THE HEART OF THE ZAMBEZI VALLEY PUT ON ITS WARMEST WELCOME FOR SOME VERY SPECIAL FANS

The latest Walk Update from James Egremont-Lee,
ZEF's Executive Director:
What an amazing journey this has been! The last two weeks of travel from Charara through to the Sapi boundary have been simply outstanding.
Our team of students from the UK completed the most rugged section of the walk in six days, with team leader, Wilf Evans, capturing their experience in his own words. From their exit at Rukomechi, the pace of the expedition slowed purposefully, in order to indulge our two subsequent teams in the heart of the valley, Mana Pools.

Our team of six – the Hacking family, Dr Tim Evans and his son Wilf – spent a full 48 hours exploring, from Wilderness Destinations Ruckomechi Camp, the concession by foot and from the immaculate game drive vehicles provided.
The concession is famous for its resident lions and these did not disappoint!

Four separate sightings of lion and an extraordinary 40 minutes spent watching this female leopard were an indication of how extraordinary the area is as a wildlife spectacle.

The team continued downstream, enjoying three extended walks, each close to 20km distance covered.

Many thanks to Nick and Des Murray at Vundu, Steve and Debbie Bolnick at Camp Mana and the legendary Stretch Ferreira at Goliath Camp for their fantastic hospitality.
At each camp we were so impressed by the friendly and professional staff that represent the very best of the Zimbabwean safari industry.

Our walks through Mana Pools reminded us of why it is that this piece of the Zambezi protected complex is so important. Despite the real concerns over the demise of the iconic Albida woodland, the alluvial steps along the Zambezi river, framed by the backdrop of the Zambian escarpment hills, still ranks as one of the world’s most spectacular vistas.

On day three of Mana, we were joined by ZEF founder, John Stevens, who continued with daily walks all the way downriver to Chikwenya. It is always an extraordinary privilege to walk with John, who has spent much of the last 40 years in the Zambezi Valley.

GET IN TOUCH IF YOU'D LIKE TO VISIT MANA!

IN THE PRESS

At Robin Pope Safaris’ John’s Camp, a new team joined us and we were delighted to welcome Sir Richard Branson, along with some of his family and friends. With the conservation of the Zambezi landscape foremost as a conversation topic, we have enjoyed some wonderful discussions on the subject, benefitting from fresh eyes and opinions from a team that include some extraordinary minds.

John guided our final walk of the expedition that took us from a delightfully remote mobile camp, set up by Natureways, into Wilderness' Chikwenya Camp, where we prepare for the final stage of the Trans-Zambezi Walk for Wild Expedition; taking to canoes to paddle the Sapi and Chewore sections of the Zambezi into our destination, Kanyemba.
Hippos here we come!

Thank you to the Hacking family, to Dr Tim and Wilf Evans, to Sir Richard Branson and your family and friends for participating in this important endeavour. Through the Trans-Zambezi Walk for Wild Expedition, ZEF aims to share a unique perspective of the work being done on the ground by a range of contributors — those impacting the solutions and success stories as well as adapting to the ongoing needs of this iconic landscape

Please like/follow ZEF below for more updates!
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PLEASE SUPPORT ZEF'S EFFORTS

The Zambezi Elephant Fund (ZEF) supports the active protection of elephants in the Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe through anti-poaching initiatives and development and placement of systems that ensure the long-term safety of these incredible animals and the security and growth of other wildlife in the area, together with the growth of local communities, protection of the environment and the improvement and sustainability of these efforts.

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