Shungu - kicked to within an inch of his life . . .

Time for another childish post from the wilds of Selous - and this time it is indeed all about kids. In this instance a baby - a zebra baby.

Called Shungu.

He was so young that he still had the remnants of his umbilical chord, and he endured a terrible attack by 2 stallions who tried to kill him. This is normal. When a new zebra stallion takes over a herd - he tries to remove alien genes while at the same time safeguarding against future competition for mares; in this instance 2 stallions banded together and tried to kill one of the foals. (Because of this, a female will often remove herself and her new-born male foal from the herd until it is strong enough to run). A guest on a game-viewing drive managed to film part of the attack, and I will try and get a copy of it.

It wasn't pleasant, but it was nature in the raw.

The guests requested to be removed from the scene, and the guide on the vehicle radio'ed back to Pamuzinda.  The battered foal was picked up by a second vehicle, brought in, and taken to an old dog kennels that we have on the property, where he collapsed to the ground and couldn't move. His eyes were glazed, his breathing was labored, and he was obviously in deep shock.

He was covered with a blanket, and one of the dogs that lives here, Eli - a pointer, stood watch over him for a couple of days, keeping him warm while not allowing any other dogs near.

When the second vehicle arrived, the stallions were still kicking him, and the person who picked him up said he was kicked at least 30 meters in the time it took him to chase off the stallions. It really was unrelenting.

Despite the beating he had taken, he staggered to his feet the second day we had him. . . .

One of the most devastating blows was a kick to the eye which must have left the poor little fellow seeing stars. Certainly he was concussed, and from day one he has been shaking his head as if trying to clear it. As a lion will attest, a zebra has got a really tough skin - and to tear it down to the bone like this, even on a young foal, takes some brute force . . .

That was from a backward kick, and he must have moved his head a fraction because the kick would have been aimed to take out his eye.

One of the stallions took the little foal by the neck with a vicious bite, and threw him several feet into the air; he landed quite a few yards away. There was substantial damage done, and the resulting wounds were deep and painful.

He was bitten in the side as well as his neck, and the stallions kicked him both with their front legs as well as thunderous blows with their back legs - aiming predominantly for his head and chest area. There was absolutely no doubt they were trying to kill him, and his mother could do nothing to stop the assault.

The first positive sign was when he started drinking milk and glucose.

And though Shungu is stronger now, and recovering from the massive beating he took, Eli still keeps a protective eye out for his new best friend.

He was ready to pull me away of he thought it necessary!

We all now think Shungu is going to make it.

The following picture was taken this afternoon - much much stronger than when we picked him up - and though he still shakes his head as though trying to clear it, he is so much more alert now. He still hangs his head, and once he lifts that, we will know for sure that he is well on the road to recovery. Some of the sores on his side have become infected, and he has been given an antibiotic in addition to the gentian violet he was first painted with, and he has another stronger antibiotic waiting in the wings if needed.

Though he took in a lot of milk since arriving, he only urinated for the first 4 days, and on day 5 he was given an enema by Kylie - the Weddings and Events Coordinator for the group. It worked really quickly, and he must have been desperate for a little help, because she had to have several showers after administrating it. (That's a story for another blog!). But at least Shungu isn't all blocked up, and seems to be feeling much better now.

That's why I am posting on him - because I think he's going to make it. Poor little guy.

And for those of you who were wondering what his name means - it is the Shona word for 'heart', 'spirit', or 'guts'. All the qualities shown by this little chap in his short life so far.

Shungu. Of Pamuzinda.

Have a great day!

Iced watermelon soup and a case of rape. Valentines at Pamuzinda.

For those who read my last blog (you can see old posts at the top right of this page) you will recall me mentioning our signature dish for our Valentines Dinner was going to be an Iced Watermelon & Orange Soup. The trick is to make sure it has enough body to it, because otherwise you are simply serving a bowl of fruit juice.

I also put in a small drop (well, maybe a large drop) of vodka, just to give it that 'there's something I can taste' factor.

I think we nailed it!

The starters were 'Mushroom & Bacon on Bruschetta', cooked with white wine and cream and visible on the right and background below, and a Smoked Salmon Pate - the pink blobby bits on the other plates. I made a bit of a mistake with the Pate as I put in a little too much Greek Yogurt when blending it, and it came out a little loose - maybe more a mousse than a pate, but it tasted really yummy. Very smokey flavor, with a hint of lemon in the background.

In my last blog I mentioned that I was a little worried that we didn't have enough fresh spinach to use for stuffing the chicken breasts, and as it turned out, we didn't manage to find any.

I told one of the cooks - Smart, that we would have to use rape for Valentines Day, and I think he misunderstood me, because his smile was a wonder to behold! Ear-to-ear stuff. When I explained it was the vegetable rape that we were going to use, he still carried on smiling, though somewhat bashfully . . .

And how did the 'Chicken Breast stuffed with Rape & Feta' turn out? Not too bad, actually. We served it with a yogurt sauce, and my only concern was the color as the rape tended to bleach a little in the cooking. But it tasted yummy - and way more African in flavor than spinach, I think.

Quite often there is a temptation to 'overkill' the decor for a special meal - and we didn't. No need to worry about putting too much stuff on the table when you have a backdrop like this, is there? This photo was taken during the afternoon table lay-up. A nice clean and uncluttered table.

This was the dining room, locked, loaded and ready for shooting bears. In the end we catered for around 50 folk, and pushed a few beads of sweat in the kitchen.

And what was the most beautiful sight in the whole Lodge? Well the chocolates and wine in the rooms looked good, the dining room looked good, the food looked good, but without doubt the most appealing sight was  . . . .

Yup - the ladies toilet, with fresh white roses. Looking really snappy! Maybe next year I'll think about serving the dinner in there instead?

(You can see where the bush babies - also called 'night apes', or 'pookies', come in during the night. They have dislodged some of the thatching where they come in and out. I think they come for fresh water).

I hope you had a fantastic Valentines, and spent time with the special folk in your life.

Have a great day.

Kissing a whole bunch of frogs to find your prince! Or . . your toad?

So tomorrow is Valentines Day, and as it is unlikely that I will have time to post a blog with all my running around - here ya go.

For most people, this special day is one for love and romance, chocs and flowers, and fire-side snuggles if you are in the Northern hemisphere - poolside cuddles in the Southern one. And the guys on the equator don't see any difference and just carry on - same old, same old.

But for those of us in the hospitality game, it tends to be a time of sweaty kitchens, fingers shredded by rose thorns and lots of rush; this year at Pamuzinda will be, I am sure, much of that. We have 70 booked for lunch, and then a special dinner for about 40 in the evening.

So here is a sneak preview of my day tomorrow, and the plans we have in place . . . .

First off, the menu. All planned - though I am still to find fresh spinach for the chicken breast, and may have to make a last-minute adjustment. Maybe lemon, garlic & herbs? Or bacon & cheddar cheese?

Dunno - we'll see.

And the signature dish off this menu?

Well, believe it or not, it is the Watermelon and Orange Soup - something that not many people have ever had . . . . unless they have been to Pamuzinda! And I bet you won't find it on any Valentines menu anywhere in the world this year - except here. It is just watermelon and fresh orange grated through a coarse cheese grater, and then placed in the freezer until small ice shards form.

Yum! Especially on a warm and balmy African night in a dining room overlooking the Serui River.

Another typically African menu, no?

For the tables we will have candles - not just any old candles, but curly-whirly red ones with
rose-scented wax.

Why?

Dunno - but that's what we got!

We have roses for the tables as well - red ones for our dinning room tables, and white for the toilets. Because red is the color of love, and white is the color of toilet paper.

Obviously.

Then we have chocolates for the couples staying in the lodge.  Because we always give chocolate on this most romantic of days.

In little boxes.

With red ribbon.

And paper with hearts on it.

You know?

Finally we have the wines which we will place in the Guest Rooms for the folk staying with us on the 14th. They can bring their bottles to dinner, or take them home to enjoy at a later date.

This year - in a stunningly crafty and thoughtful move, I have carefully selected the wine to ensure that the ladies will think of their escorts the moment they see the bottle!

How much attention to detail is that?

Splattered Toad.

Could we give away any other wine on Valentines day?

The question is this - how many frogs did the beautiful lady in your family have to kiss before she found her prince . . . .  only to discover later on that it wasn't a frog or a prince after all, but a truly splattered toad???

Yup - we got Valentines nailed this year!

Have a great (Valentines) day!

(BTW - if you have enjoyed reading this blog - please click on the facebook item just below, and 'share' for me. And if you are new to the blog, you can click on 'View my complete profile' at the top of this page - and then page down to see all previous posts. There are now 190 posts, and I have had over 423,000 hits on the blog to date. How cool is that? Some are really funny like 'The day Jenifer ate a worm', 'Brain drain', and 'Can YOU spot the mistake?', and some are poignant like 'La Rochelle is closing down'. But all good reading.)

My way - the Zim way!

Time for another blog, and what better than a quick sneak-peek behind the curtains of Zim, what with surfing, dancing and floor-cleaning presidents dominating the internet as I write?

Tumble. Or not. Depending on your perspective.

I guess what I am saying is that we sure do things differently, even if they are exactly the same things you do in your world. So here are a few pics of stuff we see as perfectly normal, but which may seem a little odd to the outsider . . .

First off - our cat beds. At Pamuzinda we have a fine specimen of a cat who has, somewhat oddly, been photographed by day-trippers almost as much as Jasmine, our tame giraffe. I think in the West, they have cat beds made of stuffing, foam rubber, and fancy cloth coverings. Ergonomically-designed ones.

Here we use a cardboard tray that used to hold beer cans, and that seems to work just fine!

Sleeping with bugs is something of a natural hazard in my new home, and so I was given a 'bug-killer' for Christmas. I am sure you have the same thing in your part of the world - only I don't think you will harvest quite as many bugs as I do of a night. Here is the result of 8 hours run-time:

Come morning I have a fine selection of roasty-toasty freshly-crisped protein packs, just perfect for sprinkling onto my cornflakes!

I like the little green ones best.

When travelling around on my motorbike, I frequently have to yield to cross traffic. However, unlike in Paris, London and Rome, the easiest way to do this is to turn the engine off, kick back, wait for the road to clear a little . . . .

THAT'S the way to deal with a traffic jam!

So what do you do if you are building, and you create a window by placing a reinforced lintel over a large hole - and then you figure the window needs to be slightly larger, and higher, than you have made it? Well simple really - you just jack the lintel up on alternate sides, cementing in new bricks as you go, until you have a large, and high, enough new window! A car jack works perfectly well:

Problem? Solution!

Finally the one field in which we Zimbos have adapted and mangled standards as set by the rest of the world is sign-writing. Many previous blogs have featured fine specimens of signs as thought up by earnest and determined marketeers. And few have had as much effort put into them as this particular sign advertising - well, you tell me . . . .

Yup - advertising works! And I love the way this fellow decided it would probably be better to sell more than one flower at a time, but couldn't be bothered to completely re-write his sign!

So the lesson here is . . . . .if you think we trip up sometimes - we don't.

Really!

We just do things the Zim way. Our way.

Have a great day.

A study in spots!

Quite a few regular readers have asked for more photos of Jasmine, our rather special daily visitor to Pamuzinda. I last posted a blog on her on 3rd October 2014 - and if you have not yet read that, you can find all my old postings at the top right of this page. Just search by date.

So today will be a study in spots, and some pics of giraffe such as you have never seen before.

I promise

Because she is so tame, I was able to take some very unusual photos, and though I hardly ever devote a blog to one person (or thing) - in this case I shall. Jasmine is about a year old, and her mother died when she was 2 weeks old. She was brought up by one of the guides at Pamuzinda - Shepherd, who fed her milk with a bottle. Jasmine is now about a year old, and is growing nicely. She runs free in the park, but returns to the lodge pretty much every day for horse cubes (some call them 'nuts') at around 2.00pm most days.

She runs free the rest of the day - and has even been seen with the wild giraffes, so hopefully she will find herself a nice husband, and one day return with her baby. That would be really cool.

It is because she is so tame that I was able to take these photos while feeding her, and I shall feature various parts of her to show you what a giraffe looks like up close and personal. I start with the most obvious feature of any giraffe - her neck. Despite having the same number of bones in it as your neck or mine, it goes on for ever. . .

And if you stroke her on the neck, it is immediately apparent that she has huge muscles to support the weight of her head. It is not often that you can feel raw power without it actually being applied - but in this case you can. Amazing strength.

The strangest mouth - giraffes don't have top teeth, and they look very much like a camel. A very pouty top lip - rather like when my middle daughter is very, very cross, completes the picture

And though she has a mouth that only a very serious boyfriend could kiss, she has the most soulful eyes that literally swim as she looks at you, with lashes to die for . . . .

Despite the amazing eyelashes, her eyebrows are a little startling when seen up close - but all designed to protect her eyes from getting scratches when she is feeding off the upper branches of the thorny acacia trees where she finds the juiciest leaves.

This is my very favorite photo of her. Not many people have this angle of a giraffe in their collection, and it accentuates her eyes and grace . . . .

The question is this - how many spots does Jasmine have?

The answer is below the photo, but have a guess and see how close you get?

The answer is 1,467 or . . . . . . . 1,468 - if you pick up her tail!!!

Just kidding.

Have a great day!

Stuff hiding in plain sight! Again.

As I observed yesterday, almost everyone out there in internet-land will be twiddling their thumbs in the aftermath of Christmas - and as tomorrow and the next day are a weekend, I think today is a good time to post one of my famous 'stuff hiding in plain sight' series. Two postings in two days is my gift to you for 2014.

(For newbies to the 'Sorry for that' Blog - you can see all previous 185 postings at the top right of this page - what a great way to spend a lazy rainy weekend?)

So - stuff hiding in plain sight, and apologies to regular readers as I once again feature my favorite 'hider' - a chameleon. I just love them!

The first hiding thing is an egret. These medium-sized birds are often found in game areas, and walk along next to the animals, periodically jumping up and pecking at ticks and other nuisances. They follow buffalo, cattle and the larger antelope, and most often you notice them flying when they are against the dark thunderclouds we get here - their stark white stands out.

They are kind of like our version of a seagull I guess.

Except Zimbabwe doesn't have a sea.

Yet.

Until global warming kicks in properly.

With the season's rains starting in earnest just before Christmas, we had a sudden profusion of white lilies in the fields as you enter Pamuzinda - right next to the block of rock salt we set out for the wild animals as a salt-lick.

It was into this field of flowers that a couple of egrets wandered - looking for snails and other yummy stuff, though I only managed to photo one at a time.

Here then is a slightly harder task - find the egret. (In this pic he looks a little like a duck!)

And now the big egret challenge - where is he?

Just to show you the difference the rains make in Africa - here is a photo of the same patch of grassland - what we call a vlei (pronounced flay) as it is an old dried-up watercourse. In fact, the lilies pictured are called vlei lilies (not to be confused with the 'flame lily' -the national flower of Zimbabwe) and there are a couple of interesting facts about these lillies:

- they produce a beautiful and heady scent (described as 'romantic' by one of our guides!) at night, and then as a defense mechanism the scent changes to that akin to the smell of rotting meat during the day. How cool is that?

- there is a 'beer' produced from the bulb of these lilies which is extremely potent. Any alcoholic beverage in Zimbabwe is referred to as 'beer'. The same guide assured me that people who drink it lose their minds and walk around naked, so I shall keep my camera at the ready just in case this occurs in our patch. A good reason for you to keep reading the blog?

You can see the difference between the green of the previous pictures, and this more common view. Our rains - what we call 'the rainy season' generally stretch from November through to the middle of March, (though this year they only started properly just before Christmas) and then not much in between. This year I don't think we had rain for 6 months straight.

Just look at the difference in the color of the grass to the right of the trees.

The question is - did you spot the animals hiding in plain sight? And did you see all three - or just two? They had come down to the salt-lick mentioned earlier. One is actually licking the rock salt block on the ground.

OK - chameleon time! We'll start with the easy ones and get more difficult as we go along.

Where is the chameleon?

Maybe too easy? So here is a slightly more difficult challenge - here he is making his way to safety in a large bush, and only the white stripe down his back gives him away . . .

So - slightly harder now.

Where is the chameleon?

Regular blog readers will, by now, be pretty adept at finding my hidings - so here is a real challenge. If you didn't find the last one - don't even bother with this one!

Where's the chameleon?

Hope you found him? If not, let me know, and I'll tell you where.

Right - I told you in my last blog-post that Father Christmas was to be found working in the restaurant at Pamuzinda. Here he is (in a slightly blurry photo) to prove it to you:

The question is this (and the answer is in plain sight in the picture, I promise) - how did Father Christmas get into our dining room?

The correct answer is - through the door in the background of course!

I bet some of you said 'fireplace' or 'chimney'. How odd would that be if Maxman came to work down the chimney every day? Gee.

Have a great day! (Oh - and please click on the Facebook icon just below and 'share' the blog with your friends if you have enjoyed - just scroll down a fraction. Thanks).

Christmas at Pamuzinda.

So a slightly longer interval than a week since my last posting - sorry. But I was busy getting ready for the holidays - and today I bring pictures of Christmas at Pamuzinda: Lots of pictures today - because while I am at work, you are probably wondering what to do with your day!

Zimbabwe has embraced with enthusiasm the Christmas trappings of the West, and so we have trees with tinsel, shiny glass baubles and flashing lights, cards with robins, snow-blanketed fields, and snowmen. A little odd, but that's the way we roll.So I start with pictures of some of our trees this year. My little point-and-click doesn't do justice to the lights, but certainly gives a general idea of what we had going.  This is the tree we had at the entrance to the dining room - buffalo and fir in perfect harmony?

This was the tree in the bar. Again the slightly incongruous juxtaposition of conifer, snowman and African mask - but it works!

For Christmas day and the following 3 days, we marketed a meal at Chengeta in the wedding marquee featured previously. The menu there featured pig-on-a-spit, wildebeest steaks and chicken poitjie - a large cast iron pot with chicken casserole. This was the tree that was set up in the center of the tent:

But I think may favorite tree was the one we had in Reception. Though smaller than the others, it was the perfect tree for a Safari Lodge, and Kylie and Limbane - 2 of the staff here, had spent a lot of time, thought and effort getting the tree and snowmen ready:

And my Christmas? Well, as usual, an awful lot of time preparing food. I spent at least 20 minutes stuffing baby potatoes with pancetta and mozzarella cheese, ready for baking.It was tough.

Of course, when things get tough, the best recourse is often the illegal one, and in this instance I decided to resort to child labor. My youngest daughter made the mistake of walking through the kitchen . . .

I don't know if you noticed in the above pictures that Father Christmas was helping us in the kitchen too? Well amazingly enough, he was also spotted serving in the dining room and then later seen taking folk around and about on Game Drives :

Santa certainly worked hard over the festive period!

On Christmas morning, I drove my motorbike to Chengeta and Shumba to check on preparations, and came across the strangest looking bunch of fellows - obviously on their way to a Christmas celebration of some sort. Though what sort of celebration I cannot tell you, because they didn't say, and I didn't ask.

I didn't dare!

My western audience may think that the scariest thing in the above pic would be the sight of the 2 fellows wearing feathers and Zulu leg ruffs - but the scariest thing for me is the fellow holding the brown plastic 'scud', a container of traditional beer which wreaks havoc on all who drink it. I made the mistake once of getting merry on it as a hotel student, and regretted it for days afterwards.

And what the reveler carrying the white 5L container has prepared for his mates to drink - I shudder to think! I don't even want to go there.

But I bet it was flammable.

Lastly - following behind the fine fellows pictured above and heading in the same direction - so probably to the same gathering, was a group of four individuals heading for Christmas lunch. I had a sneaking suspicion that one of the group wouldn't enjoy lunch quite as much as the other three.

Africa can be a tough continent sometimes.

I hope you had a pleasant and safe Christmas, and spent time with your nearest and dearest.

Have a great day!