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The Elephant Camp

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

By Jon Mountjoy

January 25^th, 2023

Views of the Falls

After my incredible stay Old Drift Lodge (see my photos, and the lodge website), I got to stay at The Elephant Camp, meet another set of wonderful people, and see some incredible birds & wildlife, which you'll see a summary of here.

I loved the view from the main decking - with the spray from the Victoria Falls in the distance.

One of my first adventures, after watching the sun rise from my accommodation (and looking forward to the afternoon sun in which to enjoy the pool), was to hike through some of that area with a guide. As you can see, the guide was armed, just in case.

It has a lovely tributary running through it, and it's there I spotted the absolutely gorgeous cinnamon-breasted bunting, as well as waterbirds such as three-banded plover and wood sandpiper. A pair of fish-eagles hid away in the distance, and I also saw a hamerkop.

My "tent" had a nice pool with a fabulous view

The odd-looking hamerkop ("hammer head", translated)

Village indigobird, southern black-tit,

We took several drives around the lodge, and every time we saw a number of different birds. Here's the results of one of those drives: I saw several village indigobird, but it wasn't until I got a good shot of one up close that I thought it a pretty bird. (I think it is the village, and not the purple indigobird). Also spotted, the odd-looking white-crested helmetshrike, goliath heron, violet-backed starling, Southern black-tit, blacksmith lapwing, and what I think is a beautiful European bee-eater, sitting on the wrong side of a branch.

I loved these fulvous whistling-duck, spotted from the deck of The Elephant Camp.

The Victoria Falls

While staying at The Elephant Camp, I also visited the Victoria Falls, both to look at the falls, and to find Schalow's Turaco. Visit my Victoria Falls Gallery to see much more.

Green woodhoopoe, having lunch

When I stayed at Old Drift Lodge I saw a few green woodhoopoe from a distance, silhouetted. It was impossible to get a good shot. As it was the first time I'd seen the bird, that made me a little sad. However, while staying at The Elephant Camp, I saw this magnificent specimen! It sat still long enough for me to capture this little video of lunch going down.

Emerald cuckoo, firefinch, bearded woodpecker & more

One day we were on a drive, and Wonder heard the call of African emerald cuckoo. I'd never seen one before, and was overjoyed when we eventually spotted it. It's the not the best photo, but the weather was pretty poor, and I was very content.

Also spotted, village weaver, red-billed firefinch, yellow-bellied greenbul, little bee-eater, a fabulous bearded woodpecker (female), lilac-breasted roller, and a red-backed scrub-robin in the acacia.

One day, when returning from the Zambezi gorges, I saw a distinctive swoop - it was an African cuckoo which I'd only ever seen from a distance. A great deal of manoeuvring of the 4x4 got me this shot, which made my day.

Sundowners over the gorgeous gorges

The Elephant Camp overlooks the Zambezi gorges, and I took every opportunity to visit. The visits were almost always accompanied by a table of snacks and drinks. It's hard to beat looking at this amazing scenery while sitting on a chair, drinking a G&T.

Umpholokoqo & other food

One of my favourite foods is umpholokoqo, a simple maize meal porridge - with some butter and hot milk. Chef Nicholas, and Rutendo (pictured below), were kind enough to make it for me - thank you so much. I ate like a king every day.

Other creatures

While I tend to primarily focus on birds, there were many other kinds of creatures about, including chameleon, banded mongoose, skink (I think), warthog, wildebeest, impala, waterbuck, some kind of leaf insect, and elephant.

Chamabondo excursions

While staying at The Elephant Camp and Old Drift Lodge, we went on an excursion each to the nearby Chamabondo, where we saw some fabulous wildlife, include spotted hyena and my favourite, the three-banded courser. Included in the shots below, Bradfield's hornbill (which make a very un-hornbill like sound), white-backed vulture, a buffy (or perhaps plainbacked) pipit, crested francolin and a beautiful swainson’s spurfowl.

The beautiful and cute three-banded courser

Elephants

Giraffe, zebra & sable antelope

Brown snake eagle, Kori bustard, groundscraper thrush, Eurasian hobby, black-winged kite

On one drive, I spotted a pair of brown snake eagles in the distance. Luckily, they stood still for quite some time and we were able to drive a little closer. I really like this shot, and would love to know what the eagle on the left is doing with its claw.

I was also pleased to grab the groundscraper thrush, my first, as we exited the park at dusk. The Taita falcon we spotted from a great distance away - it never got any closer - but it's not too often one gets a sighting at all. The black-winged kite (black-shouldered) is always a treat, and the Kori bustard was hard to miss as it ran around in the tall grass.

Spotted hyena

We were very lucky to discover these spotted hyena in Chamabondo. The cubs are so cute.

People

While the location and the fauna and flora all contribute to a stay, at the end of the day it's the people that make or break it. The staff at The Elephant Lodge were fantastic, going out of their way to help me have a fabulous time.

Many thanks to Irene & Himel for their organisation, Wonder who contributed so much to these photos, Rutendo for always making sure I was doing okay (and for the fabulous Umpholokoqo), Charles, Moses, Tinashe, Ben, Avanda, Prosper, Khani, N’daz, chef Nicholas, Zinguy and Richard for the lovely food, Becky, Masilela and many more. Thank you.