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NB: Our visit to Chitake was in August 2022 – this blost post is just getting posted very late!

Chitake Springs is within Mana Pools National Park, but it is an entirely different experience than the riverfront, where most visitors spend their time. The Chitake area is dry miombo woodland, comprised primarily of jesse bush and mopane, punctuated by fig and baobab trees. The springs themselves lie in bottom of the usually dry Nyadara riverbed are the only water source for many miles. 

Because of this, all the resident animals must come to drink from the springs, and a pride of lions and other sundry predators have set up shop, knowing that their prey must come to them.  Reportedly, there is a large pride of lions in residence who kill daily to sate the hunger of their large numbers. 

Chitake is raw African bush; hot, dry and infested with tsetse flies. There are four campsites in the area. There area has almost no roads for game driving. Instead, it is a place to go and be in the wild and see what you can see at the springs. We bumped into the guide we had met at the lions again, Stretch Ferreira, and when he heard we were headed to Chitake he advised us to find the fig tree on the embankment above the springs and to have patience and sit quietly there all day, to let the game come to us. 

The brave might muster themselves to do their own bush walk, but here the scrub is thick and visibility poor. A pride of lions might be behind any bush. In 2010 a camper was killed by lions here, memorialized by a small plaque on the fig tree by the springs. In that case, the victim went a short distance from his fellow campers to shower in privacy at dusk. Certainly, this story loomed in our minds as we camped at Chitake. We always stick close to the vehicle, particularly at dusk and darkness.

We couldn’t get this notion of seeing game on foot out of our heads, but we also weren’t confident enough to waltz up to anything, leaving us with this idea that an opportunity was passing us by. Clearly, walking with the Zimparks rangers was not going to get us there; Allan, our ranger from the morning bush walk, had studiously avoided going near any animals, and this echoed what Stretch had told us to expect as we had chatted the night before (he was one of the vehicles camped out at the lions in the grass the evening before). Allan had mentioned that some guides do close approaches, calling out Stretch by name, who we had learned was famous for getting his clients very close to elephants. Allan shook his head in disapproval, noting that Stretch’s luck would eventually run out, and either he or a client would get killed. 

I can’t comment on that, only that Stretch has been in the bush since the Bush War in the 1970s, and Allan has been a ranger for five years. I will say that upon hearing that, our first reaction was, “Well, I guess we better sign up for a Stretch safari before anything happens!” Thus, the seed took hold that perhaps we might try to join a professional safari after our time at Chitake. 

Driving out to Chitake is a routine affair, head back towards the gate and suffer through corrugations, continue inland at the Nyakasikana checkpoint and take the turnoff (perhaps even signposted!). 

About two kilometers of bush track brought us near the springs. The road was a bit rougher and went through a couple of dry dongas. As we approached the first campsites before the river, we saw a tragic sight: a single Land Rover being loaded onto a flatbed, no doubt with some terminal condition while there were two Land Cruisers parked in camp. 

We drove on, down a steep riverbank, across the dry sandy riverbed and up the other side, which seemed like it’d be rough going if you had a trailer. This brought us to the famous fig tree, and we stopped to peek at the springs and see if there was any action, scoping out our surroundings for the next few days. There was no action at the springs, so we headed up to our campsite at Chitake Baobab.

The Chitake Baobab site lies about one kilometer south of the springs themselves, on the top of a hill adorned with about a dozen mature baobab trees. There is no specific campsite per se, but plenty of logical spots to set up. The general lack of scrub and brush meant no tsetse flies, which is nice; I have heard others being terrorized for their entire stay. There are no facilities at all. 

We still had some time, so we continued to explore the area. Chitake No. 2 was reportedly booked, but nobody was there so we stopped in for a look. This camp is the closest to the springs but lacks the same atmosphere (and shade) of camp No. 1 and the baobab site. 

Given that it was pretty quiet on the game front, we found ourselves timidly cracking the door of safari on foot. From camp No. 2 we took a brief stroll along the embankment above the river. This area has a lot of scrub brush around, and we found ourselves on very high alert. Like a puppy let off the leash that won’t stray far from its owner, a magnetism drew us back to the vehicle in relatively short order.

Chitake Baobab is ideally located for sundowners, and if you camp here, you can expect to get a visit from the campers from the other sites that have no such view. The Land Cruiser guys from camp No. 1 stopped by and they were having a great time. The Land Rover casualty was the culmination of a many-year rivalry between friends, and they were triumphant that they’d finally won, with a token acknowledgment of their friend’s misfortune (and no doubt great expense) of having to get your vehicle recovered from Chitake Springs.

Camp for the evening was magical. We had Mexican mini burritos for dinner by the fire, surrounded by huge baobabs, it was wonderful. There was no sign of the famous Chitake lions yet.

The next day, we resolved to spend the day at the fig tree, watching the springs and lounging about. We made the short drive there and had a leisurely breakfast while sitting in our camp chairs at the riverbank. This spot is perfectly located, affording shade and good visibility of the springs while also being high up on the bank and set back enough to not disturb animals coming to drink. 

It was quiet for a long time. This is a different type of safari experience, and I can imagine that sitting around for hours isn’t for everyone. We did some birding and reading, took a couple of short exploratory walks nearby and drank a lot of coffee.

On the river’s opposite bank is a long ramp of sand that is well-trodden with animal tracks. This is clearly the favorite approach. It was still and hot, and by late morning, we had begun to see dust kicked up by something. Eventually, a large and extremely skittish herd of impala showed up. It took them a long time to work up the courage to come to the springs, and we imagined they had been traumatized by past encounters with lions here. They finally did drink and then were off quickly back into the bush. 

Another hour or two went by, and more dust was being kicked up. We could hear the lowing of buffalo, another famous resident of Chitake. The area supports huge herds, and it appeared they had come for a drink. This, too, took a very long time. They crept forward and peered down toward the spring. They’d stop, shuffle around, and then one or two would take a few more tentative steps down the bank and stop again. The whole process would repeat, with the rest of the herd working closer. When they were only 15 meters from the spring, the herd gave a collective, “to hell with it,” they threw caution to the wind, rushing down to the spring to drink. 

The herd was hundreds of buffalo strong, and it was exciting to watch. They hadn’t appeared to notice us, but we were in the shade with a little bit of scrub to obscure us. We watched a lot of interesting interactions as the herd slaked their thirst. Secretly we were hoping some lions would burst out of the bush to hunt, but instead after a while the buffalos had their fill and retreated back up the riverbank. 

Our last visitor for the day was a lone bull elephant. He, too, took his time making his way down to the springs, first posing for us alongside a baobab tree. 

It was another great night in camp. We returned to the springs in the morning, remembering Stretch’s advice that patience was required here and the game would come to us. We were a teeny bit disappointed; we’d heard from others who complained endlessly about how terrifying Chitake was, that they couldn’t sleep because of the lions roaring right next to their tent all night and how they felt they couldn’t step out of the car since there were lions all over the place. That wasn’t our experience thus far, but it was still a special place.

It was back to the fig tree to stake out the springs today. Not long after, we were joined by a father and son from New Zealand. The son had just completed his guiding certification and internship from the FGASA (Field Guide’s Association of Southern Africa) and was on a father-son trip to Zimbabwe. It was really interesting to talk to someone who had just gone to guide school, and Jenny and I spent the afternoon fantasizing about getting our guide certification. 

We were treated to another visit by a very large herd of buffalo. This time, I spent some time slowly working along the riverbank to get some photos from a different perspective. I was slow and stayed low, dressed in safari khakis, and even from a good distance, the buffalo had their eyes on me and were not happy. I was mindful that if they wanted to, they could easily charge. The advice from our Massai friend in Kenya returned to me, “The buffalo is not a friendly animal.” This is from a guy who would happily walk up to lions on foot. 

The father-and-son duo moved on, and we were then visited by a guide and his client, who were staying at the Chitake site reserved for tour operators.

The guide’s name was Steve, and he was extremely knowledgeable. He generously shared many interesting facts and thoughts with us, his non-clients. Though he was South African, it turned out he had his PhD from UC Davis, which is not far from where we live in California. He had guided in South Africa before but was drawn to the strict standards in Zimbabwe and had come here to test his mettle. 

He had quite a few opinions that we found fascinating. In particular, he smarted at the double standard that the rangers could act as walking guides from Nyamepi HQ, but as a certified guide, he was required to undergo years of training and rigorous tests. The ranger’s training is much briefer and has a different focus. He pointed out that the firearms they carry are not of a high enough caliber to stop a buffalo or elephant and thus serve no real purpose for a walking safari. 

We saw them again at sunset at the Baobabs. He told us that this didn’t used to be a campsite and was reserved as a sundowner spot. Then, the park started using it as an overflow campsite, and now it is a bookable site at Chitake. He shared a bunch of other interesting facts with us and was clearly excited about all aspects of nature and the environment.

After sunset, we were alone for our final night in Chitake and heard the first roar of lions. They were a long way off, but it was fantastic to hear them. 

As we sat around the fire we talked about what would happen after this. We had no more bookings but we both agreed we needed to stay longer at Mana. Guide Steve told us a couple of tales of wildlife encounters on foot and we got even more excited about the idea of being able to go with a proper guide on foot. It seems the only way to do this is by paying for a high end safari. Steve also had opinions about Stretch Ferreira, whom he knew well, and his stories got us even more excited about the idea of trying to join Stretch for a few days. 

The end of our trip was approaching; we had only three weeks before we had to be in Windhoek and catch a flight home. By now, we had confirmed that we did have jobs waiting for us upon our return (this was not 100% guaranteed when we started this venture), so we resolved to head back to Nyamepi the next day and see if we could blow the budget on a few days with Stretch Ferreira Safaris. 

It was a magical night in camp, the stars were out and we were dreaming big dreams of animals on foot in Africa, lions were roaring in the distance and all was right in the world. Jenny decided to head to bed, and I thought I’d stay up a bit longer and make some notes for the blog. 

After Jenny was in the tent, the lions started roaring more and were closer. Exciting! Another 20 minutes went by, and clear and loud, a hyena started whooping not far away. There was some action in the bush tonight. I moved my chair so its back was against the car so that nothing could sneak up on me. 

Then we heard the call of a leopard, like a rough-toothed cross-cut saw rhythmically sawing through wood. It was loud, much louder than we’d ever heard before. The roar of lions, whoop of hyena and now leopard sawing all felt like they were triangulating in on me. Jenny was making some commentary from the tent on me still being out of the car at this point, and that was it for me; time for bed!

Retreating to the tent, we could hear the leopard’s call traversing around us. It sounded like it must be walking around the baobabs. The lions, too, got closer. It was shaping up to be an exciting night.  

The lions kept getting closer, and when we shined our big flashlight around, we saw a couple of lions walking down the road only ten meters away, heading toward the springs. We counted 13 lions. Fantastic.

The next morning we hoped we’d find the lions on a kill near the springs, but no luck. We lingered a while, but then it was time to head back to Nyamepi HQ and see if we could swing the next phase of our Mana Pools visit.  

The wifi signal at HQ wouldn’t support much, but I found the phone number and we began WhatsApp’ing Stretch’s office. The rate was eye-watering, more than we had guessed. After some back and forth and a lot of agonizing on our part, we negotiated a last-minute price reduction and booked two nights with Stretch Ferreira Safaris, starting that afternoon. 

Wish us luck!

The Nitty Gritty

Bookings

Chitake Springs needs to be booked ahead of time; you’d have to be very lucky to get any walk-in availability. For bookings, you can try your luck with the Zimparks online booking system, or contact Noel Manyerere at nmanyerere@zimparks.org.zw +263 77 749 0390.

Payment will be by bank transfer or wire transfer. When we managed to get our walk-in availability for Chitake, we paid cash at Nyamepi HQ. I don’t remember if they take credit cards.

Campsites

Chitake has five campsites:

• Chitake No. 1 is adjacent to the river (normally dry) and well shaded. According to the booking page this site is $300 night (all sites are a maximum of 6 people).

• Chitake No. 2 is the closest to the springs and this proximity means it’s probably the most likely to get nighttime lion action, if there is a kill at or near the springs. This site is listed at $200/night.

• Chitake No. 3 and 3b are tour operator sites and can’t be booked by the public. These are on either side of No. 1 and are marked on T4A as “Road Closed” and “Picnic spot,” respectively. I have heard that occasionally they allow self drivers to stay at one of these if it is not booked by a tour operator, but it can’t be booked ahead.

• Chitake Baobab, which you have read about, is also listed at $200/night.

Jenny and I debated what we would do if we could come back to Chitake again and price was not a concern. How long would we stay? Which site would we choose? We’d go for No. 1 for seven nights in September or October. It’d be brutally hot, full of tsetse flies, but would maximize animal viewing potential. 

I’d be tempted to split it with No. 2, hoping for some nighttime lion mayhem, but the site has minimal shade, no view and no atmosphere. And it is surrounded by brush; if the lions come, you won’t know until they are on top of you. 

I’d take any site for any duration; it’s a really special place. If you go to book a visit to Chitake, don’t sweat too much about which site is available.

I’m told that Chitake 1 and 3b have longdrops, but we did not see them. The longdrop at No. 2 is abysmal. Be prepared for no facilities; these are bush camps. 

Game viewing

Since our visit T4A has added a “No Entry” marker to the track on the north side of the river. When we visited you could drive a couple of kilometers of this before getting to a “do not enter sign.” If this is no longer accessible, it is a bit of a shame, but really game driving here isn’t the thing to do. The thing to do is to camp by the springs and see what you can see. At camp No.1, you are on the bank of the riverbed, and I expect you’d see wildlife traversing the riverbed to get to and from the springs. 

Depending on the time of year and strength of the springs, the water may or may not make it’s way as far as campsites 1 and 3/3b. Even if it does not make it this far, the animals will no doubt traverse the riverbed to get to the nearby water.

I’m told it’s possible to organize a guide to rendezvous with you to lead on a proper safari on foot, but I don’t know how to do this. If we do make it again we’ll try this, but I would try for a fully certified guide and not a ranger from HQ.

Day Visits

You can day visit Chitake. You need a permit, obtainable at Nyamepi HQ. It’s 56 km and about an hour and a half drive from Nyamepi, so it’s quite a commitment to go out there only for a day. I’m not sure it’s worth it, but on the other hand, if you weren’t able to get a campsite at Chitake and you wanted to experience it, you’d have a good chance of buffalo herds visiting the springs midday, and you’d get to scope out the feel of things and see what all the fuss was about. 

For more reading on Chitake and Mana Pools, I strongly recommend Stan Weakley’s trip report from 2010; still salient.