Paula Joy feeding the black rhino cubes.

Imire Game Park, Marondera, Zimbabwe.

The Adventurous Ones!

Monday morning was the start of our new adventure, beginning with a three hour drive from the farm to Imire Game Park, in Marondera. There is always great excitement in the home, before we head off on a new trip!

Paula Joy arriving at Imeri Game Lodge. — Imeri Lodge.

The staff at Imire gave us a very warm welcome, along with some lovely refreshments. The main lodge gardens were an inviting place to relax and stretch our legs. It didn’t take long for the children to spot a few animals around the lodge and to find good trees to climb. Lunchtime soon arrived and so did the monkeys… Such opportunist they are!

Chiwawe Luxury Tented Camp.

Once our friends arrived, we headed off for a thirty minute game drive to the Chiwawe tented camp. The camp was a tranquil place, with individual tented rooms. There was huge excitement amongst the children, as they set off choosing rooms and scanning the camp.

Chiwawe self catering lodge dinning area and fire pit. — Chiwawe Self-catering Lodge.

The main dining and lounge area had a stunning view over a water hole, with a giraffe and lone ostrich in the distance. This self-catering camp is spacious and comfortable and sleeps twelve people. We were also most fortunate to have three members of staff to assist us.

The Black Rhino Interaction.

Imire provided us with a game guide and vehicle, so our first activity was an afternoon game drive. We saw many animals on our drive and were particularly excited when we spotted a black rhino!

Oh, what an awesome treat -and we had so much fun interacting, up close, with the two black rhinos. This truly was an unbelievable experience for both adults and children alike. Being able to feed and pat a rhino is certainly something everyone should have on their bucket list.

Rhino guards guarding the rhino and talking to Murray John. — The Rhino Guard.

We ended the drive with at sunset drink at a viewing platform, overlooking a dam. Here we fed kudu antelopes, whilst enjoying the views.

The Nature Game Walk.

The next morning began with an early morning game walk from the camp where Trymore, our guide, educated us on what to look for in the bush. We identified game spore and quietly looked for white rhinos. The children so enjoyed looking and learning about the bush, whilst being escorted by two armed guards.

Nature walk through the bush. — Learning all about the bush.

The Python.

After a huge, leisurely breakfast we headed off to see more game. The first stop being at an anthill which accommodates an enormous python. We soon we spotted the python, sunning himself by his hole. A truly rare experience and so very exciting! As I really dislike snakes, I looked on from a very safe distance.

Feeding the Game.

The drive continued to where we fed the giraffe and some sable antelope. We also saw zebra, plus blesbok and nyala antelopes. Trymore continued to educate us all about each animal species. As the animals came up close to the vehicle, we could observe and learn a great deal about them. It was a wonderful educational experience, especially being able to see the differences between the males and females of each species.

The Elephant Encounter.

The highlight of the drive was the elephant encounter. This was spectacular!

Interacting with a large elephant. — Mark the elephant.

We all got to feed an extremely large elephant, named Mark. We gave him game cubes and then watched him perform some amazing tricks. The fact that Mark knew commands in English and Shona was most fascinating. Maybe homeschooling an elephant could be easier than children?!

The Kopje Climb.

Back at camp we enjoyed a late lunch, whilst a number of animals came down to drink at the water hole. During the afternoon game drive we visited a lion, followed by seeing an elephant who thinks he’s a buffalo! The wonderfully exciting day ended with a sunset climb, with the aid of steel ladders, up to the top of a kopje (small hill made of balancing rocks).

Later that evening we spotted some giraffe, as they wandered around our tents eating leaves off the trees. Such quiet, gentle giants they are!

The White Rhino.

Our last morning began with another bush nature walk, followed by observing the white rhino coming to the camp waterhole for their morning drink.

Rhino Drinking at the water hole. — White rhino drinking at the camp waterhole.

One of the white rhinos likes to walk amongst the cattle herd, which makes for a very strange sight!

White rhino grazing with the cattle. — White Rhino and Cattle.

Conclusion.

All in all, it was an awesome trip, with lovely accommodation and an excellent game guide. This made our two days on safari most memorable. Imire is certainly an educational experience all of its own, packed full of action and adventure. We shall certainly be back for more fun and wild animal interaction.

Thank you Imire, for a truly great time! I should like to suggest that you all put Imire on your travel list.