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Published: April 5th 2009
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The last 4 days have been amazing!
On Thursday morning we started our 3 day Hwange experience. Hwange is Zimbabwe's largest national park. We arrived at the travel agent meeting point at 8:45 to find we were the only 2 people on this trip. We were previously surprised by the lack of tourists around Victoria Falls and it is evermore apparent that the bad political state of the country is putting off many tourists from coming here at the moment though there is no need to worry, these things are blown out of proportion and everywhere we have been feels reasonably safe - no we haven't been imprisoned by Robert Mugabe as Rob constantly joked! The only thing we have to really watch is the constant harassment by the locals selling their carvings and jewellery - they literally follow you down the street for half a mile bargaining you to buy something you have no interest in - and not one but we've had up to six at a time fighting over your attention for a sale. You have to watch when taking money out because they can be known to grab handfuls of cash off you! Beware the market(!)
though it was certainly an experience you are constantly surrounded by them. However with my taste in bangles (here mostly made of copper and elephant or giraffe tail hairs) I have already acquired a fair few more as expected (!) and found that walking away from a sale is the best way to eventually get a good price. We thought we were safe from them in the camp as it is restricted but low and behold the security guide starts asking us about our bangles then furthermore trys to sell us some more! Also as the country has gone bankrupt, their currency is not accepted anymore and so they use the US dollar and South African Rand - locals also try to sell you there old currency as a novelty item - the largest note is 100 Trillion (100,000,000,000,000!) Dollars! Good joke money!
Anyway back to Thursday, we were met by our tour leader (Joe) and cook (Mark) - two really friendly Zimbabwean guys who drove us a two hour journey to Hwange national park where we settled into our chalets before going on the first of 4 game drives. We saw elephant, rhino, leopard, giraffe, zebra, tawny eagle
(really close), mpala, kudu, ostrich, baboons, crocodiles and hippos to name a few! The variety is awesome! We arrived back at camp at six (this is just before sunset here) to have a "2 course meal presentation" by Mark which consist of soup followed by char grilled chicken (on the BBQ) - fairly simple (but delicious) by our tastes but very expensive by theirs. At night we thought we would be bored with nothing to do but this was far from the truth as we found ourselves sharing beers and in deep conservation with Joe and Mark, mainly about out vast cultural differences. We were shocked to hear that a white tour guide gets paid around 5 times what they get!
We had to wake in the morning for 5:30 for a 6-9am game drive. At this time it was surprisingly cold (we even took blankets) and the region is known for its vast temperature changes. After this we first visited a local school where we met Timba the headmaster and went to see the kids for some q and a and then visited a local homestay and were taught about how rural Zimbabweans live and explored their homes
Ostrich
Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe and surroundings. The whole experience was very humbling and even though our guide encouraged us to take photos we felt a bit like spoilt tourists in comparison. We then visited a Painted Dog Conservation Sanctuary to learn how they are helping repopulating the dogs back into the wild as they have been under threat from poachers snares.
The following day after another morning game drive we were taken back to Victoria Falls where we visited the market and then had our pre-departure meeting for the main 3 week tour to Cape Town. We met some of our group we were traveling with who consisted mainly of Australian, a couple of Dutch and American but no of Brits as far as we know (which is ok as we don't want to feel too close to home - we felt a bit like this when we first returned after 3 days with 2 Zimbabweans - coming back to find a load of white westerners!). In the evening we had an all you could eat BBQ consisting of warthog and crocodile meat (a bit like pork) and then went to the bar at the backpackers lodge where there were local drummers who
Large male elephant upclose
Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe let us join in.
Today we visited Victoria Falls properly and ended up completely drenched - because of the force of the water there is a mist of spray which at some points is like being in a typhoon (it even broke the umbrella we borrowed!). The spray also creates beautiful rainbows between the gorges though we had to be careful where we used the camera! Best to wear your swimming costume or maybe take some shampoo for a power shower! In the afternoon we visited the crocodile farm where we held baby crocs and saw the feeding of bigger ones and that just about brings us up to date.
Tomorrow we disembark for Chobe national park and more game drives and a river cruise. We are camping out in 2 person tents for the majority of the rest of this trip so it is uncertain where and when we'll be able to reach a computer. Hope all is well and hope the Villa don't get thrashed again!
P.S. I have tried and tried to upload some photos to the blog but this server here is not accepting it, however I have managed to upload a few
Baby leopard - very rare
Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe (after waiting an age) to Facebook so please check there.
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Lisa
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Live on the Wild Side!!
Wow guys! What a fantastic start to your adventure! It brings back memories of safari fun! Those early game tours are really chilly aren't they, blankets, hot water bottles, it's all good :) LIve on the wild side!!! Embrace every moment!!! Love you lots xxxx Lisa