Across the border - Zimbabwe
The Revival of THE CHAMABONDA VLEI By: Sarah Kerr Photos: Sarah Kerr
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arrive at Bhejane Trust’s offices in Victoria Falls. The trust is a non-profit organisation that assists the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) in managing the Park’s estates, anti-poaching activities and ranger welfare. One of their key areas is the Chamabonda vlei area of the Zambezi National Park, and I have been invited by co-founder Trevor Lane and his colleague Patrick Williamson on one of their routine trips to the area to learn more about Bhejane.
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TRAVEL & LEISURE ZAMBIA
The Zambezi National Park makes up 56,000 hectares stretching westward from the town of Victoria Falls. The park comprises diverse habitats: the Zambezi River, floodplains, mopane woodland, life-giving springs,
grasslands and teak forests. It is bisected by the road from Victoria Falls to Kazungula/ Kasane. On the road’s northern side is the Zambezi and to the south is the area known as ‘the Chamabonda’. The Chamabonda area itself is a productive teak woodland punctuated by two open, grassed vleis (long valley floors that flood during the rainy season): the Chamabonda and the Khalisosa.
I jump into the Bhejane Trust’s Land Rover and we head out of town. As we drive, Trevor explains how Chamabonda used to be a popular and well-maintained tourist route. ‘Buses would game-drive along the vlei and it was considered a prime game viewing location,’ he says. He reasons that sadly a lack of resources and visitors in the years of economic downturn meant that water points and roads were not maintained. By 2010 no maintenance had been done in the
