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While it is more traditional to go on safari in the cooler dry months of the year, the wet months are not without their own special appeal. The Wet Season is beautiful in the Lowveld of Zimbabwe The wet season, it stands to reason, is also the green season. The tawny golds and bleached browns of the dry season are replaced with every hue of green imaginable. The vast blue sky of the winter months is filled with great skyscapes of clouds; sometimes towering mountains and sometimes white sheep scudding across the sky. Sometimes dark and ominous and sometimes light and fluffy. And sometimes all of this, all at the same time. Game viewing can be rewarding The thick green bush can make it a bit harder to get good visual on some of the animals and looking for them at water points is not as productive as it is during the dry months as there is water everywhere. But if it is dripping wet from recent rain, it also means some of the animals are more likely to be looking for somewhere to dry off, not infrequently, on the roads themselves. The other aspect that is added to the game watching agenda is the presence of babies. Many of the herbivores have young at heal at this time of the year and watching young animals explore their new surrounds and gamboling on wobbly legs is an enchanting experience. There is plenty of life to be observed in addition to mammals. The Lowveld is abuzz with abundant and diverse insect life during the wet season. This can be seen as a pro or a con, depending on your point of view, and the situation. Having a host of moths trying to dive into your glass of wine at dinner that could certainly be seen as a disadvantage. On the other hand, you will get to see some the big, the bad, the ugly and also the beautiful and the weird of the bug world. We would certainly recommend some insect repellant as an essential item to avoid any encounters of the too close kind. Bird Watching can be great Even if you do not appreciate all the insect life you can rest assured that birds do. This makes for some good bird watching opportunities especially if you are wanting to see some of the summer visitors from the North. At the end of the day the wet season is not the traditional safari season as most visitors prefer to avoid the chance of rain and prefer the cooler weather. Having said this, for those who are prepared to chance the warm weather and the odd shower and brave the bug life, it can be a different and rewarding experience. Seeing the bush at its most vibrant green and growing best is, in itself, affirming and what better start to a year than some time gaining insight and inspiration in the natural world?

At Chishakwe every day is a real life safari. If you are looking for the type of 5 star safari that comes with an ensuite jacuzzi, an on site gym, and a guarantee that you will leave with a certificate saying that you saw the Big 5 then a safari at Chishakwe is not for you. If you are looking for an authentic but comfortable experience in a uniquely Zimbabwean atmosphere and the opportunity to see any one (or all) of the Big 5 and learn more about a host of other animals and plants, then you will really enjoy a visit to Chishakwe. Chishakwe is a part of the Save Valley Conservancy and straddles the head quarters of what was once the largest privately owned cattle ranch in the world, the famous Devuli Ranch. A number of roomy old ranch houses dating back to this time have been sensitively renovated so as not to lose their original relaxed Lowveld ambience. These houses provide the basis for Chishakwe's Home from Home safari experiences for self-catering guests. In addition Chishakwe boasts a tranquil safari camp, set a few kilometers away from the Devuli Head Quarters area, on the banks of the Msaize River. Our primary business is habitat and wildlife conservation which we fund through safari tourism activities. We love sharing the natural bounty and tough, rugged beauty of the South East Lowveld with our guests. If you are they type of traveller who likes to get to know the locals, to smell the dust settling at the end of a day and try out the local favourite foods and drinks then we really look forward to hearing from you and getting to know you too.

While the much thicker and greener bush conditions in the rainy season make game watching, in the traditional sense, a bit more difficult; they create a great opportunity to observe all the smaller, less observed life forms that make up such an important part of overall bush ecology. Butterflies are particularly present amongst the abundant bug life and we hope you enjoy seeing a few of these beauties as much as we did. #ButterflySafari #RealLifeSafari #ChishakweSafaris #SouthEastLowveldZimbabwe #It'stheSmallThings #RainySeasonSafari

It is official! Here, in the Southern Hemisphere, the writing is on the wall for summer with the arrival of the Autumnal Equinox on March 20-21. We are fortunate that, in our Lowveld area, this does not mean freezing cold nights and grey days. In fact, some cooler weather might even come as a bit of a relief after some scorching of the scorching hot days over summer. We expect big, open, bluer than blue skies and warmish days followed by nights which are cool enough to encourage vicinity to the open air fire after dinner. The colours of the bush change completely. Instead of abundant foliage and thick grass all in every shade of green imaginable, we get shades of gold, amber and russet brown. As the dry winter goes on these colours fade until (especially in a dry year such as this one) we find ourselves in a bleached out, almost monochromatic, world. In this world the impala stand out fiery orange against their background and one cannot imagine what on earth they eat in the harsh environment. It is always beautiful but rugged and wild. #biophilia #everydayisasafariday #Autumnequinox #SouthEastLowveldZimbabwe

If the shorter, cooler days did not confirm to us that winter is coming then a look at ant activity would surely do so. Once you start looking it is hard not to be fascinated by the activity and interactions of these tiny insects and impressed by the strength and level of energetic commitment they display. Like the fable, they are working hard to provide for the days ahead. However, we are not able to confirm the same for the grasshoppers. If the famous fable is to believed they are whiling away the last of the summer on enjoying themselves.

Hunter's House is one of the accommodation options in our popular Home from Home collection and is situated on the far West of the Devuli Head Quarters area on Chishakwe. It is a large house which easily sleeps 11 people and more if beds are added to some of the larger bedrooms. The wide veranda that runs the length of the house and overlooks the front garden is likely to be where guests will spend most of their time when they are "home" and not out on the ranch looking for wild animals and birds or at the dam fishing. The house was probably first built in the 1930's and was likely smaller and simpler than it was at that time as, over the years, rooms have clearly been added on both ends of the house. On the addition on the East end of the house there was a steep stairwell leading down to an underground concrete bunker which was added during the Rhodesian war. This bunker was thought to be the one mentioned by author Alexandra Fuller in her novel, Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight. The bunker no longer exists at Hunter's House as, during recent renovations, the decision to fill it in was taken. The reinforced cement slab which formed the raised roof of the bunker took up a significant space on the veranda and the bunker itself was providing habitat to scorpions and centipedes. Unfortunately, converting it to a wine cellar was not an option! On the kitchen end of the veranda there is a fire pit area where most of our guests spend their evenings, especially in winter. From here it is not at all uncommon to see the animals that roam the garden area around the house at night. These commonly include impala, bushbuck, kudu, jackal and hyena.

Best wishes from all of us at Chishakwe to all of you for a very happy Easter. At Chishakwe we like our food to be fresh and ethically and locally sourced wherever possible ... and of course delicious! The beautiful girls in the picture above are members of the flock of hens we keep for eggs. At night they are very securely locked up in a snug coop; safe from genets and other marauding animals. During the day they wander at will in a large fenced garden.

We hope that you all enjoyed your Easter Holidays as much as we did ours. We are sharing some of the fun we had and delicious Easter lunch we all enjoyed at Chishakwe. All the decorations are hand made at Chishakwe and all the food homemade from scratch. Keep a look out and book for the next holiday we celebrate or ask us about how we can make your next occasion special at Chishakwe.

Ranch House is situated on the Eastern side of Head Quarters near the airstrip. It was likely built at a similar time to Hunter's House and Stone Cottage (circa 1930's). Upon first arriving at Ranch House, it may feel very "central" as it is next to the Stable Block (now converted into simple accommodation) and the office area. However, once one is sitting outside around the fire and listening to the sounds of the night it feels very different; especially as the airstrip is very popular territory for all manner of animals at night. An advantage for large groups is that some members may choose to stay in Stable Block and others in the house and they have close and easy access for shared activities and meals.

The International Day for Biodiversity is one of the most relevant days in our calendar and it should be in yours too. "The wealth of the nation is its air, water, soil, forests, minerals, rivers, lakes, oceans, scenic beauty, wildlife habitats and biodiversity... that's all there is. That's the whole economy. That's where all the economic activity and jobs come from. These biological systems are the sustaining wealth of the world." Gaylord Nelson If you are a fan and avid supporter of one of the bigger carnivores, elephants, rhinos, panda bears, dolphins or whales is immaterial if the biological systems that support these charismatic creatures fail. The intricate, interrelated and codependent webs of life which form varied vital habitats that supply everything that is needed for the survival of each of these very different animals. Every plant, insect and organism plays its own specific role. Together they create biodiversity. Each uniquely diverse habitat, in turn, contributes to a greater, global, biodiversity. They are what makes our planet so beautiful and rich in different forms of life and they are what makes it possible for all of us to survive. Biodiversity is under threat all over the world due to global warming, pollution and human encroachment. Protecting what is left of our planet's biodiversity and wild habitats at all costs is the ultimate priority in protecting the beautiful and charismatic species of which we humans are so fond. We need to be concerned about the roles of all the small and less beguiling players who contribute towards the overall health of the system. Whether it is a patch of flowering weeds in your garden that allows bees and insects to thrive or donating to an organisation involved in protecting one of the larger wild areas of the world, or both, it is in all of our interests to contribute towards building a shared future for all life.

When it comes to buzz and bustle Birchenough Bridge is no New York or London. However, this is not to say that this small town does not have a charm all of its own... and plenty of both buzz and bustle. Birchenough Bridge is a small town to the North East of Chishakwe and is about a 50km trip to reach by road. It sits just to the side of the tar road which is overlooked by a row of small stores which sell anything from hardware to hair products. There are also a number of "beer halls" which serve clients throughout the day and night. The town is named after the should-be-more-famous bridge which sits on its Eastern side and which spans the Save River. The Birchenough Bridge is a masterful piece of engineering. The bridge was completed through the Beit Foundation in 1935 at a cost of £145,000. At a length of 329 meters it was the 3rd longest single arch suspension bridge in the world in its day. It was designed by Ralph Freeman, who also designed the much-more-famous but similar (though longer) Sydney harbor bridge in Australia. The ashes of Sir Henry Birchenough, who was chair of the Beit Trust at the time of the bridge being built, are buried beneath it and there is a commemorative plaque to one side of the bridge. Birchenough Bridge offers visitors, especially those new to the area, the opportunity to enjoy a uniquely Zimbabwean and varied shopping experience in this busy, somewhat chaotic, little town. Traffic jams are likely to be something different too ... an ox stubbornly blocking the road or a donkey cart parked badly. Half day excursions can be organised for clients staying at Chishakwe.