A final few hours in Mana Pools & the flight back to Harare.
Mana Pools chapter five
It’s a bittersweet morning as I pack my bags one last time and carry them to the lodge.
Brian is waiting for me and we load them into the vehicle. I head to breakfast and eat a few things before meeting him again for our final drive of the trip.
The sun is just coming up when we leave and we watch as it ascends, beginning another day after having watched it dip below the horizon the day before.
Brian shows me plants and the seeds they make, picking up examples and holding them up for me to see.
We drive to a clearing near a termite mound and he shows me where aardvarks have burrowed into the ground. At one point he crouches down and almost leans his head into the hole and I half expect one to run out to yell at him to get off its lawn.
We continue driving, circling around the time we have to arrive at the airstrip. We see elephants and warthogs and a mongoose. The last is all but camouflaged in the bush but Brian spots it and stops to point it out to me.
We head back to the riverbed and Brian points out porcupine tracks. He reminds me of the ones we had missed the night before and shows me where they had been, walking away from camp towards the opposite bank.
We continue on, past familiar trees and elephants that stamp their feet before us, threatening to mock charge before they decide we’re not worth it and climb the riverbank to lose themselves in the trees.
We arrive at the landing strip before the group on photo safari and Brian sets out coffee for us as we wait. Soon I can hear the plane above us and look up to the skies to watch its approach.
The small speck circles around and descends towards the opposite end of the runway. I step back and watch as it hurtles past, the sound of the propellers changing as it slows.
Cliffy and the others arrive and I help him and Brian carry the bags to the plane. There’s space for one in the front and I jump at the chance to take it.
We taxi around and begin our departure, racing down the runway. From the window I can see Cliffy waving at us and as we lift off tears begin to flow.
I’m not sure what it is but every time I leave the bush I find myself overwhelmed. The second time, expecting this reaction I thought that I wouldn’t experience it, but it’s happened to me every time.
The plane flies towards Harare; the landscape shifts from savannah to farmland to the urban sprawl that defines the city. Landing at the airport I managed to shoot a few frames of the terminal from the tarmac before entering the building, welcoming me back to Harare.
I take a cab back to Pemabwe. I had left luggage there and to be honest, it’s nice to return to a place after a trip. It gives me a slight sense of permanence in a very impermanent life.
The room isn’t ready and I decamp to a small glass structure on the lawn. I lay on one of the couches and pull out my journal to jot down a few notes and then reach for my book. I promptly fall asleep, my mind awash with memories of Mana Pools. 🇿🇼
— 14 Sep 2025
