Dispatch 29 - The Paradise of Gonarezhou II
The latest expedition dispatch is from the South Eastern corner of Zimbabwe where the team has been delighted by the beauty of Gonarezhou National Park and the communities surrounding it. As always, it's a story best told in Kingsley's words:
The day starts at Svimuwini (Place of Baobabs) on the banks of the Mwenzi River, Minister of environment and natural resources management, Francis Nhema, pulls back a piece of cloth that unveils a plaque on a baobab that officially opens Svimuwini Lodge, green clad park rangers do an official march past, traditional dancers perform, there's a new mood of hope and we are part of it. Adventurer travellers like ourselves are welcome in Gonarezhou, it's a naturalist's paradise and a bird watcher's dream. A great way of getting to Gonarezhou is to travel up through the Kruger National Park, then into the Parque National de Limpopo at Giriyondo, then over the Rio Limpopo on a mopani pole cause way to Mapai and the North following the railway line (it's a good road) to Chiqualaquala / Sango border and across to Gonarezhou. Your support for this area will keep it alive and give it the much-needed boost that it urgently needs. One of the custodians of this Garden of Eden and a man much loved by the Shangaan is a wonderful character by the name of Clive Stockil - he's happy to share his knowledge with you and can organise you specialised 4x4 adventures through the area and give you advise on where to camp and what to see. With the community he's got an exquisite lodge at Chilo overlooking the old dhow-mooring site on the River Savé. We've spent great nights together around the fire and he's agreed that small groups of Die Burger readers can contact him directly by emailing him on clives@senuko.com.
Our journey to link nature, culture and community continues as through the red dust the Landies pull into a gathering at the village of Dhavata where a Gonarezhou themed art competition has grown into a wonderfully festive occasion, it's a riot of colour and dance as Shangani women dressed in their colourful white, pink, green and yellow traditional barberas ballooning out from their hips and matching headdresses and long strings of beads around their necks, dance the chinombela around the Landies. The colourful outfits the married women are wearing are their traditional bridal dresses bought by the groom. They smile and greet each expedition member by the hand. Chief Sengwe, Lisimati Makoti immaculately dressed in his red toga, sash, badges and pith helmet, proudly welcomes us. As part of our Boundless Expedition we are staging conservation themed art competitions throughout Southern Africa's Transfrontier Conservation Areas. Today's event is one of the best with pictures from Dhavata and Gwaivhi Primary schools presticked up against the walls. It's simplicity is endearing - a humble classroom on the banks of the Limpopo has for the morning been turned into a wonderful art gallery. Prizes go to young Learmore Masvanganye for his striking picture of a Gonarezhou elephant, the river and mountains, Sydrick Khambani for his drawing of villagers trying to chase buffalo out of a maize field, indicating the need for the Transfrontier conservation vision to incorporate the communities in and adjacent to these areas. With pencil and crayon Shepard Mathonsi has depicted a sad and tearful elephant who had stepped on a landmine. Panashe Muleliso draws a leopard with a shadow, Maxwell Shivambu art depicts two excellent lions. But smiling little Samuel au Dodza takes first prize, he's used his fingers and a mixture of sand and mud to give his elephant texture, there's even a guinea fowl adorned with real feathers. At the end of the expedition the best art pieces from each of the Transfrontier Conservation Areas across nine Southern Africa countries will be displayed and judged at a Boundless music and art festival at the ICC in Durban. The winner, with a chaperone, will win a week's holiday in Cape Town. Can you imagine, some of these little artists have never even seen the sea.
The party moves to a field, there's the wild rhythmic beating of drums and bobbing of berbaras, young Roderique Masangane recites a beautiful poem about Transfrontier conservation between Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique, the benefits to the community the need to look after the wild animals. Tapping their feet and wiggling their hips to the rhythm, the crowd roars with delight. The drums beat, sticks are pointed skywards and calabash leg rattles shake in the frenetic foot-stomping Muchongolo dance. A whistle blows - quiet, orders the MC as three young school children dressed in maroon uniforms march in. "I have a dream," they recite, "of one day living with the animals, animals sharing with people, of man and animal living together in the great Transfrontier." Next there's a dusty game of volleyball between Sengwe and the expedition team, we put up a good effort but they serve a few aces. "Now it's time for the feast," says lovely Selina, our cultural host who's also teaching us a bit of Shangaan "Hello is 'ausheni', how are you is 'minjani', 'natsaka' means I am fine and 'nikona' is I am happy." Goodbye is really sweet, it's just "bye-bye". We pitch our tents in the chief's compound. Tomorrow we leave for Crooks Corner - Cheers for now, we'll keep you posted.
