In late May, we were treated to a visit by some friends, Ryan and Karen, who came to Mozambique on a delayed honeymoon adventure. Rich and I had worked with Ryan at the Crane Foundation many years ago (we were shocked how many, we are getting old), and had had the chance to meet Karen on several occasions as well. We spent two great days with them in the Park: Ryan and Rich tried to reach Hippo House and spent the afternoon digging their car out of the mud that blocked them from reaching their destination, a not-uncommon event around here; Karen, Katie, and Ian jetted across to Vinho to see the recently opened health clinic and school there.But the real fun began with our trip to Chimanimani, a beautiful mountainous reserve along Mozambique's western border with Zimbabwe.
We packed into our Nissan double cab (people, like myself, who are fans of carseat and seatbelt laws should avoid counting how many people we were in the car, but at least none of us rode in the truck bed) and headed two hours down the road to Chimoio, the first stop on our journey, where we loaded up on groceries for the trip and tried (unsuccessfully) to purchase the 2008 stickers for our car (which had already been bought by the project for the car but had never materialized). (I should be correct here and say RICH tried for hours to buy these stickers while the rest of us had pastries and cappuccinos. poor rich.) Then we were off, accompanied by a professional colleague of Rich's, Stefaan Dondeyne, the Reserve's as-yet-unofficial ecologist, and (bonus!) his five year old son Sebastian.
The first two hours from Chimoio towards the mountains were uneventful - beautiful scenery, good conversation, much amusement listening to the boys (who had only just met) chatting away in the car and inventing all manner of stories and games.Then we reached the entry gate for the Reserve (one notch down from National Park, but still with reasonable protections), and from here the trip got more adventurous. The road was traverses a rocky, stream-crossed landscape, and nothing but a strong 4wd will be able to make the trip, crossing loose-rock-bottomed-streams and climbing steep, rocky hills. We had several moments of sweaty palms (especially after the sun went down and we were in the dark), but we arrived safely at Chikukwa camp, nestled near the Zimbabwe border high in the mountains.
Chikukwa camp was built about 8 years ago, and Rich and I had stayed here once before in 2001. We "camped" in little chalet we had stayed in during those visit - the perfect accommodation for people who want to go camping but don't have a tent big enough for everyone! The thatch roof kepts us dry and our Thermarest mattresses and sleeping bags kept us warm on the cement floor. The very simple bathroom (a toilet with a bucket of water for flushing and the base of a shower with another bucket of water for washing) was also a nice amenity. But the real show-stealer were the views. We awoke to the calls of birds and the light of the sun rising on the highest peaks of the jagged mountains. The morning mountain air was cold, as you can tell from the fact that Theo is barely visible underneath his fleecy snowsuit (a gift from good friends here that we weren't sure when we use - but it was essential here!),
and the hot coffee in our little camp warmed us down into our toes. And the sun soon warmed us as we headed further up the mountain on foot to the ridge that forms the border between Mozambique and Zimbabwe... (continued in Part II)
