#VisitZimbabwe: Rebuilt Somalisa Camp officially launched

My journey to Somalisa Camp and Somalisa Acacia began last Friday (8th January)  when the  5:15 am woke me up. I showered, finished packing and subsequently left for Harare Domestic Airport. My wife dropped me off as I met fellow travel companions.

Some of the travel companions included representatives from Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), Zimbabwe National Parks (ZimParks), Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Tourism, Ross Kennedy from Africa Albida and Honourable Minister Walter Mzembi and his wife.

We left Harare Domestic Airport upon boarding a flight directly to Hwange National Park to visit Somalisa, part of the African Bush Camps portfolio. The flight lasted an hour and 45 minutes as we cruised at ‘approximately  11,000 feet’. The sky was clear as we initially flew above Lake Chivero and Darwendale Dam.

Two planes  were set  to fly out  to Hwange that morning and I was privileged to be in the first one.

As we approached Manga in Hwange National Park, we caught a glimpse of our destination – Somalisa Camp. Within a few minutes, our pilot Donald had landed the plane. The attentive Somalisa team including Founder and CEO, Beks Ndlovu were on hand to welcome us as we arrived.

Shortly after our arrival, the second plane landed as Honourable Mzembi, his wife and other officials disembarked. We proceeded towards our final destination – Somalisa Camp after we had stopped by a watering pan and witnessed a parade of elephants enjoying an afternoon mud bath.

The entire Somalisa team welcomed us as we arrived into camp – such a warm welcome! The programme started almost immediately with a welcome speech from Beks. Other guests including Chief Nelukoba from Mabale Village and local officials from the ZimParks were all in attendance. Beks narrated the Somalisa journey and shared how he and his wife applied to ZimParks for the concession to set up Somalisa Camp pre-2006. In 2007, they welcomed their first guests and have successfully grown the business to include other camps throughout Zimbabwe and Botswana. Approximately $3 million was spent on the Somalisa Camp rebuild. Beks spoke passionately about the organisation, African Bush Camps and the foundation work they support.

Duncan, African Bush Camp’s Project Manager shared details of some of the upgrades which included a $275,000 investment in the electrical installation, solar hot water systems and reticulation, including a $80,000 in a sewage treatment plant aimed. Duncan also shared how they are planning to reduce their effect on the nature environment by switching from diesel generators to solar by the end of January 2016.

We took a tour of the camp as Duncan showed us the ‘behind the scenes’ of Somalisa which included the refurbishment the sewage treatment plant. The aim is to recycle the water that is used throughout Somalisa. Currently, the team is waiting for the water to be tested before they recycle this water especially for the animal pans in camp.

The tour continued as we drove across to Somalisa Acacia where Mrs Mzembi officially opened and cut the ribbon allowing the invited guests including the Chief to officially tour the rest of Somalisa.

We turned our attention to Somalisa Camp where Honourable Minister Mzembi would officially cut that ribbon. Once that was done, we sat down for lunch. After waking up earlier than usual, travelling across the country and the intense heat, we were definitely hungry. Most of us retreated back to our rooms for the ‘afternoon siesta’ and regrouped at approximately 3:30pm for High Tea.

A local group, Ingonyama entertained us with their singing, dancing and animal impressions throughout High Tea. Scotch egg, chocolate cake and ice tea were amongst my favourite food being served. Be warned, the team at Somalisa are constantly feeding you. On my visit, I can’t  even recall  a single moment I was  hungry.

We left for the afternoon game drive shortly after High Tea. The last time I was at Somalisa, we saw lions on both game drives. I wasn’t disappointed this trip either. We saw  many elephants, some many young, recently born elephants. There’s something special about seeing elephants in their natural environment. Huge animals that move quietly with their feet in unison.

For our sundowners, the team at Somalisa found a spot right in front of a watering pan where some elephants would come, drink their water, and leave. Some of the elephants, curious by our large gathering would stop and stare at us.

As the sun set, we prepared our journey back to camp. The sunset was right in front of us as we headed towards camp. Just before we got there, we could see a huge number of elephants in the distance close to and walking towards the pan right outside Somalisa Camp.

After we arrived, some of us went to the deck chairs right in front of where the elephants were drinking. To be standing less than 5 metres from these magnificent creatures as they drank the water, is an experience I would encourage others to have in their own lifetimes. One less item on my bucket list! We had our drinks served while we took all this in. The elephants would drink the water and make way for others in the process.

Dinner was served with the elephants drinking in the background. There was so much conversation around the dinner table as we shared experiences and thoughts about the day we just had. After dinner, some retreated to their rooms to relax. Others like me, continued in discussion and enjoyed our night cap before retiring for the night.

I got up really early the next morning. We were leaving in a couple of hours – back to reality. I packed my bags and went to the lounge area. I had my usual morning coffee while I waited for the others to join me for breakfast.

Shortly after breakfast, we said our last goodbyes and the Somalisa team saw us off as we drove back to Manga to catch our flight back to Harare. Shortly after we took off, our pilot Donald pointed out the Somalisa Camp below on our left. An hour and half later, we had landed in Harare and back to our reality with Somalisa still on my mind…