Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Travel guide - Adventures in Manatan National Park, Zimbabwe
Adventures in Manatan National Park, Zimbabwe
I know that Africa is a paradise for wild animals, but it wasn’t until I went to Manatan National Park in person that I finally realized that the real owners of the African grasslands are the wild animals, and I am just a guest. , a little tourist who suddenly breaks into their world, experiences endless surprises, and receives generous gifts from nature. This is a unique opportunity to prepare for life in the jungle. Ever since I arrived in Zimbabwe, people have been telling me about Manatan National Park in the north of the country, a place on UNESCO’s World Natural and Cultural Heritage List. However, it was only recently that the Zimbabwe Tourism Board held an International Tourism Day to promote tourism in the country. After contacting my colleagues and I, we were finally able to go to Manatan for the interview. Different from ordinary interview activities, we not only have to bring the necessary equipment, but also be prepared to live in the African jungle. First go to the pharmacy to buy anti-malarial drugs, because Manatan is located in a malaria-endemic area. If you were unlucky enough to be infected by malaria from one of the tsetse flies there, you would be drowsy all day long and suffer severe brain damage. Just in case, be sure to take medicine before departure and take it for seven weeks. Another is clothing for activities in the jungle. In order not to disturb animals, our clothes must be natural neutral colors, namely green, brown and gray, and absolutely not white or other bright colors. Of course, bring plenty of water, as Manatan is one of the few undeveloped national parks in Zimbabwe and visitors must bring their own drinking water. The multinational expedition team led by Teacher "Pope" set off early in the morning. After driving four hours from Harare, we finally met the tour guide and other tourists. The tour guide’s last name is quite interesting, it means “Pope”. Actually the professional hunting guide Steve is really good. It is said that he is the only guide in southern Africa who can take tourists on walks in the jungle and have close contact with lions and elephants. This is by no means comparable to those tour guides who drive tourists around the jungle. Steve has been in business for 22 years and has worked in at least 10 national parks. He was more familiar with the Chittagong Game Reserve where we were going. He could name plants and trees and knew which animals were where and when. Qualifying as a professional hunting guide is not easy. It usually takes two to three years of training and hunting practice to learn the knowledge of birds and animals in the jungle, as well as the skills to survive in the jungle, how to camp in the jungle, how to drive a three-meter-high and ten-meter-long trailer to walk freely in the jungle, Able to take photos for the safety of visitors and yourself when necessary. Finally, you have to take a hunting exam. Only those who pass the exam can be qualified as a guide. This time it’s more interesting to talk about tourists. Seven people from five countries, an entire multinational expedition. There are Lloyd from Harare, Zimbabwe, and John from Inyang, a South African who drove 60 hours from Cape Town to Manatan alone, Judy who came from California, USA, and a man who just graduated from college and went to Zimbabwe to visit relatives during his vacation. Ralph, a young British boy, and two reporters from China. It is our common love for animals that brings us together here. Most visitors who make eye contact with lions have been on similar adventures. Every time we eat or take a break, what we often do is share animal stories. Lions, bison and elephants are the most talked about. These stories made me want to know more about the amazing wildlife in the jungle, and most of all I wanted to visit the lions. During the day in the sweltering savanna, a group of us hiked through the jungle under the leadership of Steve. Everyone walked very softly and kept their voices as low as possible so as not to disturb the animals. They also had a good chance to get up close and personal with the lions. There are 150 lions in Manattan National Park and 5 in Chittagong Game Reserve, 3 females and 2 males. Lions are not easy to find. Their bodies are almost the same color as prairie hay, except for their ears and tail, which are black. Sometimes we trudged through the jungle for hours without encountering them.
But we finally watched The Lion six times, thanks to Steve, who was really experienced. As he walked, he kept checking the footprints left by the lions on the ground and the freshness of their droppings to determine where the lions had been and how long they had been gone. And he can also listen to the roar of lions, which can travel three or four kilometers. He pays attention to the baboon's tail. When there is danger, many animals such as baboons will raise their tails to warn their companions, which becomes a sign; they will watch for vultures in the sky. Vultures, as scavenging birds, often gather where lions are waiting for prey, hoping that the lions will get a share of the prey. He keeps an eye on the impala's direction. When large numbers of impalas flee in one direction, they must be fleeing some imminent danger. But Steve admits that sometimes lion encounters are a complete mistake. Indeed. This was the third time we saw a lion, and it was the most memorable one for me. Steve was looking at the road to the right when suddenly there was a roar of a lion to our left. Steve was startled, and he couldn't help but fall backwards, and I almost hit him because I was following him closely. Steve quickly motioned to all the tourists to back away slowly. After we stepped back a meter or two, following the direction of Steve's finger, we saw a lion still standing alert, as if it was about to charge at any time, and we were only 20 meters away from it. Everyone was very excited to take pictures because all they saw before were lionesses. Steve whispered to me: "I think he likes you. No one is looking at you all the time." Yeah, no wonder what I saw in the camera was the way the lion looked at me. I took the camera away. At that moment, I looked into the lion's eyes. I sincerely admired its magnificence in my heart.
The most surprising thing is that it means no harm to us, as long as we treat it with respect. Steve told me that as a professional guide, he often patrols the jungle in order to get along with the wildlife. When encountering a lion, he will not run away, because running away will make the lion think that you are going to attack it and will not let you go. He will first let the lion know that he is friendly and maintain eye contact with it, but do not stare at it all the time, which will make the lion think it is a challenge. If a lion is eating its prey, he will never look at it, and then he will not look at the remains of bones left behind after the lion's meal. It is through this respect for the lion that he wins the lion's trust. Gradually, the lions regarded him as part of the jungle life and became more friendly to the tourists he brought. It's really sad that animals know a lot more than we admit. Elephants quietly walked past our tent. Among my favorite animal stories, one about elephants stuck with me the most. A man got so close to an elephant that he thought he was going to die. He immediately fell to the ground, panicking and pretending to be dead. Unexpectedly, the elephant had no intention of harming him. Seeing the man "die" in front of him, he was embarrassed, so he rolled up leaves with his nose to cover the man's body, and then slowly left. One evening, Lloyd and I went to the river to see the animals. A mother elephant was drinking water from the river with her calf, but when we tried to get closer, the mother gave a dull but powerful roar as a warning. We had to slowly retreat because Steve told us that the most dangerous thing here was to upset a female elephant who only had to protect her babies. But on the other hand, elephants are really generous. That night they walked quietly past our tent, as if they didn't want to wake us. Their huge bodies only made a rustling sound as they walked. Think of an elephant as the largest mammal on land. They don't bother humans, some of whom kill elephants for their ivory and then let their carcasses slowly rot in the sun. Really outrageous. Enjoy the gifts of the wildlife world. In the world of wildlife, we are just a bunch of interlopers. But nature here has given us a generous gift. Manatan is divided into several different protected areas. The Chittagong Conservation Area we visited is located in the Zambezi Valley, and our camp was on the banks of the Chittagong River.
Since it is still the dry season, it can be described as "blue sky and yellow leaves". Steve's two assistants were very capable and made the camp simple and comfortable: in addition to tents for tourists to rest, there are also temporary bathrooms and toilets. Speaking of the bathroom, it is actually a folding baffle that stands on the ground and can cover both sides. The remaining two sides face the toilet and the river. A bucket is hung high on the tree, and a shower is installed at the bottom of the bucket. It is a simple and practical shower facility. In order to avoid polluting the river water, tourists are not allowed to use shampoo when bathing. Here, water is life. At night, all the wild animals in Jidaji come to the river to drink water, so we can enjoy the animals in the river while taking a bath. We can also listen to the symphony of animals in the breeze. There are the roars of lions and bison in the jungle, and the shallow calls of red-necked European nightjars, great eagles, variegated crows, long-tailed starlings, red-throated warblers and other birds on the branches. Still remember in the movie "Out of Africa", Dennis told Karen, "In Africa, you can see farther at night than other places, and the stars in Africa are brighter." Maybe it's because it can bring people closer to nature. . When walking in the jungle during the day, vultures circling in the sky, robins chirping in the forest, birds jumping on the ground from time to time, turtle doves, hornbills, and guinea birds are also with us all the time, adding a lot to our trip. pleasure. The impala is a spiritual and extremely sensitive animal. They could hear our footsteps in the distance and jump away. It is a real pleasure to watch them dance, their graceful postures can rival the performances of the best ballet dancers. Baboons are much bolder and more aggressive than impalas. At one point we encountered a lone baboon who didn't mind us at all and sat down in front of a log, completely lost in his own thoughts. Agile meerkats always move in groups. In addition to the birds and animals, the flora here cannot be ignored, especially the baobab trees. The locals call it the "upside-down tree" because its trunk is extremely thick but its branches are dense and thin. Locals say that when God is angry, he plants the tree upside down and leaves the roots on top. The fruit of this tree is very large, called tartar, with a hard shell on the outside and white pulp on the inside. It really looks like a slice of bread. It's sweet and sour when you break off a piece and pop it into your mouth. It is said to be an excellent food to supplement vitamins.
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