Game water

In the dry season, Hwange is largely dependent on artificial water sources. Here in Sinamatella we are lucky in that there are a number of reliable springs in the Park and the neighbouring Deka Safari Area. Close to the camp we have the large Tshakabika Hot Spring, the Salt Springs complex, the two Domboshuro Springs and the Kashawe Springs. In the Safari Area are Big and Little Gobo Springs, Big and Little Mambane and Chawato Sulphur Spring and near Bumboosie Camp there are a number of excellent Springs. We also have good water in the Sinamatella River but all of these places are in the northern sector. To the South of Sinamatella, approaching the Kalahari Sand country, water is scarce. Mandavu Dam is the most reliable and is filled each year by rain water. Mandavu, Shumba, Tshompani and Inyantue all rely on water pumped from underground.

  Last week we took a newly donated pump engine and two attendants out to Inyantue to start pumping for the season. Inyantue is the furthest pump from Sinamatella, about 80km, taking several hours. Our first stop was at Masuma where the attendants had reported the engine would not run. Mr Mafa, who has years of enormously valuable experience, soon spotted the problem, fixed it and got the water running again.

  We moved on to Shumba. A dead elephant, killed in a fight, was a fitting foreground to the very bleak-looking pan.

Shumba Pan

There is one hippo remaining in the pan, but he doesn’t look too cheerful – barely visible in the mud.

We found the wind pump and diesel pump both running and went on to Tshompani Dam.

Tshompani never holds water for long, even in the rains so it is supplied by a diesel-powered pump and a wind pump. The wind pump is currently out of action awaiting repair but the diesel is working and there is a reasonable pool of water in the lowest part of the dam.

Tshompani seen from the dam wall.

The final stop was at Inyantue where the dam was totally dry.

We had brought with us a new engine and Mr Mafa and his team soon had it fitted and running.

Carrying the engine to the borehole.

Engine installed and running. Mr Mafa cleans away a speck or two of dust!

Sue accompanied us on this trip as official photographer and, of course, provider of tea.

My job was less easy to define. Observer perhaps…..

Within ten minutes of the pump starting we found baboons drinking at the trough as it started to fill but they ran away as soon as they saw us – returning, no doubt, within minutes of us leaving.

We left two pump attendants to look after this, Sinamatella’s most remote outpost and were a kilometre or so away when Mr Mafa stopped us. Once before he had left pump attendants far from anywhere only to discover much later that they had no matches, hence no fire and no way to cook. He was concerned about the two attendants we had left at Inyantue. They are not experienced; maybe they would have no matches. We went back and indeed, they had forgotten so we rummaged around and found some matches for them and drove away again. I’ve since heard via the radio that they and the pump are doing well!