the second maybe disgruntled elephant we've come across in wanky not really not really too disgruntled what we're just we're just leaving the car in reverse and I've given him a Bible 50 meters 80 meters and uh just to get him used to the side of the car and um yeah just giving him his space and I need to push him and he's walking towards the car but through the bush so he's trying to be clever too so we're just gonna see what he does but yeah he did Bella art he did Bella art and let us know that he's not happy and um it's an adventure but it's real Adventure wanky you get a true sense for Wilderness wild encounters on the road and in Camp and it's just it's exhilarating but you know don't don't push elephants don't ever push elephants rather let the Safari Vehicles do that we've come up with the theory that elephants know the the Safari vehicle Motors they know the sound of the exhaust they they're accustomed to that and as more and more people begin to visit wangi again you know obviously animals being quite skittish now will start to settle and become accustomed to to vehicles and and people visiting so just bear that in mind when you come to places like this and enjoy it you know absolutely enjoy it and just take your time and always remain cautious always remain cautious and we just can't see him now and uh yeah it's quite nerve-wracking but but lacquer at the same time I'm sure we'll Define that what do you think please okay [Music] wonderful [Music] foreign [Music] we are back in Botswana and I'll tell you what it's just because of the Sun and because of the heat I didn't really film the crossing over through the Panama Tenga water post but let me tell you something what a border post small quaint a lot of tourists going through that border post the road from the Zimbabwean side to Robin's camp is in okay condition we saw an ix35 Hyundai ix35 traveling on the road so it's okay and a lot of tourists crossing over from Botswana into Zimbabwe and vice versa so a nice quaint little border post and really really quick we have just filled up at Panda matenga again a massive shout out to this Trip's sponsor serith Logistics thank you guys for your support and helping me get out on this adventure absolutely without your guys help it's a truck that just would never have happened we're on our way now to Elephant Sands the place it all started let's get there or chat then but so far good to be back on nice solid Thai roads in Botswana and really fortunate to do that because I tell you some of the roads we've driven been really hardcore so be happy with what you've got when you've got it and make the most of things you have no idea about and just try and enjoy as I always say good to be back in Botswana love this place love elephant Sands let's get there and I think Rhys time for some food because we didn't eat last night on account of all the elephants maybe a cold beverage because again we didn't have one last night on account of the elephants it's so good to be back in Botswana in any kind of sad to be leaving and almost ending a trip like this an exploration of true proportion but we've still got one more night of epic elephant sightings and wild encounters looking forward to it we are here at elephant Sands we are enjoying a Sunset and the elephants are using the elephant Corridor to move freely in and out to the Waterhole that is situated right on the doorstep of the reception area and bar it is spectacular I tell you I always love coming to Elephant Sands it might be a bit overcrowded at times but if you get the right campsite this place just simply is a special special spot so this trip we have spent 113 hours in the car we have done 4637 kilometers at this point we have used 669 liters of diesel and we have traveled through not one but four different countries we started in South Africa drove through the Eastern side of Botswana entered the western side of Zambia and made all our way over to the middle of Zambia where we entered into Zimbabwe the western side of Zimbabwe we travel from North right through to the South where we exited at wangi Panda matenga border post into Botswana and we are here now 20 days two people one vehicle and simply enjoying an expedition unlike I've ever had truly New Roads we've adventured new places we've seen Game reserves and Wildlife areas I've only heard about in magazines and to be honest it's been one of those special special trips for me a trip I'll never forget got an elephant that's just passed me on my right shoulder [Music] I suppose that kind of sums up this whole trip really wild Encounters in Wild places great to meet so many Fantastic overlanders on our route and Journeys and nice to get to chat to them and find out their roots and where they've been to more importantly how they found over Landing in Africa and generally the consensus is it's absolutely a once in a lifetime opportunity where the real Spirit of over Landing is and that's in Africa we have and share one commonality between all of us and that is the world to Adventure the world to drive and explore to utilize and being self-sufficient out of the vehicle wherever we go and that has never run more true than on this trip I'm Ryan Crocker and this has been another 4x4 Ventures episode where I take you on the adventure stay safe keep tracking and until the next one enjoy I'll see you out there and as always I look forward to it from here at elephant Sands just a big thank you to my patreon Legends thank you for your support sign up to my patreon link down below in the next episode in this little segment we're going to do something a little bit different I thought to get my brother-in-law to ask five questions that maybe you want to ask take it away buddy I answer some questions about over Landing in Zambia and Zimbabwe as if I'm going to throw in a lot of money now realize not easy [Music] what do you find the big differences between them which one's been your favorite so far which National Park is best the differences I think the strange thing is is that and risk catches me off guard as a full-time YouTuber how is love and how can us as fans help you wow that's a big question man this one coming soon

Channel: 4x4ventures

Views: 116,463

Keywords: overlanding, overlandingoffroad, 4x4offroad, overlandinglife, 4x4ventures, 4x4venturessouthafrica, adventure, offroadadventures, wildaadventures, overlanding africa, botswana, zimbabwe, zambia, overlading southern africa, overlanding zambia, zambia travel, adventure zambia, explore zambia, kafue national park, lower zambezi national park, lower zambezi zambia, exploration, kariba, matusadona, matusadona national park, hwange national park, overlanding zimbabwe, off road adventures

Id: of3MSnkJfhw

Length: 93min 49sec (5629 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 01 2023