HI All
I drove down to Gweru late last week to see a few of Softrite’ s payroll clients – I left early, so I arrived mid-morning leaving plenty of time to travel the extra 80km south to the Jabulani Safari camp a short distance east of Shangani.
Jabulani Safaris is set amongst granite kopjes in Savanna country, being home to an abundant variety of plains game from Wildebeest to Kudo, Giraffe, Impala and Eland, with regular sightings of Jackal, Hyena, and the occasional Leopard. There are eight thatched en-suite chalets set in an open plan arrangement spaced appropriately to give each one ample privacy.
It is my strong opinion that school kids in Zimbabwe benefit immensely when taken away either on day trips or weeklong stays in closely monitored school camps that introduce them to the wide variety of wildlife, flora, and fauna that we are blessed to have in several different locations: from Jabulani to Matopos and Nyanga. Jabulani specialises in such camps having a totally separate section with two dormitories plus a separate dining/conference room. Experienced guides give easy-to-understand on-hand descriptions of tree types as well as habits and tracking for assorted antelope.
Hours after my arrival, I, along with two other guests, was taken on a 14km trip to the Nalatalie Ruins. Our fun-loving, yet very knowledgeable guide, TK, stopped a few times along the way to describe interesting features as and when we asked him about them. We started with the bright yellow Msasa Moth caterpillars that I had never seen before! Next stop was to highlight the numerous differences between the Msasa and Munondo Trees that are showcasing both green leaves and pods at this time of the year.
Finally arriving at the site of the ruins we have a fairly strenuous 1.4km climb up granite kopje terrain, once again being given an elaborate explanation into the 3 prominent types of lichen found wherever one encounters granite boulders in Zimbabwe
TK had obviously read up a lot on how the Nalatalie Ruins compared with the better-known Zimbabwe ruins. Of particular noteworthiness was the different designs used in each: The Zimbabwe Ruins just used the “Chevron” pattern whilst those at Nalatalie have a seemingly more meaningful design using 6 patterns, starting with Chevron at the top supported by Bended Iron (used like brickforce for strong support); Herring bone; Chess Board; Broken herring Bone and Cord. TK explained how the ruins were built like a castle giving the “King” an ideal setting to use a “podium” to speak to his tribe.
I only had time to spend one night at Jabulani Safaris, so I did not have any opportunity to experience canoeing in the currently fast-flowing Shangani River or to go on any of their long well-marked hikes in very safe Miombo and Savannah country. Jabulani is yet another great place to take your family for a few nights of detox time well away from cell phone signal or overbearing TV / computer coverage. Click here for more details. Ciao Mike G!