Andrea’s Adventure at Somalisa Camp

Somalisa Camp, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

During a recent stay in Hwange National Park, our valued guest Andrea Wiegand spent three wonderful days with us at Somalisa Camp. Her time here was filled with memorable wildlife encounters, from spotting cheetahs and lions out on game drives to watching elephants wander past camp.

With the help of our experienced and friendly guides, Andrea was able to experience the park in a truly special way. But beyond the wildlife, it was the small moments – the atmosphere in camp, the conversations with staff, and the feeling of being surrounded by nature – that made her stay particularly meaningful.

We’re beyond grateful that Andrea chose to spend part of her safari with us, and we’re delighted to share a glimpse of her time at Somalisa Camp. Read on to discover more about her experience.

Day 1 | Part 1

Greeted by Elephants

Every mile of the journey to get to this place is worth it! Yes, it takes days to get here, but it just makes the “homecoming” so much sweeter. This time, we had the pleasure of traveling with our friends and my parents. It makes me so happy that we get to share this corner of the earth with others and watch them experience the magic of Africa.

Instead of traveling through Europe, we took a flight from Bloomington to Atlanta, and then a 15-hour flight directly to Johannesburg. We then spent one night in Johannesburg at the Intercontinental Hotel across from the airport. We all slept a few hours but were definitely struggling with jet lag. At 11 the following morning, we flew to Zambia, crossed the border into Zimbabwe, and then took a bush plane to the Manga airstrip deep in the heart of Hwange National Forest.

We were picked up by our guide, Calvet, and immediately treated to the delights of Africa: local beverages and amazing animal sightings! We were instantly on our first game drive of the trip, spotting zebra and ostrich right away as we headed to camp. The drive to camp takes about 25 minutes if you’re driving directly there, but, of course, we never made it very far before stopping to marvel at animals, both big and small.

We were greeted at camp by a herd of elephants and our host for our stay, Emmanuel. The entire staff sang and danced to welcome us! We then enjoyed a refreshing ginger drink and were shown to our tents, where we dropped our things, freshened up, and then headed back up to the main tent for tea before heading out on an evening game drive.

Day 1 | Part 2

Cheetahs and Lions

After leaving Somalisa Camp, we headed out on a game drive with a mission to find a spot to have our sundowners. We found a lot more than that!

As we entered the open savannah and started scanning, Calvet put down his binoculars and told us he had just spotted two cheetahs. I was shocked! We have never seen a cheetah at this camp, and it is especially rare to see them during the green/rainy season, but there they were.

We quickly drove over to them and marveled at their beauty. They walked a short way and then sat down under the shade of a tree that also offered them a higher vantage point.

As we sat studying them, my dad suddenly said, “I see a lion!” Sure enough, this majestic beast strode toward us through the tall grass. He must have smelled the cheetahs because he came straight to us.

The cheetahs sat on high alert, watching the lion approach. At one point, the lion laid down and watched them. As soon as the cheetahs became uncomfortable, they got up and started to run away. And then, the lion gave chase! The lion didn’t have a chance of catching the cheetahs, but he was showing them dominance over the territory and wanted to chase them off. In one of the still frames, you can see the lion and the cheetahs both running in the distance. It was insane to watch!

Eventually, the cheetahs left, and the lion laid back down. We moved off to have our sundowners while watching the sunset and the elephants. We couldn’t stop marveling at what an incredible sighting we had just witnessed.

For our first night in the bush, this set a high precedence for our trip! Not only did we see the rare cheetahs and a phenomenal example of the King of the Jungle, but we got to see them interact. It was so special, and I loved getting to witness it with this group.

Day 2 | Part 1

The Birds

If your idea of vacation is sleeping in with no alarms and lazing the day away, this is not the adventure for you. Our morning wake-up call came at 5 a.m., with one of the staff members saying, “Good morning, good morning,” outside our tent and sliding hot coffee and hot chocolate into our butler’s hatch to enjoy while getting ready. Our host told us that it’s a little something to incentivize us to get up. By 5:30, we were headed down for breakfast in the main area by the campfire. They offer a continental breakfast and also a small number of dishes you can order the night before. I, of course, opted for the omelette. At around 6:15, we were headed out on our game drive.

I have been pleasantly surprised at how many people in our group are really enjoying the birds. Africa changes you, and one of those ways may be birding! The birds are plentiful and everywhere. The first bird shown is a Blacksmith Lapwing, then a Green Wood Hoopoe taking flight. Do you recognize the next bird from The Lion King? That’s a yellow-billed hornbill, though we started calling him Mr. Banana Beak. The final bird is the Ground Hornbill, the largest of the hornbill family.

Calvet spotted a dung beetle on the path, so we all got out to learn about the dung beetle and how it works.

We then came across a single male elephant out for a morning stroll and drink and enjoyed watching him use his trunk to suck up the water and deposit it into his mouth.

On our way to the open savannah area, Randy spotted a beautiful tree he wanted to photograph. He asked Calvet if he could get out and then proceeded to sit down in the grass for the right shot. Calvet said, “He didn’t even check for snakes!”

Once we made it to the open grassland, we started seeing an abundance of wildlife. We saw two beautiful male wildebeests that had stayed back from the herd, which had migrated away to protect their territory. We also saw impala and baboons. The animals flock to this area because of the natural mineral deposits in the soil. It was a great start to our day.

Day 2 | Part 2

Leopard-Eye Dan

Dan has officially earned the title “Leopard-Eye Dan” for some incredible spotting. As we were sitting watching vultures in a tree, Dan was scanning the horizon with his binoculars. Out of nowhere, he very calmly said, “There’s a leopard between those two trees out there.” It could have been as nonchalant as saying, “Look, another impala.”

My honest reaction was, “No way!” I thought it could have been the two cheetahs we saw the night before that hadn’t left the area, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought we could have seen two cheetahs, two male lions, and a leopard all within 18 hours of arriving at Somalisa.

But sure enough, positioned between the two trees in the second photo, you can barely make out the leopard scanning the area. I snapped this shot quickly, with my camera zoomed in to full capacity, right before we started to drive toward him. Russell thought the leopard was probably at least half a mile away when Dan spotted him. Incredible!

Calvet warned us that by the time we reached him, he would have probably run off. And so, when we arrived by the trees, it wasn’t a total surprise there was no leopard waiting for us. We waited in the area for a bit, scanning the trees and looking around. I think we had all given up when Calvet said, “Now I’ve spotted a leopard too!”

We were thrilled! Although we couldn’t get very close because there was no path and the leopard was very shy, we slowly crept off-road toward him. He watched us the whole time, and when we got as close as he would allow, he slipped down the tree, gave us one final glance, and disappeared into the tall grass. It was thrilling!

After leaving the leopard area, we circled back to see the two male lions that were sleeping in the open savannah. Pretty soon, we spotted a group of male kudu and headed over to check them out. As we left the open area, we happened upon a knob-billed duck puffed up with his neck folded to protect himself from the rain. We made our way to a picnic site to have our morning tea and coffee, and Randy and Calvet started singing the song on this post.

Day 3 | Part 1

Elephants and Giraffes

Another beautiful morning in the bush! It was a bit rainy, so instead of having breakfast around the fire pit, we ate on the upper deck. Before heading out, the sky had turned beautiful shades of gold and pink. We took the opportunity to get some group photos, which Russell loved.

Almost instantly after heading out, we hit a “traffic jam.” A whole family of elephants was hanging out on the path. There were a few adult females and lots of babies of varying ages. The adolescents were the ones blocking the road, and it was so fun to watch them! They liked to bluff a lot and pretend they were tough and in charge. There was even a teeny tiny baby elephant!

Once the elephants cleared off the path, we drove on. We were on a mission to find giraffe, but were pleasantly surprised by everything else we came across. We found a female kudu very well disguised next to a dead tree stump, and a beautiful European Roller with an aqua-blue head and breast.

We entered the forest looking for the Rocket-Tailed Roller and Roan Antelope, and lo and behold, we found both! We have only seen a Roan Antelope on one other trip, so this was a very special and rare sighting. There were two adolescent males hanging out in the woods, very skittish. Suddenly, a large bird flashed across our path—an Eagle Owl. As we tried to determine where it landed, Elli said, “There’s another one on the right!” Sure enough, there sat a “baby” eagle owl, staring at us with huge eyes.

We continued on our quest and soon came across a giraffe, though not quite like we’d hoped. Beside the path lay a giraffe carcass, with hyenas and vultures feeding. It was a great opportunity to see the hyenas, who are also very shy.

We finally found giraffe tracks and knew they were close. They were fairly hidden in the trees, so Calvet suggested we get out and try to get closer on foot. Unfortunately, we scared them while in the thicket, but in the end, they flushed out of the woods and back onto the path, where we had a better view.

After finding the giraffe, we headed back to the lodge for lunch and siesta. I enjoyed fish with a wonderful homemade tartar sauce.

After lunch, we spent a little time in the pool because it was hot! The water was cold, but it felt refreshing. We all went back to nap, and I fell asleep in the hammock on our deck before being driven back inside by the rain.

In the afternoon, during another game drive, we got to meet the owner of African Bush Camps, who happened to be in camp to kick off the guide training happening at the adjoining camp. I asked Beks if there was an age minimum for bringing a child, and he said no! I think as soon as I’m ready to brave the flight with a child, we will be there.

Day 3 | Part 2

African Wild Dogs

As we were headed out on our game drive, a few guides from the next camp over, who were completing their guide training, radioed to let us know they had seen African wild dogs run through their camp. We were ecstatic! We decided to try and track them down.

We followed their tracks and directions from the other guides, but ended up going in circles. Finally, another guide said he had seen them back near the camp again. As we circled back and followed the road into camp, we caught up to them trotting on the path. They were in the mood to hunt, moving quickly, stopping periodically to rest, then continuing.

As we watched, we noticed impala running in a different direction. Calvet commented that there must be another predator in the area that scared the impala, because the wild dogs were not near them yet and the impala would not have picked up their scent.

We circled around the camp and soon came across the two male lions that we had seen the day before. They were lying calmly on the road and had not yet noticed the wild dogs. Soon, we saw the wild dogs in the distance, and Calvet got excited. “These lions are going to smell the dogs and chase them!”

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before they picked up the scent. The lions entered stalk mode. We watched as they approached, the dogs realized they were there, and ran away. At this point, we were smack dab in the middle of Somalisa Expeditions. Can you imagine staying in that tent and looking out to see a lion standing there?

With the dogs chased off, we started following the lions. It was clear they were heading to our camp next. They had split up for the chase, so the dominant male was calling to the second lion as he walked along the path. It was incredible to hear them calling to one another so near us.

We made it back to camp and stood on our deck, watching the dominant male walk past. It was quite thrilling!