Blogs from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Africa

So about half of us got up to head to breakfast before our day's Rhino Trek at Matobo National Park. The service was quite slow (though food still good), so we had to rush back to the hostel to wait for our ride. And who turned out to be our guide? Jordan!!! He was back to fill our heads with more information and give us a good time. So, we piled into the truck, this time I sat in the middle since I had claimed an edge on the last time, but I sat in back (I liked being able to stand, better views and more comfortable and adventurous!). Jordan said it was a half hour ride, but at around half an hour I wondered if that was "African time" - it was not too far ... read more

From Beit Bridge my coach proceeded without further hindrance to Bulawayo, a city I do not know particularly well but a convenient way point en route to the Vic Falls. We arrived at about 1330 hours, 5.5 hrs behind schedule. Remarkably, Mrs Rajah was waiting for me at the Intercape city office where we were deposited. Being the only European on the bus would not have made it difficult to pick me out. She introduced herself as Lily and immediately apologised that she would’t be able to give me a lift to her house where I would be staying because her car was off the road. ‘A little Morris Minor’ she said with a smile, purchased from an elderly doctor. Not a problem I replied, but was there somewhere I could grab a bite? I was ... read more

Geo: -20.1678, 28.5813This morning we got up early and found it difficult to pack up. We were comfortable here and not ready to leave the wilderness. Finally we were packed and we slowly drove out of the national park. We left the camp site at about 6am. I rode in Francois' car as that 70km corrugated road was not going to be comfortable in our car, with the lack of functioning front shock absorbers. I was hoping for a few more interesting sightings on our way out. Twenty minutes into our drive, I noticed a large tree that had been knocked down since we last drove past this area. Standing behind the tree to the right hand side was a large adult elephant. It was enjoying the leaves and I hope feeling guilty - 1 less ... read more

After getting a lift from Ingrid to the bus station in Mutare, I found a bus going to Masvingo easily enough. I was heading for Great Zimbabwe 27 km south of Masvingo. Great Zimbabwe is a set of ruins built by indigenous Bantu people and date back to between the 13th and 14th centuries. They are the largest ruins in Sub-Saharn Africa and the only ruins of this kind south of Ethiopia. These ruins caused some consternation amongst the colonisers who discovered them. One of the justifications that the Europeans had for colonising, was that the African people were inferior and required the assistance of Europeans to develop. Accordingly, there were great archaeological efforts to prove some link between another civilisation and Great Zimbabwe, but they have been proved to be built by Bantu people. Once ... read more

With a recent cholera outbreak and shortage of mortuaries a truck loaded with dead bodies heads for mass burial while you nervously cross the boarder into one of the worlds most politically unstable countries - Zimbabwe. In a country where interest rates were in excess of 231 Million Percent and local currency denominations range from $1 to $100 Trillion dollars you will not be surprised to find a country under British sanctions struggling economically while desperately sustaining its people and infrastructure. On nervously crossing the boarder immigration requests brand new United States Dollar notes to pay for a 30 day visa. With local currency now worthless, Zimbabwe has attached its self to the United States Dollar in a attempt to stabilize the country. Unfortunately a stable country needs to start with a stable police force. Paying ... read more