Italian church, Birchenough Bridge & Humani – Turgwe River Lodge
October 2020 brought about a big moment in our lives. Originally we had planned a trip to Cape Town to visit our God children, but COVID had other plans. Never the less, I was determined we would do something memorable, and with so many awesome places to visit around our beautiful Zimbabwe, I set about planning an unforgettable road trip to take in some of these breath-taking destinations, and combine work with pleasure.
We had heard about Humani Ranch – Turgwe River Lodge through some friends who had recently been to it. Located in the SAVE Conservancy, it is a long way from where we live in Kariba, but as we were planning a 3 week trip, we knew we would have the time to visit it. We contacted Hannah, who very warmly offered to accommodate us. Located on the banks of the Turgwe River, from which it gets its name, the lodge is a delightful self-catering lodge, with a main entertainment area, pool, and 5 en-suite rooms on either side.
By way of a road trip, we started by going via Masvingo from our overnight stop in Kwekwe, where we had been told by another friend of a beautiful chapel near Masvingo, called the Italian Chapel of St Francis of Assisi. The Chapel was built by Second World War Italian internees, not Prisoners of War, as they were civilians, during the years 1942 to 1946. Two wings of the Chapel were added after the war and in here are the remains of seventy one Italians who died during their incarceration. The Roman Catholic Church still uses the building for church services today. Sadly we arrived on a Sunday lunch time, so there was no one to show us around, but apparently there is usually a Sister on site who can tell you a little of the history for a small donation to the chapel. It is well worth a stop to see the domed ceilings which have stunning artwork, which is still in surprisingly good condition.
Another brief stopover we made on our way to Turgwe was to see the Birchenough Bridge, a bucket list item for both Woody and I. It was a really windy day, so we had a nice cool walk along the bridge before turning around to head back to the Save Conservancy entrance, which we had by-passed to get to the bridge. The Save Valley Conservancy was established as a sanctuary for the intensive protection of rhino and now has Africa’s most successful black rhino breeding programme. The Conservancy has all the “big five, something very rare in any location now days.
We arrived late in the afternoon after our various stops and were met by a very friendly team, led by Fungai. Although Turgwe is technically self-catering, there is a chef on site by the name of Ledmoy, who prepares very tasty meals with whatever you have provided him with. We had timed it well, and after a filling meal we retired to our room to admire the view across the Turgwe River with the full moon above, reflecting perfectly on the river.
The following day we were a little tired from our trip, so chose to relax at the lodge instead of going for an early morning game drive. What a decision it was – from the comfort of the pool we saw 18 different species come down to the river to drink! There are not many places you can say that about. We were actually loath to leave the lodge, but our guide Lymon had suggested we take an afternoon game drive to a pan on the estate, which we did. Once again we lucked out and on our way past the Whittal’s residence we were invited in to spend a few minutes with Rocky the black rhino calf, who is an orphan, having been abandoned by this mother when he inadvertently got stuck in a muddy pan. It was feeding time for Rocky and we spent the most memorable time watching him being fed by the ever caring Anne and we even got to give him a little scratch! Anne mentioned he had only just the night before FINALLY slept through the night without a feed. Poor woman, what a passionate and dedicated lady she is, we hugely respect her.
The following morning Lymon had offered to take us Rhino Tracking. Woody had never seen a black rhino in the wild, which was another reason I was so pleased to have heard about Turgwe, as this is one of the only places you can do this in Zimbabwe. We set off bright and early, with rain clouds threatening and were rewarded with finding tracks not too far in to our drive. We ditched the vehicle and continued on foot. Lymon showed Woody how to track, and in no time at all Woody had his head down tracking for us. I was the back look-out and we’d only been tracking about a half hour when I saw a female black rhino and her half grown calf to our right. Woody was so into his tracking it took Lymon and I a few calls to get Woody’s attention to stop walking and look right! We held up behind a huge baobab tree and had the pleasure of watching mom and calf for a good 10 minutes before they caught our smell and took off like tanks through the bush. Wow – what a rush! I could hardly hold the camera straight my hands were shaking so much. We continued to track the original male we had been following, but it started to rain and we lost the tracks. We were not at all disappointed, Woody had seen his first black rhino that day– what a special blessing that was!
Our time at Turgwe was very precious and we were sad to leave, but know that we will most definitely make a plan to go back. Next time we’ll be taking friends and family with us to enjoy this little piece of paradise.
Contact Us
Package Deals
For package deals that include accommodation, as well as other lodges, activities and annual event participation in and around the Eastern Highlands, Matopos, Kariba & Vic Falls area.
