Our visit to Chad was very last minute, on the invitation of a friend working in Zakouma National Park in the South East of the country. From the photographs he sent us of rolling grassland, teeming animals and lush emerald swamps we knew we had to take the opportunity of a quiet month to go and see for ourselves this incredible place. Darren insisted it would be perfect for the kind of walking safaris we specialise in....read on!
Our first evening was spent in the capital, N’Djamena, watching the sun go down over the sparkling Chari river and drinking $4 beers. Quite expensive place, Chad – everything, including Av gas comes from France. Cameroon was just the other side of the river and the pirogues (canoes) were going back and forth stuffed with motorbikes, chickens and people.. heavenly.
Our first evening was spent in the capital, N’Djamena, watching the sun go down over the sparkling Chari river and drinking $4 beers. Quite expensive place, Chad – everything, including Av gas comes from France. Cameroon was just the other side of the river and the pirogues (canoes) were going back and forth stuffed with motorbikes, chickens and people.. heavenly.
The following morning in town we were lucky enough to see a run-through of the parade celebration for 50 years of Chadian Independence from the French...the most colourful sight was the men on camels carrying A.K. 47's. They call them the "Guarde Nomade D' Nationale Du Tchad".
Huge, beautiful camels with bright red woven rugs - the Guarde wearing ceremonial white robes and Turbans and looking ferocious. Over the top of us, fighter jets and helicopters in formation. The fighter jets are still being flown by Ukrainian pilots while they try and train Chadians to fly them. Even crazier, the pilots speak neither French nor English so have no radio comms with tower. When the jets are anywhere near the vicinity of the capital, the tower just stops all other traffic! The show of military strength was very impressive. The president (Idriss Deby) got the planes and choppers after a series of rebellions 2006/2008. Now he has this machinery it would seem the rebels think twice.
We flew down to Zakouma National Park that afternoon in a Cessna 182 (By car, a 12 hour drive). Sparse trees, very dry looking and flat semi-desert. The occasional nomadic camp and cows down below us. Huge tracks called "Mourhals" have been cut across the dry landscape by the Nomadic Arabs when they move cattle 100's of Km's across the country depending on where the rains are. About 45 mins from the park some topography. Lovely granite inselbergs washed orange and pink in the late afternoon sunlight. Then some more trees and the thicker bush really started...we flew low level above km after km of bush and hit the park boundary just as the sun was setting. Suddenly there was water! After the arid semi - desert we had flown over for hours, pans of water and lush greenery were below us - Buffalo charged away beneath the plane, herds of Giraffe and Roan and Tiang gathered on the plains - it was like an imagining of Eden.
Pelicans, Geese, Ducks, Egrets, Black Crowned Cranes and all sorts of water birds all swirled below us. The rivers were starting to dry up this time of year leaving pools heaving with catfish and very happy birds who were gorging themselves on the fish.
For 10 days while in Zakouma the birds the animals and the trees kept us busy trying to work out what these wonderful new species were. Northern Carmine Bee-Eaters, Black Crowned Cranes, Abyssinian Rollers, Eurasian Hoopoes, Abyssinian Ground-Hornbills and Little Green Bee Eaters were quite special birds for us. (These immediately come to mind). The Ostriches are different and the Giraffes are Kordofan Giraffes rather then the Southern, Maasai and Reticulated ones we are used to seeing. The Buffalo also are different, looking like a cross between our Cape Buffalo and the Forest Buffalo from West Africa. They all have non-existent bosses, no droop and they point backwards like Forest Buffalo. In a herd, some of them are red, some black. We saw sweet little Sand Foxes (Pale Foxes) on almost every night drive, Cheetah too and Lion from the air on three occasions. Red-fronted Gazelles, again, new for us (a little like Thompsons Gazelle), Lewell's Hartebeest and a sub-species of Topi that they call "Tiang".
Vegetation-wise the park has large Acacia seyal forests, mainly in the north ...and then big open plains dotted with Acacia siberiana (without peely bark) and Balanites.. then broken bush with lots of Piliostigma reticulatum, Lannea humilis, Capparis, Dichrostachys, Cadaba, Philanthus and Boscia. There are patches of Terminalia avicenniodies and Combretum glutinosum. On the rivers, Tamarinds and in the pans, a tree we have not come across before, Mitragyna. Another new tree for us were big trees with whitish bark and wispy looking leaves, something called Anogeissus Leiocarpus.
Elephants have really taken a hammering in Zakouma...which is why Darren is there flying and African Parks have been persuaded to get involved. In 2005 there were 4000 elephants, now there are about 400 left. The main reason it all went pear-shaped was the destabilisation that occurred during the attempted coups leading up until 2009.
The park's official anti-poaching car is a land-cruiser with a 50 calibre machine gun mounted on the roof and RPG 7 rockets stacked in the back! we were told that the name "Janjawid", translated into English means 'Arab on horseback'...and it is these nomadic guys who are the main poachers. They are tough as nails and so are their horses
Someone we met voiced a possibility that the poaching could be more about destabilising the park than the actual Ivory. The Ele’s have such small tusks there...an average bull is carrying just 4 kgs...and retail it seems is $50 / kg...so the guys are risking their lives for the equivalent value of 2 cattle? Doesn't make sense.All in all – Zakouma is a haven for wildlife and birdlife, mammal numbers are at maximum growth rates, it’s just the ele’s that need to be watched out for and with African Parks' recent involvement, everything is on the up. We were blown away by the sheer numbers, bio-diversity and the incredible richness of Zakouma's ecosystem.
The great news is also that Zakouma is at it's peak when Southern Africa is under water so the best months to visit are January, February and March. We are extremely excited about this new and intriguing destination and are really looking forward to heading back at the slightest oportunity. If there are any intrepid souls among you willing to take the plunge and do something really adventurous then don't hesitate to get in touch!
