Bhejane Water For Wildlife Update December 2025-March 2026

The wet season is our quite period in the year. Mother Nature takes over the responsibility of ensuring that there is ample drinking water for the animals. And wow, what a season it has been!

The 2025/2026 rainy season has been one of the best in recent years, with much of the landscape having received an average 800mm of rain. Not only has the volume been great, but the regularity and consistency has meant that the vegetation has thrived. Thick green trees and towering grass dominate much of the landscape now, and signifies excellent grazing for the season.

With the torrential storms, flooding rivers and inaccessible roads there is not a lot of work that can be done. As such, the teams have taken their hard earned annual leave, resting up after a busy period, and recuperating in preparation for the inevitable dry season ahead of us.

At the time of writing this update, the rains seem to have subsided and there is a notable shift in the seasons. Whilst all signs point to a relatively low pressure year, our water for wildlife work remains just as important as the bush dries out and the herds descend into the landscape.

KAZUMA NATIONAL PARK

Kazuma has received the bulk of the rain this season, with some estimates suggesting over 1000mm falling. The depression is pretty much flooded, with two hippo taking up semi-permanent residence in the middle of the vlei. The game has scattered and the grass towers above your vehicle.

Bar a few roads, the park has been pretty inaccessible at the moment, with much of the black cotton soil soaked and slippery. Parks have done a fantastic job attending to particularly bad patches, filling them with rocks and allowing a bit more access. Already talk is shifting to fire protection. With the abundant vegetation, this will be a very real threat in the months ahead and planning has begun.

Thanks to Kazuma Stakeholders, corner pan is now the proud owner of a day visitor platform. Set away from the overnight hide, and designed to decongest traffic, and give opportunity to more people to experience the wonder of the depression.

From a water for wildlife point of view, there is really very little that we have been able to do the last few months. Access to several of our systems has been impossible and all pans are near 100% capacity. As the land begins its annual dry out, and access gets easier, our work begins in earnest. Over the next few weeks, the teams will access all of our systems and ensure that they are pumping at capacity, to maintain the already swollen pans.

ZAMBEZI NATIONAL PARK – CHAMABONDA

Zambezi National Park is in much the same position as Kazuma. Excellent rainfall has filled the pans and grown the bush. Despite our best efforts over the years to make the roads all weather, with the amount of rainfall, there are some sticky patches and we have had difficulties in fully accessing the area.

The team has started their annual clearing program. Slashing the overgrown grass around the solar panels and borehole infrastructure. Not only does this make it easier to access, but greatly reduces the risk of fires and other faults occurring when choked with vegetation.

Chamabonda 3 platform took a bit of damage at some point over the festive season. Campers trying to avoid the rain brought their braai onto the platform. Unfortunately, the heat and coals burnt a hole in the platform. Very lucky to have not caused a serious fire. This has since been prepared.

Timots platform has also had a bit of work done to it over the course of the last few months. Some doors needed repairing, and the furniture needed a new coat of varnish. Whilst our work is focused on water, maintaining this key infrastructure is just as important.

All the water infrastructure is performing well and all the pans are full. One would expect the wildlife sightings to have reduced significantly with the abundant resources around. This has been far from the case. Whilst every drive is different, we have been blessed with some excellent experiences.

The first was the discovery of nearly 500 elephants, spread across a kilometre or so, but all focused on muddy puddles. Our assumption is that these natural depressions are mineral deposits that are being exposed by the rain. Quite a spectacle to witness.

We were stunned to come across a hippo within the Chamabonda, between Timots platform and Borehole 1. Whilst not in a pan, this large mammal had half submerged itself in a large puddle with its head hiding in some bushes. Sadly it has not been seen again on the vlei, and in all likelihood a young male dispersing to new areas.

HWANGE NATIONAL PARK – ROBINS & SINAMATELLA

Just like Kazuma, This has been our most inaccessible area for the last few months. Several of our systems have not been checked since the rains began. We simply cannot get there. Particularly the back areas of Robins where black cotton soil dominates the landscape and becomes very sticky when wet.

However, with the fantastic rainy season, all the pans are full to the brim. As it dries out, April will see the teams venturing further as we begin checking on the systems, ensuring that all is functioning for the up-coming dry months.

The bush is thriving and very thick, however we have been blessed with some incredible sightings. A pangolin tops them off. These shy and secretive animals are seldom seen, so coming across one ambling over the road is special indeed.

Whilst all the pans are full, the violent storms did take their toll on the landscape. We lost Inyatue Dam wall. With years of elephant traffic over the earth wall, furrows have been cut. For the first time in a long time, the dam filled, and sadly breached over one of these furrows.

It will be a project of ours this year, but unfortunately we cannot rely on this large water source to hold the season.

The Masuma pipeline also took a pounding this season. Crossing a river bed, this pipe gets exposed and damaged when the river flows. With the rains we had this year, this happened quite a bit over the last few months. Whilst the team will continue to conduct the repairs needed, the long term plan is to redirect the pipeline to stop this from happening.

The big news coming out of Hwange over the last few months have been some exciting growth and developments around our water for wildlife work.

First and foremost, Bhejane was the very proud recipient of an upgraded vehicle. As mentioned previously, our old land rovers are now very tired, and spend more time off the road than on it.

Our teams travel into areas seldom frequented by the everyday traveller. Having a reliable vehicle is imperative, and ensures that we are able to the job required.

A massive Thank You to SAE Institute of Germany for the incredible donation of this vehicle. It’s been deployed a couple of months now and has already been a massive help in the field. Bringing confidence in their tools to the team, and allowing greater accessibility, even on the wet roads.

The good news doesn’t stop there. Bhejane has been awarded a grant from the Beit Trust. An organisation with deep roots in charitable work across the continent.

The focus of this grant is to increase the yield of water being supplied within the black rhino IPZ in Sinamatella.

As previously mentioned, we have consolidated our water for wildlife work, with the focus shifting from creating more pans, to improving the water delivery at existing pans. We do this through the installation of batteries to existing systems. Solar alone is great, but powered by the suns intensity, it only gives us about 8 hours of pumping a day. Adding battery power to the system allows pumping to be extended.

The Beit Trust have awarded us a grant to install battery systems on not one, not two, but four boreholes within the Sinamatella landscape. Effectively extending the pumping hours from 8 to 18. Drastically increasing the volume of water supplied, and ensuring the sustainability of these key waterholes.

Whilst the rain has delayed the installation of these systems, the next two months or so will see these amazing additions begin contributing to our water for wildlife work.

Bhejane Water For Wildlife Update September to October 2025

Much has happened on the Water for Wildlife front since our update in August. With temperatures souring well above 40 degrees Celsius, our teams have been extremely active ensuring that life giving water keeps flowing for the many animals that depend on it.

Game counts, system upgrades and the inevitable repairs and maintenance dominated our efforts over this period. The biggest news however is the return of the rains. We have been blessed with some early storms across the landscape and the change in the bush is rapid and dramatic. Forecasts suggest that these are not anomalies, and indeed the season has started, with rain expected for the foreseeable future now.

This is always a momentous occasion for us as it signifies another successful season of providing vital Water for Wildlife. The shear relief on show by the animals is something to behold, rejoicing after months of challenge. The land responds almost instantly, with the bare mopane trees sprouting new green leaves almost overnight and bursts of colour return to the dusty arid landscape.

The herds too have already started to move off. A recent trip through Hwange yielding less than 10 elephants over 3 days and almost 200 kilometres. Compared to the drought of last year, this year has felt like a breeze and we remain hopeful for another year of fantastic rain.

KAZUMA NATIONAL PARK

Some big news coming out of Kazuma recently. Roan pan is now the very proud owner of a viewing platform! A massive thank you to Andrew Brown, Trevor Lane, Colin Wilson and Nigel Theison for this incredible addition to the Park.

It’s been a weird season for Kazuma this year. Whilst game viewing during the dry months is always exceptional, it has been a little quieter compared to previous years. We have put this largely down to the great rains that we had in the 2024/2025 season and the abundant natural water that remained almost the entire season. The reduction in animal sightings may also have something to do with regular visits by a pack of wild dogs. Chaos descends on the depression when these guys are around and spook a lot of the plains game into the trees.

The Bhejane annual game count on the 6th of September further represents a quieter year for Kazuma. 2024 (a drought year) saw a grand total of 3070 mammals counted across 32 different species. 2025 recorded 1396 mammals counted across 26 different species, the second lowest count in humble 5 years. A very vivid example of the effect that the amount of rain has within the wild landscapes, and the movement of animals.

A massive thank you to all the counters and we are very pleased to say that this is the first year that we have had all pans counted. This data is hugely helpful in understanding the pressure that the waterholes come under during the dry months.

With only a couple of minor repairs required at Roan Pan, our water infrastructure has held up well. With the rains now upon us, we can safely say that we have made it through the dry season unscathed.

ZAMBEZI NATIONAL PARK – CHAMABONDA

In complete contrast to Kazuma Pan National Park, the Chamabonda has been teeming with wildlife over the last couple of months. With little natural water in this area, our pumped pans are the only source for animals to drink. This has made for exceptional game viewing with herds of elephant and buffalo a daily occurrence.

The roan that appeared a couple of months ago seem to have moved off and haven’t been sighted recently. However, we are very happy to report a decent herd of eland frequenting the vlei, a good 30 strong!

The 2025 annual Bhejane Game Count further reflected the incredible wildlife haven that the Chamabonda has become over the last decade or so. 2025 counted a total of 2998 mammals across 24 species, up about 150 from last year, and the largest number of mammals counted to date.

Again, a massive thank you to all the counters, with every pan in the Chamabonda and Kalisosa Vlei ecosystems counted this year.

The last couple of months have seen some work being done to the roads within the Chamabonda. Our great desire is to have access to the vlei all year round. Whilst this has mostly been the case, the terrific storms of last rainy season certainly did a number on the roads in. Mike Karassellos, came to the party and has done wonders on the access road in from the Chamabonda gate. In return for his being allowed to cut and bail the grass on the vlei, his grader has been hard at work ensuring the roads remain accessible.

From a water for wildlife point of view it’s been a great couple of months for us. One of the systems at Chamabonda 1 had a breakdown. Sadly it was the better performing of the two systems there. With it not providing water for just under a week, combined with the significant drinking pressure this pan gets, the level of the dropped significantly. Whilst we attended to the problem quickly and had everything back up and running, we have struggled to get the pan to fill.

However, with a couple of decent storms in late October, the pan is looking good again, and the drinking pressure has reduced drastically. Other than that, all our other water points have held up well and managed to deliver more water than was being consumed. Pans remained at healthy levels, and the herds descended day after day to quench their thirst.

The Chamabonda has become a prime wildlife ecosystem over the years, a living testament to how important water is and the life that it brings to an area. Each year we continue to see changes with animals shifting further up the vlei, and sightings of new species. Over the next few years we hope to boast herds of Roan, Tsessebe and even the odd ostrich!

HWANGE NATIONAL PARK – ROBINS & SINAMATELLA

Game viewing in Hwange has been nothing less than spectacular during the last couple of months. The Robins area in particular has offered some incredible sightings with lions almost at every waterhole, cheetah being seen regularly around salt pans. Even leopard and Wild Dog have been making a regular appearance.

With the fantastic grazing available as a result of good rains last year, the plains game have done very well. This dry season in particular is far milder than previous years. Long may it continue! It’s been a busy couple of months for our Water for Wildlife teams in Hwange with some necessary upgrades being made to several systems and the constant repairs and maintenance work that comes with the season.

We reported on the return of the elephant herds towards the end of August. This continued in earnest throughout September. Whilst it is a little later than expected, and largely thanks to the late rain we had, their return was inevitable. With it, came the increased drinking pressure as well as the tampering of our pipelines.

Our teams attended to no less than 6 pipe breaks  that had been fiddled with by these massive pachyderms. No matter how deep we  put them, or how much protection we give them, the elephants always manage to  find them. It just one of the challenges we face when pumping significant  amounts of water!

Mashambo took the brunt of the issues. Being one of the first systems we installed the panels are directly above the borehole. This is logical from a cost effectiveness point of view as we use less cable. But if the elephants decide they like the smell of the water at the top of the borehole, a flimsy solar panel won’t stop them. This is exactly what happened at Mashambo. Fortunately, the system is still working, but we have it on our program for next year to put the panels a little further away from the pipeline.

Despite the renovation of an additional borehole, and ample water going into Mafas pan, the elephants still decided that they preferred water directly from the pipe. Fortunately, they tampering didn’t affect the actual system itself, and we managed to replace the 50 odd meters of pipe they pulled up. Always fun games when the Jumbo are around!

The team spent a fair bit of time in the back area of Robins over the last few months. With Manzibhovu and Mahaboti both having received battery systems this year we have been tinkering with a few things and monitoring their performance to ensure maximum delivery of water to these vital pans.

Mahaboti got a brand new set of solar panels. The current ones were pretty old, and with the rapid advancements in solar technology, we were able to replace the same number of panels, but almost double the power generation. This was necessary given the extended pumping time thanks to the battery system. The team spent a few days camping at the site and reported that there was not a single moment where they did not witness at least one elephant at the pan. A significant example of how important this water is for animals in these rugged back areas.  

Manzibomvu also had a bit of an upgrade. We weren’t happy with the amount of water that it was producing. Our data collection and stats suggest that this hole can deliver a lot more water than it actually was.

We opted to upgrade the entire underground system and put a bigger pump and motor down the hole. At the same time we replaced the entire length of rising main pipe as it had been repaired many times before. Each join becoming a weak spot and a potential place for the pipe to burst. It’s no small feat hauling a pump and motor up from over 100 meters underground but the team did a sterling job and successfully installed the new piping, complete with a new pump and motor.

We are very pleased to say that these upgrades combined with the battery system is producing some excellent water to this hugely important pan.

Bhejane August 2025 Update: Water For Wildlife

The seasons have certainly shifted this month. The cold brisk temperatures of winter, have been replaced by sapping heat. The hot dry season has officially began, and our water for wildlife work is need more than ever!

As shimmering haze has descended upon the landscape as the midday heat beats down on the wilting vegetation. The splashes of green we had seen at the start of the month has all but gone and with the rising temperatures, the bush is drying out fast!

The herds have returned and the game viewing is exceptional at the moment. Travellers through our wild spaces have been blessed with incredible sightings. A hidden blessing synonymous of the dry season months, as animals congregate around the dwindling water sources.

Fortunately, we are ready for it. Aside from the inevitable broken pipes and general maintenance, our water infrastructure is all performing well.

Providing just over 1.5 million liters of water a day ,there is a certain sense of achievement witnessing the life that our work supports!

Kazuma National Park

The burns of last month have produced an irresistible green flush to the depression which is now teeming with animals. Herds of Zebra, Wildebeest and Tsessebe can be seen almost everywhere you look. Even the elusive Oribi are out in force with a recent visit producing 9 in a single drive!

With the influx of prey, predators are almost a permanent feature now, with regular sightings of Cheetah, Lion and Leopard. We host our 5^th annual game count on the 6^th September and are very excited to see what sort of results come out of this Park. With our working only having started here in 2019, each year brings with it new growth and developments as the ecosystem responds to the improving conditions. 

All is well on the water front. We turned up the pumping rate on Insiza again due to the drinking pressure, and installed a new meter at Roan pan to better monitor the flow of water. Probably the biggest win for the month was a complete factory reset of the battery system at Corner Pan.

Whilst it’s been performing well, the pump has been switching off at about midnight, but the batteries fitted should see it go through to almost sunrise.

The factory reset did exactly that, and this pump is now supplying life giving water for almost 24 hours. At 5000ltrs per hour,that’s quite a bit more water in a day!

Zambezi National Park – Chamabonda

With much of the vlei now having been mowed,visibility and access to the succulent new growth is at its best. Herds of buffalo and zebra and a near constant presence along the open grasslands.

The elephants have also returned in number, with all water points boasting herd after herd in the late afternoons and into the evenings.

A pack of wild dog have been seen regularly along the vlei system, and we recently discovered a den site housing a bunch of next generation dogs. Their presence is such a testament to the thriving ecosystem that the vlei has become. We look forward to watching these young animals grow aid in the expansion of these endangered species.

Our annual game count includes the Chamabonda Vlei,and with all water points spoken for this year, it promises to deliver some incredible sightings.

Whilst some work has been done on the roads, September will see an expansion to this. The excellent rains of last season caused havoc in the clay sections, creating deep ruts. Tonnes of gravel will be dropped, and our hope is to restore vast stretches of the road to last countless rainy seasons.

Our Water for Wildlife work is at a care and maintenance stage on the Chamabonda. Weekly checks make up the bulk of our work, cleaning solar panels and attending to any repairs that may be required.Otherwise, all our systems are working well, and there is ample water throughout the vlei.

Hwange National Park – Robins and Sinamatella

After the upgrades reported on last month, much of our efforts have been centered on care and maintenance. With the vast majority of our boreholes across the Hwange landscape, this is no small task. The teams travel literally hundreds of kilometres checking water points and ensuring that our infrastructure is functioning at capacity.

Solar panel cleaning is the order of the day. As the land dries out, the levels of dust greatly increase. Caked panels can lose up to 10% efficiency and so ensuring that they are clean is vitally important to maximize water delivery.

With the increased drinking pressure, and the return of large numbers of elephants, our pipelines have taken a bit of a hammering.No less than 4 emergency repair jobs have been done this month, where elephants have found the buried pipes and pulled them up.

Whilst this does not stop the water from flowing, it does stop it reaching the pan and if left unattended will cause the pans to dry up.

The battery installation at Manzibhovu last month is performing exceptionally well. We are confident that this vital back area pan will hold excellent water throughout the dry season and service thousands of animals.

With the increased pumping time, and additional pressure, we had to completely upgrade the rising main pipe down the borehole.This is a solid 100m length of pipe that lives entirely underground, bring water to the surface. This pipe has been on the cards for an upgrade for awhile now as it has split many times and is full of joins. We took the relatively quiet month to achieve this.

The battery system installed back in June at Mahabotiis also doing incredibly well. Usually by this time of the year that pan has dried up, and the large bull elephants suck the water directly from the outlet pipe. Not allowing a single drop to reach the pan.

Different story this year. The additional pumping hours, and the greatly increased yield surpasses the demand, and the pan is still looking great.