It Is Not About Aphrodisiacs – Zimbabwe

Be extraordinary, enjoy the ordinary.

Unknown

White rhinos protected 24/7 by armed guards with shoot to kill policy

Baby will stay with mom for three years

Leaving behind the lions with captivating personalities and the stately Great Zimbabwe Ruins; we hike to see white rhinos and San (replacing the pejorative term for bushmen) cave paintings; we drive to the famous Victoria Falls with their incredible surroundings; and we observe a rarely seen lion kill while preparing to kayak the Zambezi River.

Millions of years old, called whalebacks (bedrock knoll smooth on all sides)

They look surreal, almost like a painting

When first entering the Matobo (bald head) Hills, we drive by a gate that commemorates the Birthplace of the Scouts Movement.  Baden Powell started it in England but was inspired by the Mafeking Cadet Corps found in the area during the Siege of Mafeking (part of the Boer war 1899-1902). Our guide, Ian Harmer, is quick to say that camping in the Matobo Hills would’ve been much rougher than England, allowing the boys to bond with real nature and wildlife.

As we drive down the road pictured above towards the Njelele hill, we are told it is one of the holiest sites in the Matobo Hills and, over time, the home of many tribal oracles.  Rain dances and other religious ceremonies are held there, and superstition has it that Njelele is one of several hills that no local should point at, lest ill befall him/her.

Striated hills – colorful lichens sign of exceptionally clean air

These hills are magnificent and hauntingly beautiful but were once described as a hostile, granite terrain worse than Afghanistan by some veterans.  The imposing mounds of Matobo National Park are more than a wonderful scenic spot or wildlife refuge.  The park is one of the cultural highlights of Zimbabwe.  It should be considered one of the world’s power places right there with the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, Machu Picchu or Angkor Wat.  Bald is beautiful!

Burnt orange, yellow, chartreuse, charcoal colored lichens

Nature has sculpted the unusual landscape for two billion years resulting in uncommon rock formations.  Lost in a world of granite, it is a place of ancestral spiritual significance serving as shrine and, alternately, refuge throughout the ages.

At sunset, mingling of plants and rocks

Black Eagle

Here you can observe the largest concentration of birds of prey in the world, particularly the splendid Verreaux black eagle.  Leopards also live here in high concentration.  Being nocturnal however, they don’t lend themselves to be seen much.  

Enthusiastic yet weary, our guide Ian, in the Silozwane Cave

The San people (Adam Gene = world’s most ancient race, based on DNA studies), have occupied the area for 100,000-200,000 years and thousands of registered rock art sites (giving it the greatest density of such art anywhere in the world) dating from 20,000 to only 200 years ago, with the majority 2,000 years old, can be discovered throughout the park.  These depict the lives of foraging societies in the Stone Age as well as the way agricultural societies came to replace them.  Artifacts show the area is one of the oldest with constant human habitation.  The hills always a place of protection during troubled times.

Partial view of paintings

Belief that spirit of the painting keeps people safe

Full view – some paintings so high, involved use of scaffoldings

View from the cave

View of cave entrance

According to Ian, the San are unique people. They are genetically distinct and operate differently in how they act, think, and believe. In their view, everyone is equal, there are no personal possessions and no lying.  They regard stinginess with great hostility but are even more strongly opposed to arrogance.  They only gather ½ of the food that is available, always leaving some for others.  They don’t plan for the future as they are used to everything nature has to offer being cyclical.  They believe in, and work with, the balance of nature.  The world could learn lessons from their outlook.  Ian tells an amusing story of how a San man asks a San woman for a wife, using a love bow and arrow.  He shoots her backside.  If she keeps the arrow, she agrees and off they go together.  If she breaks the arrow, it’s a no go.  Didn’t know cupid came from the San…

Village elder asking for medicine claiming sore teeth

According to Ian, the San people have a metabolic adaptation to storing fat in and above their buttocks, able to consume a lot of food at one time: these tiny people 4’4”- 4’6” (132-137cm) can eat 45 pounds (20kg) of meat in one sitting (of 36 hours)!  A bit like camels, using their humps for storage, which become flabby when not full.  The women have a skin flap over their vagina – to stay cleaner in dusty dry desert.  They only bathe at birth and death.  Males have ½ erect penis supposedly also for hygienic purposes.  They have developed natural UV protection and small eyes. Their life expectancy is only 35-36 years. 

They are constantly driven away either by diamond mines, tourism, or population growth.  In 1956, a bounty on each San was set up and lasted until 1988.  They have been in constant battle to return to their hunting-gathering grounds and even though the government agrees with their plight, they make it extremely difficult for them to return.  It is estimated that there are only 5,000 of them left.  Their way of life extremely restricted.  They, like the rhinos, should be offered more protection.  Many are now relegated to theatricalizing San People’s identity and customs for paying visitors.

More lichens, black, orange, neon yellow, gray

The park started as Rhodes Matopos National Park in 1926 and is the oldest National Park in Zimbabwe.  Now correctly called Matobo (local language) National Park, it became, and for good reasons, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. 

On the summit of Mlindidzimu, the ‘Place of Benevolent Spirits’, is located Cecil John Rhodes’ grave.  Called ‘World’s View, Cecil knew how to choose a place with a stunning vista!

Leopard tortoise – should it be handled at all or left alone? 

Ian abruptly stopped for a miniature leopard tortoise the size of a tennis ball in the middle of the road – not sure how he saw that tiny brown, like the color of the road, creature.  Few survive so it is important to protect them.  Later, we stopped to buy fruits from school age children and give medicine and cigarettes(!) to a village elder.

Before moving further into the park where the white rhinos could be found, we are asked to turn off the GPB locators on our watches, phones or cameras so that this type of information cannot help poachers track these animals.  We are told that for that same reason, the rhinos don’t get chipped, only tagged when they are two years old. 

We are about to see a few white rhinos, one of the most endangered species on the planet.  Ian is extremely protective of them and has been following them for over three decades, allowing him, therefore us, to get unbelievably close (within a meter or two) to them.  They recognize and know his scent, his sounds and his habits.  They have poor vision and count on other senses to function.

How many are left?

First, Ian shares his family history.  They have been in Africa since the 1880’s at a time when rhinos were more common than elephants so much so that the African government, until the 1930’s, was supportive of shooting them to keep their numbers under control.  They were still common enough when Ian was a 10-year-old child that he would ride on their back.  Their meat was often found on locals’ tables.  From 100,000 rhinos in 1960, their numbers successively went down; 2,500 (1982), 270 (1992), and 200 (2010).

They are so rare now that the specimen in this park are under 24/7 surveillance by two well-armed guards each.  Ian makes it look like he is hard at work searching for the rhinos, but the guards always know where the rhinos are and communicate with Ian to lead us to the nearest ones. 

The guards are paid the minimum wage of about $80/month.  At the time we visited, 76 had been trained and a month later only 10 remained.  They see the work as too lonely (in the wild for 2 weeks at a time), and two dangerous.  They have a shoot to kill policy.  Ian won’t give us the actual count of rhinos in the park but hints that it could be between 60 and 70.  He claims it is a question of preservation for the rhinos.  The least people know about them, the safer they are.

Ian says his team shoots 22-25 poachers a month.  It sounds bold, and I don’t know that these figures can be backed up.  Ian is very intense and passionate about conservation, but I think his stories are inflated.  They become so farfetched it is difficult to believe what he says.  Many, listening to his tall tales roll their eyes while keeping their attention on the rhinos.  For example, he says that it is impossible to use in-vitro or artificial insemination with rhinos.  Since then, I read many articles from various zoos around the world that show they succeeded.

Beside guards, the park is fenced.  Without the nearby community’s involvement however, none of this would work.  They are educated to realize there is more tourism money coming in with live rhinos and their best interest is to take part in their utmost protection. 

As with the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, due to the political situation in this country, tourism went from about 8,000-9,000 people/month to nothing for 8 months!  It is impossible to survive without tourism.  Impossible to save the rhinos without tourism money coming in.  We are part of a small resurgence in tourism in this country.

In South Africa, they are hunted by helicopters, but thankfully, this method hasn’t reached here otherwise it would probably be game over for the rhinos.  Only a question of time?

Finally, Ian tells us about his strong belief in de-horning the rhinos on a regular basis.  This too comes with pros and cons just like any of the other techniques people have come up with:  coloring the horns, poisoning the horns, tracking the horns, etc.  Green hunts have also been recommended to hunters who, rather than kill these animals, help dart them, so scientists can get blood sample and measurements and possibly tag the animals too.  Hunters get a selfie with the sleeping animal in front of them before it is released back in nature.  It is not regulated and the danger of the same animal getting darted too often, because they are the biggest, is real. 

Scientist can trace the origin of any horn through DNA.  Their database includes each group found in the world. This only helps understand where the horns come from, it is not a deterrent. 

Horns are made mostly of keratin, the same stuff found in nails, hair, hoofs, turtle beaks, porcupine quills, the scales of the endangered pangolin, or the cockatoo bills. 

Trimming the horn regularly could keep the poachers from targeting rhinos with not much value left in only a short stub.  It is considered the equivalent of a manicure and would only be done every 10 years (considering a growth of about 1.5-2.5 inches or 4-7cm/year).  The cost is estimated to be between $600 and $1,200 each time.  In a lifespan of 40-45 years, that would mean only 4 manicures taking fewer than 3 minutes each.  Otherwise, anesthesia is dangerous when done too often.  These horns however can be used for posturing, attracting a mate, digging, or fighting.  How will it ultimately affect the rhino’s behavior and survival?  Some say that the problem with this method is that there is enough horn left to still make it worth the poachers’ time (only worth $200,000 instead of $750,000-$1,000,000).  Some poachers may still kill out of spite. The point is that unlike shark, the rhino doesn’t have to die to give up part of its horn. 

There are large stockpiles of horns (40-50 tons) in South Africa and a certain school of thoughts says they should be used to flood the market and bring the price so low, it would no longer be worth the poachers’ time and efforts.  The stash is so large it would keep the rhino horn market afloat for 20-30 years!  That alongside the sale of clippings from the regular manicures could be a sustainable alternative.  Amazing to think education alone cannot convince people of the folly of using rhino horns.

17/18^th century libation cup made of rhino horn - $75,000 at auction!

www.christies.com

Rhino horn, unlike what we commonly read in the media, is not normally sold as an aphrodisiac.  Research shows that it is purchased mostly for medicinal reasons or as a status symbol (trophies, decorations).  Nowhere in Chinese medicine’s literature dating back 2,100 years, does it mention being useful as an aphrodisiac.  The horn, which is shaved or ground into a powder and dissolved in boiling water, is used to treat fever, rheumatism, gout, and other disorders.  According to 16^th century pharmacists, it could cure snakebites, hallucinations, typhoid, headaches, carbuncles, vomiting, food poisoning, and ‘devil possession’ (none of which can be proven to work). 

Eric Dinerstein, who served as chief scientist at the WWF for 25 years, summed up the issue in his book, The Return of the Unicorns: The Natural History and Conservation of the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros. “In fact, traditional Chinese medicine never has used rhinoceros horn as an aphrodisiac: This is a myth of the Western media and in some parts of Asia is viewed as a kind of anti-Chinese hysteria.”  Media coverage hyping the supposed use of rhino horns to pump up sex drive does no favors for conservation efforts.

A new fad in Vietnam is to snort rhino horn, the equivalent of snorting nails.  Current slogans compare rhino horn with luxury cars, touting its ability to improve concentration and cure hangovers, and trumpet rhino horn with wine as the drink of millionaires.  It has become an extravagant health tonic and a status symbol.  Lately, some have even come to believe the new myth that the horn is good against cancer while the testicles are good against HIV/AIDS…

Jambiya with rhino horn hilt (www.liveauctioneer.com)

The material, whose luster increases to a fine patina with age, is also used for the handles of curved daggers called ‘jambiya’, which are presented to Yemeni boys at age 12.  Jambiyas are considered a sign of manhood and devotion to the Muslim religion and are used for personal defense. Yemeni men place immense value on the dagger handles, which are commonly studded with jewels. The most expensive jambiya handles have been made of polished rhino horn since the 8^th century. 

Rhino skin is very thick and has been used to make ornate and decorative shields sometimes gilded in gold.  Rhino skin whips are also commonly used on livestock. 

We get so close to the rhinos we can hear them breath, chew, and grunt.  When they get a little tense, Ian makes soothing cooing sounds and they calm down.  It is magical but can give a false sense of safety when around these large unpredictable animals.  One must still be very aware they can charge at any moment.  As we watch these magnificent specimens for about 30 minutes, Ian says he thinks the rhinos only have two years left before the point of no return.  There are still three rhinos poached every day.  It is unsustainable. 

All this deterrence is very costly.  A few rhino parks are heading for bankruptcy.  (John Hume with more than 1,600 rhinos for example).  These protective measures seem like a losing battle and I am glad there are people like Ian out there still fighting for the cause. 

It doesn’t end there.  Ian expands on the subject of poaching by saying that African farmers who depend on donkeys to run their farm find their animals dead and skinned.  In China, donkey skin is made into a cold appetizer and reported to have the following health benefits: promotion of blood circulation, increase reproduction of cells; great anti-aging effects, increase elasticity of the skin, improvement of skin tone, prevention of wrinkles and even eradication of pigmented spots. More unproven myths that cost the lives of so many animals.

He also talks about the sale of lion bones and/or skulls as bogus medicine or aphrodisiac, replacing the now near extinct tiger bones used in Vietnam and Laos.  It makes for a very somber end to this amazing visit with white rhinos in the Matobo Hills.

On a very rainy day – hard to see the falls

Next, we move to the famous Victoria Falls, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Called in the Lozi language Mosi-oa-Tunya meaning ‘The Smoke that Thunders’, it is the world’s longest sheet of falling water stretching about one mile long (1.6km). When you see the plume of mist hovering around the falls and hear the constant roar, you understand the local moniker.  We are here on a very rainy day, but regardless, people get soaking wet from the constant fine mist moving in all directions around the trails.  Hard to keep cameras dry to take pictures, hard to see through the haze.  There are 16 viewpoints to help capture the various aspects of the waterfalls and it takes between 1 and 2 hours to walk to them all on the slippery trail.

Progression of the falls over time

The most interesting part about the waterfalls is that they are on their ninth location.  The falls are working their way back upstream, one fault line at the time.  In about 10,000 years, water will be coming down the next fault line near Devil’s Pool.  From the air it looks like a dark zigzag going up river.  Before the waterfalls, the river is only 3-5m deep, after the waterfalls, 30-50m deep.  We zipline over the Batoka Gorge and the brown water below is churning extremely hard.  

View of the Batoka Gorge, down from the waterfalls

From first of nine ziplines we took across the deep canyon

Made famous by Dr. David Livingstone in the 1850’s, they have been a tourism gem in Zambia/Zimbabwe since then.  Tourist numbers really increased once the ‘railway of death’ was completed in the early 1900’s.  Called that because 60% of workers died in extreme work conditions facing floods, wild animals, diseases, wars, Kalahari sands, or Bantu filled Gusu forests.

The rain doesn’t abate so soaked and cold we walk back to the small restaurant at the entrance of the waterfalls only to find power is out.  We cannot order anything but at least we are in a covered area away from the rain.  We wait a while, the power returns, and we happily get something warm to eat and catch up on a few emails. 

I would love to be back on a sunny day and experience the falls in a different way, but it was still worthwhile and beautiful because it’s not only about seeing the falls but sensing them.  You feel and hear the roar, you feel, see and smell the mist.  Through this, you get a sense of disorientation that is unfamiliar and incredible.  The power of the place speaks volumes in ways difficult to describe.  

Since I had no view of the falls – borrowed from Martin Mecnarowski

Borrowed from Dietmar Temps

Borrowed from Victoria Falls River Lodge

Slowly coming out of the fog, the 1905 railway bridge that took 14 months to build

After contentious battle, placed near the falls to allow its ‘spray to caress the carriages’

Called ‘Poem in steel’

Beauty in purple and yellow

Victoria Falls Hotel

Same bridge from Victoria Falls Hotel’s grounds

Beautiful hotel owned by railway where you can enjoy real high tea

Baobab – Africa’s tree of life – find small human below

Girth, 18m – Height 23m believed to be between 1,000 and 1,500 years old

Piece de resistance…

It looked like it would rain hard during our stay in Victoria Falls so some of us upgraded from tents to rooms – thankfully as indeed the heavy rains came pouring down for hours.  Some of us had signed up to kayak part of the Zambezi River and wondered if it would be canceled due to weather conditions.  The morning of the trip, dressed in heavy raingear only two of us show up, hoping the weather would get better, afraid it would be a bust otherwise. 

Our guide said that even with just the two of us, we would go.  A ratio of 3 to 2!  A guide, a cook and a driver just for two, what service!

We head out to the park where we need to drive for about 45 minutes before reaching the place where we can put the kayaks in the water.  Our guide must first speak with people running the park.  They are the ones deciding if we can continue our journey or not based on the conditions of the road.  After what seemed like five very long minutes of deliberation, we receive permission to continue.  The weather has cooled off considerably, but we mosey on, hopeful.

The weather breaks and we start to shed layers.  It is hard to fathom that we are basically the only ones enjoying the park, everyone else scared off by the weather.  The drive is slow in the thick and sticky mud, but we don’t get stuck and keep making progress.  We see many elephants but one in particular doesn’t seem to appreciate our presence and fakes repeated charges at the truck, each time getting a little closer.  Our driver finally leaves before it gets too close for comfort.

We finally make it to the side of the river where it is easy to bring kayaks into its current.  While the kayaks are inflated, and safety equipment checked over by the driver and the guide, the cook is preparing our breakfast.  Having nothing else to do, I start looking around enjoying the green clean landscape after a heavy rain.  I spot a couple of dashing light brown spots and exclaim lions, not completely sure that is what I saw. 

The word ‘lions’ alone stops everyone in their track.  We get back in the vehicle and carefully head in the direction I saw the animals.  We don’t see anything, but the corner of my right eye catches bright red behind a tree.  We get out of the vehicle to find a waterbuck that had just been killed.  It was attacked probably while it approached the river for a drink.  We quickly inspect it but return to where breakfast and the kayaks are waiting to give the lionesses a chance to get back to their own breakfast.

After careful monitoring, we see the lionesses’ heads under nearby bushes – they don’t miss any of our movements.  They are keen and paying attention to everything that is going on.  Several minutes pass and the lionesses do not return, and we start questioning why.  Are we still too close for them to return?  Have they eaten enough?  It seems unlikely since only the right hind quarter is missing and some of the internal organs.

After our delicious breakfast is consumed, our guide suggests we check the reason for the lionesses not returning to their kill.  We silently hop in our kayaks and paddle slowly around the hill for a different view.  To our utter amazement, a large 2.5-meters Nile crocodile has already taken a hold of the kill, ready to bring it down in the water.  It too, stops in its tracks when it sees us.  Again, we decide to leave so it could go about its business.  We return to the truck to complete the packing to go down-river now understanding why the lionesses didn’t return to their kill.

Overhead the sky became dark with hundreds of vultures suddenly appearing to eat the kill, scaring the crocodile away.  I lost count after about 125. How so many could fly here so quickly is a mystery to me.  Wings and necks everywhere fighting for a small morsel.  Towards the end of the mêlée, a few marabou storks mingled in as well.  A lone male baboon is desperately trying to get in on the action unable, he screams in frustration.  The number of vultures finally dwindled down and the crocodile returned to the kill, this time taking it all the way in the water.  I felt awfully bad for the lionesses who lost their food because of my spotting them. 

Interesting side note:  In the 1930’s Union Oil Company injected mercaptans (same organic smell as rotting meat) in their pipelines.  They would then watch to see where vultures would circle to find pipeline leaks!  Clever.  

All this in the space of 40 minutes, but there was so much action it felt like hours! 

Later, a wildlife guide told us that lions and crocs only eat waterbucks if they are particularly hungry – the meat has a very strong scent and is eaten as a last resort.  That made me feel even worse. 

I have no picture as this took place too fast and unexpectedly.  Our cook even stood on the truck trying to get pictures while our driver tried to get closer to the action – neither was successful.  We have remarkable memories. 

We finally kayak down river to see elephants, hippos, and more crocodiles.  Warned that the hippos could easily overturn our kayak while coming up for air, not maliciously.  What a way to boost our confidence in the waters of the Zambezi River. 

We see many elephants who are minding their calm business along the river.  Unfortunately, helicopters full of tourists fly nearby and scare them away.   Elephants do not like them, and I wonder why the helicopters are allowed to come close enough to disrupt their natural habits.

 

We were treated royally by our crew of three.  Had a lunch of crocodile, chicken, beef, salad, fruits, at the end of our trip. All delicious and fresh.

As we return, thunderstorm and lightning start anew– the beautiful day lasting only long enough for us to see all I described above – amazing luck we had.

Despite the weather we went anyway and were rewarded greatly.  We witnessed an unforgettable and rare event.  Our guide who had led tours for 23 years had never seen something like that, our driver had seen something similar, but not so complete, once in four years!

Zimbabwe is the country I will remember the most.  The landscape, the animals, the events, the people are all amazing, vibrant, resilient, and hopeful.  Don’t let rumors of problems here keep you away from this beautiful country.