Umfurudzi
The Umfurudzi National Safari Area (UNSA) is a 76,000 hectare reserve about 150 km northeast of Harare in the Mashonaland North-East District of Zimbabwe .
The parallelogram-like base of the UNSA is bounded in the north by the Rozvi River and in the east by the Mazowe River . The lower third is divided by the Umfurudzi river, which gives it its name, which flows into the Mazowe River from the west. This river carries a lot of water in the rainy season , but can almost dry up in the dry season . To the north of it is Mount Chizinga at approx. 1,400 meters above sea level. NN.
The nearest towns are Shamva and Bindura in the south and Mount Darwin in the north. The Madziwa Mine is located at the entrance to the park.
The area is developed for tourism through two facilities, in the south is the Campfire Project Sunungukai, which received the British Airways Award for tourism in the 1990s, and to the north of the confluence of Umfurudzi and Madzowe is the Hippo Pools privately run by the Jarvis family Wilderness Camp.
climate
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Umfurudzi
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vegetation
In addition to the dry savannah vegetation, some impressive specimens of the baobab ( Aadonsonia digitata ) can be found near Hippo Pools. The oldest specimen is believed to be over 3,000 years old.
Wildlife
Problems: poaching / hunting
The UNSA has big problems with poachers, but also with licensed hunters who shoot or catch more game than can regrow.
Big game
The last rhinos were moved to the Gonarezhu National Park in southern Zimbabwe in the late 1970s to protect them from poachers . Only eleven zebras were spotted in the entire park at the end of the 1990s . Impalas are the most common , followed by eland and zabel antelopes . The number of warthogs is also very high. Large groups of velvet monkeys and baboons roam the grounds. Porcupines , bush babies and genets can only be seen at night (night game drive).
Carnivores such as hyenas are common, but lions (probably only one or two more) and several leopards can only be detected through tracks and screams. Elephants (loxodonta africana) disappeared as early as the late 1960s. But there are plans to revive their natural migration routes along the Mazowe to the Nyatana area by reintroducing elephants.
Bird life
The abundant bird life can often be seen: Dark Chanting Goshawk, Water (Dikkop) Thick-knee, Red-chested Cuckoo, Senegal Coucal, Greyhooded Kingfisher, White-fronted, Eurasian and Little Bee-eaters, Trumpeter Hornbill, Bearded Robin and the Scarlet-chested Sunbird. The Angola Pitta and the Narina Trogon have also been seen here.
history
The red and white figure rock paintings are early traces of settlement . As early as the beginning / middle of the 16th century, the area was opened up by Portuguese trading bases along the Madzowe. The great hunter Selous also came through the area on his travels. Mines were established in the early 20th century, the last of which is the Madziwa Mine.
In the 1960s, the area was converted into a protected area in several stages. As part of the tsetse fly control program, the UNSA was freed from tsetse flies in 1986. The Hippo Pools Wilderness Camp, run by the Jarvis family, has been in existence since that time and offers holiday opportunities to local and overseas tourists.
literature
- Deacon, NR; DV Rockingham-Gill: Raptor survey in miombo woodland, Umfurudzi Safari area, Shamva District, Zimbabwe: preliminary results , in: Gabar (2009), 19, pp. 2-9.
- Wood T. Plain-backed Sunbird in Umfurudzi Safari Area. (Anthreptesreichenowi), in: Honeyguide 50: 43-61.
- FERREIRA. (2001). The 2001 Citizen Hunting Camps (Charara, Makuti, Hartley “A”, Umfurudzi) auction sale. Ferreira Auctioners, Harare, Zimbabwe. 19pp.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Levoyageur May 31, 2010
Web links
Coordinates: 17 ° 5 ′ 0 ″ S , 31 ° 51 ′ 0 ″ E