As the sun rises on another beautiful October morning, in the Mhara river bush camp concession, the cacophony of bird song like some orchestra brings us to the present.
There is an energy out here that settles us and brings a warmth to our inner core, a feeling of excitement and even apprehension blended with a sense of calm, of tranquillity, a sense of distance from the very complicated world we live in.
The night has been long, and you can almost hear the side of relief as the early sun starts to lift at a lower angle over the horizon, lighting up the baobabs. The haze from countless Bush fires even at this hour creates a veil over the distant baobabs on the ridge, the activities of the previous days and nights is apparent in the riverbed with the spoor of countless elephant and buffalo traversing Chitake sands, even the diggings in the river bed made by the elephant are abandoned at this beautifully, cool and calm time in the morning.
Elsewhere the lioness sits next to the buffalo she killed 2 days ago, guarding it from the watching hyenas that have been pacing around her, trying to intimidate her off the kill so that they can have a feed.
The leopard has drunk his fill in the cool morning air and slinks away like some ghost from the small waterhole into the surrounding adrenaline grass, apparent only by the flick of his tail.
The elephant cows and their young appear through the dust as they move purposely toward the waterhole to drink and perhaps bathe in the mud before the temperature of the day soar.
The wild dog start the day chasing each other playing , but actually probably limbering up for the hunt!
Carmines and white fronted bee eaters flit and flutter in the beautiful light, a whirlwind of colors and noise creating an almost decorative effect in the harsh October colors.
A lone pitta, one of the first in the season sits still in the thickets along the riverine, listening tensely to Africa waking, before letting out his intermittent calls.
Lillian love birds fly in search of feed and in the distance the egrets fly from where the roosted, in search of food , perhaps amongst the elephants and the Buffalo.
This is the Mhara River bush camp concession, and some of the happenings that occur on a daily basis
The brain child and founded by a group of passionate people with over 120 years’ experience in this great valley. Mhara River is a unique experience in wildest Africa, a place for the soul and a place of inner peace
Privacy is fast becoming our greatest privilege!
Tread lightly on the earth
Will Maberly
Mhara River October 2023
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