adminis nevertheless firm.
The elephants tolerate our presence for a few moments. But as soon as their snorkelling trunks sniff us they retreat in polite disgust.
A few metres away, giraffes forage the bush, heads up in indignation above stunted Mopane bush shrubbery.
The shrubbery is level at about two metres high, on a browse line that looks as neatly trimmed as a schoolboy’s new haircut.
At sunset, a lion roars, sending shivers down the spines of every living species nearby, particularly the impala that scamper for dear life and the big baboon that strides to a huge tree with a hunched, swaggering gait.
Stubbornly looking back, the huge baboon barks a loud “boohoo!” as if shouting obscenities to the king of the jungle, before climbing up a tree.
Thereafter, three lions scramble out of the silhouette Mopane shade, but immediately melt into the thicket of trees so fast and silently that not all of us are lucky to see their frosty-brown faces or blurs of tails.
The impalas, kudu and waterbuck bound swiftly out of sight for, behold, the king of the jungle has spoken.
Then there is the appearance of python-like roots of sausage trees alongside the dry banks of Mwenezi River, the main source of water in the jungle. The Mwenezi River itself turns silver and gold with strips of sand and smoothened rocks between steep banks and quiet deep blue pools.
Once in a while a kingfisher eagle hovers over the pool in aerobatics and shatter our illusion with a splash on the murky waters. One fish is gone!
This is Gonarezhou, Zimbabwe’s gateway to the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park and epicentre of jungle life, where untamed wild animals roam wild and free.
Gonarezhou is a perfect theatre of the jungle where those who have not experienced the jungle, save for snippets in fiction films, must go and experience the real Africa.
The national park is situated in the southeastern Lowveld of Zimbabwe and covers 5 033 square km.
Gonarezhou means “the place of elephants” and there are really so many of them here — unless you are cursed, there is no way you can spend a day without bumping into a herd of the giant, grey mounds of flesh.
The park is extremely scenic and full of rugged and beautiful landscapes. Three major rivers — Save, Runde and Mwenezi — cut their courses through the park, forming pools and natural oasis for hundreds of species of birds, wildlife and fish gather to feed and drink.
One of the most prominent and enduring natural features of the park is the beautiful Chilojo Cliffs. The magnificent red sandstone cliffs were formed through eons of erosion and they overlook, imposingly, the Runde River valley.
Then there are the Tababomvu (red) hills, the buffalo bend, Simuwini (the place of the baobab), Mabalauta (the spear-making tree) and Makokwani (the old person), Samalema Gorge, Matombo Pools, Rose Pools — places not to be missed for either game or scenic viewing.
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