Scoured

There used to be a bridge here; the only road access into Chimanimani National Reserve. Powerful flash fooding raced through rivers in this region during Cyclone Idai, and left little trace of any infrastructure except for the occasional glimpse of bent metal and dislodged concrete blocks. Distant hillsides are scarred with bare rock and stripped vegetation. The intensity of the rain was crazy. With this dramatic riverbed scene I feel like I am in an advert for the latest off-road vehicle to hit the market.

The water level here has now reduced enough to allow cars to drive through the river, but being here was a scary experience for them in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone. The Chief Park Warden and his team were cut off here until the waters receded enough to rig up a rope and use it as a safety line to cross the water. It took him two weeks to reach the provincial capital.

Most of the day was spent thinking about how this Reserve can better gather information about species conservation. Just after lunch I walked to the campsite where we stayed for the biodiversity surveys in late 2018. It’s just down the river from where this photo is taken. I was staggered at the result of the flooding. No evidence remains of the two large fixed tents and their concrete plinths, and the big kitchen block that sat in between them. Everything including the ground they rested on has been washed away, leaving only gullies and a widened riverbed. The access road to the campsite was scoured by torrents of water of all loose material, leaving only the root systems one metre above ground. Seeing the remnants of the campsite did reinforce how tree cover is a stabiliser of the earth in extreme events. Let’s all go and plant a tree on a hillside.