Sep 8 – Off to Lake Kariba and Bumi Hills

Lots of action at the water hole this morning so we had to take a few more photos.  Just in case.

After breakfast we were off for a bumpy ride to the airstrip.  Had a few animal sightings along the way including a herd of buffalo at a watering hole.  

The only really interesting was a Pale Chanting Goshawk.  We have seen them from a distance before but this one was in a tree right next to the road.  He had his back to us but we got reasonably good pictures. 

As well as a black kite, up close.   Usually we see the kites and eagles on the wing when it is hard to get a good photograph.  This guy posed for us. 

We arrived at the air strip in plenty of time.  The camp had set up a real bathroom at the air strip.  Such a welcome luxury.

The flight to our next camp was about an hour.  The land was much hillier than we have seen on most of the earlier places we have visited.

And as we got closer we saw a massive lake. This is Lake Kariba, the largest manmade lake in the world.  The Zambezi River was dammed in the 1950’s for hydroelectricity.  It is certainly impressive from the air.

The Bumi Hills resort is by far the most luxurious of the places we have stayed at.  Beautiful central garden with an infinity pool...

The Pool at Night

and the room had great views down to the lake.

More photos of the garden and common areas.

Our room.

We had lunch on the terrace, did some unpacking and headed out for our late afternoon/sunset cruise on the lake.  Hadn’t even left the dock when we saw a pod of hippos in the water.

While it was still light we saw a lot of birdlife along the shore.  

A Pied Kingfisher posed nicely for us. 

The only new bird we saw was a Goliath Heron.  Largest heron, hence, the name.

The most interesting part of the cruise was where we saw a “forest” of dead trees in the water.  There was a large forest here prior to the flooding from the dam.  And so these ghostly trees remain.  Made for interesting photos.

We also stayed out on the water for the sunset.  Lovely sunset with the splendid colors on the water mixed with the trees.

Upon our return from our cruise our guide, Power, piled us back into the safari vehicle for a ride.  We ended up at a spot near the lake where they had set up a bonfire and a bush dinner for everyone in the camp.  There were maybe about 20 guests enjoying the lovely dinner under night skies. 

Some of the staff did some performing.

And the skies were starry.  

A lovely first day at Bumi Hills.