Eminently Eve.
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Click on the subheadings below to jump to their contents:
- Introduction
- Booking & contact details
- Directions, road conditions & best type of vehicle to use
- Arrival & experience with the staff members
- Accommodation, meals & fees
- The experience touring the sanctuary – animals to expect
- Conclusion
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NB: It is strongly advised to read all the reviews on this site in their entirety to ensure that the destinations really suit all your needs & preferences.
Introduction
There I was, planning our trip to visit Matobo National Park and I was thinking, “surely, there must be a game park or nature reserve that I can also check out in Bulawayo on my way to my intended destination”. After scratching my head for a bit I remembered my husband telling me about Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage but he hadn’t been in ages so we were not sure if it was still open or the condition it would be in even if it was open. There was only one way to find out though, so from Antelope Park in Gweru, we decided to go and check out the orphanage.
Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage is an NGO founded by Vivian and Paddy Wilson in 1973 with the main objectives of rescuing and caring for orphaned, injured and/or abandoned wild animals in Southern Africa. The project was such a success that it got the attention of Princess Diana (former Princess of Wales UK) and Stephanie Powers (former actress and conservationist in the USA) who joined in the efforts as patrons. It is quite impressive that the project is still going on 49 years later and currently being run by the Wilson family following the passing on of Vivian and Paddy.
Booking & contact details
When we got verification that they were open I was thrilled. It is not easy to survive the 1992 drought with so many animals to feed, the 2008 hyperinflation or the coronavirus pandemic which ultimately caused complete movement bans in 2020 and parts of 2021. Taking care of wildlife is one expensive exercise that many do not quite realise and I salute this family and everyone involved for continuing to keep things afloat through all the turmoil.
From my understanding there is no need for a booking, however if you want to make enquiries their contact information is +263772354780 and info@chipangali.com. They open from Tuesdays to Sundays, 8am to 5pm and close on Mondays. They are also open during all public holidays except for Christmas.
Directions, road conditions & best type of vehicle to use
Chipangali Wildlife Sanctuary is located 25.3 km from Bulawayo CBD. Our drive went pretty fast as the road is also good tar. You do not need to worry about the type of vehicle as any type can manage with ease. From the roundabout where the four roads namely George Avenue, Leopold Takawira, Ascot Road and Gwanda Road intersect (near Ascot Shopping Centre) take Gwanda Road A6. Then after driving for about 24 km, keep an eye out for the Chipangali Wildlife Sanctuary sign post and your destination will be on the right. Alternatively, you can also use Google Map for directions.
Arrival & experience with the staff members
Unfortunately the experience we had with the first lady who attended to us was not so great. She just made it quite obvious that we were bothering her with every single question that we asked. The questions we asked were pretty simple i.e. “How much is the entry fee? Where do we pay? We saw that there is a sign that said outside food is not allowed, so what food options do you have?” and “Where do we sit?” These were all the questions but she was just not having it. She did say though that we were allowed to bring in our food so we just went on to bring in our food and ate.
When we finished eating we then went back to the ticket office to pay the entry fee into the sanctuary where the animals are kept because the lady that handles that was not there when we first got there. Lucky for us the new lady who was older than the first one was jovial and very welcoming. She was just pleasant and even wished us luck as it seemed like it was going to rain so yeah she definitely made us feel so much better.
Accommodation, meals & fees
Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage does not offer overnight accommodation and the entry fee for a day visit is $5 per adult and $4 per child between the ages of 3 and 13. It seems like they have a tea room but I did not explore it since we had brought our own food. There is a sign that states that food from outside is not allowed in so it may be better to always confirm before your visit if on that day they will be allowing you to bring in your own food. On this day we were allowed to bring in our own food.
The sitting area is cemented, with thatched sheds and ornamental plants everywhere so it’s quite relaxing and easy on the eye. We were greeted by a scourge of mosquitoes though but lucky for us we are always prepared for such situations so we had our Tabard lotion ready and it most definitely saved the day. I would therefore highly recommend that you bring some form of mosquito repellent for a comfortable experience at this wildlife orphanage especially when travelling during the rainy season.
The experience touring the sanctuary – animals to expect
After lunch we were ready and excited to check out the animals and learn more about them so we proceeded into the sanctuary. According to an article I came across it said that they have around 180 mammalian and reptile individuals and about 40 bird individuals as well so I am not going to be able to talk about all the animal species that we saw. I will share some of the ones that stood out for me even though I loved all of them.
1. Kudu
The first animals I saw were this trio of kudus. I was not expecting to see kudus there at all but then I noticed that the male had only one horn. The other two were females and so did not have horns. Horns are quite important to male kudus as they use them to defend themselves against mostly predators. Kudus are generally non territorial however the bulls still have to fight to establish and maintain dominance hierarchy in the herd. The horns come in very useful during these fights. The fights can be quite intense to the extent that one or both of them sometimes end up dying from injuries sustained during the fight or from having their horns inseparably interlocked.
2. Wild Cats
Seeing the wild cats was one of my biggest highlights of this tour. I was particularly thrilled to see Servals. These are quite scarce and shy cats so not the easiest to spot in the wild. They are also among the least known African wild cats. Most people only know of the 3 big cats namely Leopard, Lion and Cheetah but in addition to those three we also have 7 more which include Servals, Caracal, African Gold Cat, Jungle Cat, Sand Cat, Black Footed Cat and African Wildcat. It is always an exciting experience to see any one of the 7 and on this day I was lucky to see servals. They are so beautiful with absolutely stunning markings I could not get my eyes off of them.
We also saw a leopard in the tree and several lions and lionesses. One of the lioness and lion had the most adorable interaction where the lion was just being “a lion” – lazy as always. The lioness was pushing him, trying to get him to get up but the lion did not want to break out of its 21 hours sleep/rest period lol. It was just one of the cutest things to witness.
3. Civet
Another big highlight was the civet. For some reason I’ve always thought that civets were cats because they are commonly referred to as “civet cats”. It turns out that they are actually more closely related to mongooses than cats.
One of the major distinctive characteristics of cats is that they have retractable claws with some like cheetahs having semi-retractable claws. Civets on the other hand have non retractable claws. They are such a beautiful species with crucial roles they play on the planet but unfortunately once again, we (humans) found a reason to abduct them and keep them in captivity for a secretion produced by this species called civet oil. This oil is used in the production of various perfumes. Of all the products that can be used to produce perfumes though, why does civet secretion have to be one of them?!
4. Jackal (dog)
When I saw this jackal my heart broke because it just looked like it was in some type of pain. One of its front legs was amputated and I’m not sure if it’s just our eyes but it looked like pus or some type of fluid had accumulated in the remaining part. We might be wrong but overall it just did not look like it was in good spirits. Jackals are other animal species that are not easy to spot in the wild so I was grateful to see this one. They are monogamous lovers, mating with only one partner their entire lives. Should we maybe take notes from them when it comes to love matters and not the other animal species we always insist on using as examples when things go south… lol
5. Hyena
Of course, count on the hyena to not disappoint – the moment we got close to its enclosure, it came quite aggressively to challenge us and mark its territory. Hyenas are highly territorial animals and they do not hesitate to pick a fight if they feel like something is getting too close to their boundaries. Among themselves, they will deposit a strong smelling substance produced by the anal glands which will get picked up by others, alerting them that the area is already occupied.
Hyenas are popularly known as these bullies who are just sitting, waiting to steal other animals’ kills. Interestingly though, studies have actually shown that lions steal more from hyenas than hyenas steal from them. The two species are long lasting enemies because of how they pretty much share the same habitat, eat the same prey and steal from the same animals including from each other. The feud between these two species is so bad that they actually kill each other’s young ones.
5. Other animals
The other animal species that we saw include bush pig, so many bird species such as owls, peacock, guinea fowl, eagle and reptiles like snakes, crocodiles and tortoises.
Conclusion
Any time spent with nature is quite a good time. The only thing that was missing during our experience at Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage was the background stories of each animal in captivity. For some of the animals like the Jackal, we could see it had only 3 functional legs so there is no way it could survive in the wild. It was not easy to tell why others were in captivity though. So I just wish they could share more of the background stories of each animal on each cage so that the experience is wholesome. After the trip I went onto their Facebook Page and I saw that they are doing a lot of amazing work, constantly rehabilitating and releasing animals in the wild. The last one I believe was the release of a hyena in Hwange National Park. An incredible job being done by this family for wildlife. A visit will help support their efforts and you will also learn the identities of different animals we have in Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa.
Remember to always have a little intimacy in your life & as always I’m talking about Intimacy with Nature.
