Zimbabwe Diary
Dates: 27th October 2009 to 13th November 2009 17 Days Zimbabwe miles = 2084 miles (3333 km) Trip miles = 22336 miles (35738 km)
Day 260 - Tuesday 27th October CONTINUED South Africa to Zimbabwe Over the Limpopo River into Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean side was frenetic but not too bad. Got our visas without problem, US$55 each and handed over R920 to Isaac our helper for the insurance, road fund tax and carbon tax and also got the carnet stamped up. That was all sorted although the papers we got back didn’t seem to add up to R920 but didn’t realise that until we were back on the road. Nearly finished. Just a form to hand into Customs telling them what funds we had with us and the value of the vehicle contents. That put the official into a flat spin as he couldn’t grasp the fact we had brought most of the items from England and it was all old personal effects. He wanted us to pay a deposit that we could reclaim when we left Zimbabwe but I declined his kind offer.
Isaac got us to fill in another form each and advised reducing the values but that didn’t work either. The official instructed us to go and get the vehicle inspected to value the contents. This was going to be interesting! Isaac and his mate reckoned they would talk to the vehicle inspector and arrange for us to give him a little something to wave us through. When they told me the inspector wanted R2000 (£150) I told the inspector I wasn’t paying that and he could go ahead and inspect the vehicle if he wanted to. He opened the rear passenger door to start the inspection. Out fell a loaf of bread; he stared at it but I just picked it up and put it back in the vehicle and shut the door. And that was the limit of the inspection! He signed off the custom form.
Drove to the exit gate but failed to spot the official lounging at the side so had to reverse back and hand him our customs forms. Got another grilling on where we were going and what were we carrying but he got bored of my travel tales and was more interested in the sand mats and waffle boards on our bonnet. Once explained what they were for he waved us on. One more barrier to go; hand in the gate pass to another official and tell her where we were going; we just put Hwange National Park down on every form for place of residence in Zimbabwe. This worked and we were out. Just over two hours in total, even though it felt much longer, so not too bad.
Stopped outside to settle up with Isaac who still wouldn’t tell me how much he wanted for his troubles. We offered him R100 but he was affronted at this expecting much more for him and his team. We finally settled on R400; bloody expensive but a necessary evil in our case. With hindsight, we were completely whizzed by our mate Isaac and I won’t be using him again!
We drove 80 km up the Harare road passing the first of many ‘official’ tolls charging US$1 or R10 for cars. These seem to have sprung up all over the place as a way of generating money for government coffers. Stopped off at the Lion and Elephant Lodge Motel to camp on the, now dry, Bubye River; US$5 for the two of us, so very cheap. We planned to check out the restaurant for dinner to get a feel of what is on offer and costs. We did in fact dine. Eland steak for me and pork chop for Judi, plus a bottle of wine. They only had a choice of one red and one white which made choosing much simpler; we went for the Stellenbosch Simonsig Shiraz at R80 which we thought wasn’t bad. The food was very good and reasonably cheap so our stay in Zimbabwe shouldn’t be too arduous, hopefully. Finished the meal with a local brandy, several actually, that went down very well. 1
Day 262 - Wednesday 28th October Bubye Bridge to Mushandike Sanctuary On the road fairly early and continued on up the Harare road, stopping at another toll; this time US$1 or R8 as opposed to R10 at the last one. Having read a little about the Great Zimbabwe Ruins decided to call in there on the way up north. In the middle of nowhere, thinking I was well out of any speed limits I went through a speed check and although I was slightly over the what turned out to be a 60 kph limit fortunately for me the chap who had just overtaken me was pulled over and was being processed, thus ignoring me. At another police check we were waved through without stopping. Called in at a garage just before we turned off onto the Ruins road to test out fuel availability; no problems and at US$1.05 per litre (£0.63) not the most expensive country by a long way. Had there been a problem we would have stayed within our range allowing enough to exit into Botswana.
The Ruins were quite impressive and was the capital of the Shona people between the 11th and 15th Century. On independence in 1980 Rhodesia took the name Zimbabwe after the Ruins; it means ‘great stone building’. Hired a guide called Champion who gave us some fascinating facts on our tour, he knew his stuff. We haven’t done much cultural visiting so far so that will do for Zimbabwe! Drove around the nearby Lake Muturikwi then back into Masvingo on the A4 Harare Road taking the A9 west to a campsite on the Mushandike Sanctuary Dam. Got stopped in a police check and handed over international driving licence and insurance. All in order and waved on. All very pleasant and upfront but do hope I’m not going to get stopped on a daily basis!
At the entrance to the Sanctuary they wanted US$4 total to get in but for rand they wanted 40; R10 to the dollar whereas the garage had been 9 to 1, one toll 10 to 1 and another toll 8 to 1 and to get into the ruins 8 to 1. The argument being that it is easier for people to have effectively one to one when working in two currencies but it does mean an extra 25% if paying in rand at 10 to 1 rather than 8 to 1. I paid in dollars as I objected to being ripped off! Travel note: take US dollars to Zimbabwe in preference to rand and don’t even consider, at this time, relying on the ATMs that are few and far between.
Settled down for sundowners overlooking the lake having stoked up the donkey boiler for hot showers later but still hadn’t seen anyone to pay our camping fees as yet. There was only one log on the fire so used some of my own and scouted for smaller twigs. I then noticed the wood pile in a locked compound. I managed to get my hand under the chain-linked fencing and pulled some wood through when the guard caught me in the act; someone is coming to light the fire he said! He did turn up later and I managed to have a tepid shower and Judi a very hot one, but then I had been using the cold tap! In many countries so far it is often a guessing game which tap is which; the cold and hot can be left or right, they can both be red or both blue or no colour and because often it takes ages to get the hot to run you’ve had your cold shower before it finally runs hot. I ended up paying the chap the camp fees, US$10, in rand at 10 to 1 as we can’t afford to drain our dollars this early on.
Day 263 - Thursday 29th October Mushandike Sanctuary to Chinhoyi There was nothing much to explore in the Sanctuary and we weren’t at all sure who or what was finding sanctuary here so we were on the road by 8 a.m. Gave a lad walking out of the park a lift, with him standing on the side step to the gate; it must have been a good ten kilometre walk. At the gate I noticed a flag at half-mast and asked the official who was dead. ‘A senator of Zimbabwe’, ‘Oh’ says I, ‘not the President?’ 2
‘No’ he replied with a grin, ‘Pity’ says I. Judi told me off as, as she said, he may report me! Gave another lad a lift up to the tar and then drove back to Masvingo before heading north to Harare on the A4.
Soon stopped at the first of five police checks that morning: waved on through at three after they eyed me up; produced carnet at one; and driver’s licence at the other. We decided that the best chance of getting internet was to make for a large hotel in Harare where we could lunch, fire the update off, check messages and do some banking. It seems unlikely we will get a Zimbabwe SIM card as they wanted US$30 for one that won’t work in our MTN phone and the coverage seems very scant in any case; we’ll rely on the satellite phone for emergencies and can receive internet texts on it.
Ended up in the rather plush Cresta Jameson Hotel right in the middle of Harare and went off for lunch intending to then have an hour on the Wi-Fi. Parked up and a gaggle of hopefuls congregated one of whom was to be the car minder who would take care of the parking ticket. The Wi-Fi for later cost US$6 but they took rand at 8 to 1. Lunch looked as if it was going to take absolutely ages as there was a big conference party at the buffet so we opted for the a la carte menu. Judi went for mussels with trout for me; the waiter would have to check the availability of the trout and let me know. He did let me know … but 30 minutes later declaring they didn’t have trout but I could have hake. Eventually lunch arrived, my hake was very good but Judi’s mussel portion was a bit on the mean side; six of them served with a side sauce and chips and veg. Very tasty but not what the menu read!
When the bill came it was for US$30 but unlike reception they would only convert at 10 rand to 1 dollar. An argument ensued: ‘I’m not paying that when you are making 25% profit’, bearing in mind the reception was 8 to 1. In the end they agreed I could pay at the reception. Went to log on the internet and found the code would not accept. They tried without success then tried other vouchers as well, all to no avail so I ended up getting my US$6 back. A complete waste of time all round and whilst I may have expected such in a small place I did think such a grand place could have done better. Back to the car and my car minder demanded US$20: two hours parking at US$5 an hour plus US$10 for him. The parking fee probably was legit but his fee, well ….! ‘Bugger off, two dollars is plenty’. He took the hint. Someone tried to sell me a panga, (a machete), ‘go away’; another lad who tried to sell me some sunglasses when I arrived for US$35, pleaded for R100 or US$10 as he hadn’t eaten since Monday. I did a deal at that as I did need some new sunglasses.
Made our way out of Harare and were quite impressed with the place, all very civilised and peaceful. Passed the Westgate Shopping Mall on the outskirts of Harare and called in - should have gone there in the first place! Tried our luck at the ATMs as we were now losing out on the rand to dollar conversion, especially as we had used up all our small rand notes and coins. The lowest denomination they now have is a one dollar note, with no cents, so if you need change they give you rand coins or sweets! The first ATM didn’t take visa; the second had not been converted from Zim$, but the third, Barclays gave both of us US$400. That should keep us going and prevent us being whizzed on every transaction. We bought some beers from a well stocked TM Supermarket before heading out of town.
Intended going a bit further north towards Mana Pools, on the Zambezi, tonight. Topped up the fuel not knowing what the fuel situation would be like further north; it came to US$19.40 but of course he had no change for the US$20 note. We kept coming across road signs warning of 3
‘deadly hazards’ that turned out to be gentle curves but at least it was an attempt at road safety. Also kept seeing home-made signs advertising wonderful things such as, ‘Specail Big Worm For Sale’ (sic) and ‘Anaconda Worms 4 Sale’ and assumed it was aimed at the passing South African fishermen on their way to Lake Kariba after tiger fish.
Stopped for the night at the Chinhoyi Cave Sanctuary camp site having been stopped at a further three police checks; a record eight in one day along with three road tolls! Entered the site but were too late to take advantage of a trip into the caves. Paid for wood and ended up driving some way to a huge wood pile where some of the staffs’ children pulled out a huge pile of wood that I stacked on the bonnet. I gave them sweets as a thank you. We had electricity until there was a power cut but it did come back on in time for hot showers.
Day 264 - Friday 30th October Chinhoyi to Mana Pools Had another hot shower, not knowing what the facilities will be like in Mana Pools, before setting off heading further north. On one stretch the lorry in front of me, who had been pulling away from me suddenly braked like mad: caught in a speed check! A couple more checks with the officers only wanting to know our business but at the third we were pulled into the side for a search for guns. That was a new one. The thorough search consisted of: ‘Do you have any guns?’ ‘No’ Followed by a long chat about our travels and our thoughts on his country and that was it.
Reached a town called Makuti and topped up with diesel. I’m filling up every 150 km or so just to make sure I have full tanks but to be honest only one garage so far had run out of diesel; fuel is now not a problem. Every bus we see seems to double up as a delivery lorry with anything and everything stacked up on the roof, including three piece suites. One lorry we spotted had the words, ‘Proverbs 10 V22’, emblazoned on the back that we assumed was a plea to a higher authority to keep the driver safe. When we looked it up later the various translations were along the theme of, ‘It is the Lord’s blessing that makes a person rich, and hard work adds nothing to it.’: a bit too deep for us!
We arrived at the top of the Zambezi Escarpment. The very steep decline with sharp bends had wrecks of lorries on most of them, many of them burnt out fuel tankers which is probably why the country was short of fuel! There was a steady stream of slow moving lorries making their way up the escarpment as this is the road from the only Zambia/Zimbabwe commercial border at Chirundu. I was very grateful we weren’t going that way. At the bottom we passed a tsetse fly control for those vehicles leaving the Lower Zambezi Park towards us. Just beyond here we turned right into the Mana Pools Gate; ‘have you got a permit?’ Guess what; we should have got one from the Mana Pools National Park Headquarters that we had passed … at the top of the escarpment!
Off we set. Chatted to the tsetse man who waved us through again and on up the hill. Hadn’t gone far before we joined the back of the queue we had passed coming down. Fortunately many of the lorries were running empty or light loads so could overtake the slow moving ones and I could maintain a reasonable pace. Made it to the top and went to the park office and there obtained our free permit to enter the park. We did debate about stopping there on the way down in the first place - hindsight and all that! Back down the eight kilometre hill, waved to the tsetse man again and then handed in our permit at the gate.
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We now had 80 km on a particularly badly corrugated gravel road to the Mana Pools office. This was hard work all the way and no pleasure at all. Passed a small convoy of South African vehicles, fisherman, blocking the track as one of the off-road camping trailers had snapped its A-frame. At one point we heard a loud bang from underneath and fearing the suspension had gone pulled over to check it out. Nothing untoward so guessed it was a large stone that had flicked up. Booked in at the office and paid our camp and park fees, then made our way downstream to the campsite. This is the only public campsite in the park as the others are special ones that have to be pre-booked in Harare.
It was early afternoon but decided to set up camp for the day. It was a large site with just one other tent some 400 metres away. Selected a spot right on the banks of the Zambezi and after doing all our jobs retired to the roof tent for a late afternoon siesta, with white wine, looking out over the Zambezi at an elephant on the island in front of us and the hippo in the river. This is what Judi really wanted out of Africa. Stoked up the donkey boiler for hot showers and then got my fish curry on the go.
After dinner we just sat and took in the ambiance of the place in the lovely moonlight night. ‘What’s that noise?’ On with the spot light: just three buffalo walking past us 20 metres away! Then we spotted a hyena metres away but it soon ran off. The elephant that had been on the island earlier decided he wanted to come back to the mainland and we could just make him out charging through the water, splashing all the way. Could hear lion roaring from downstream and across the water in Zambia, but quite distant. Off to bed with all the windows, including nets open as it was still in the high 30o’s so relied on a spraying to keep any mozzies at bay even though we hadn’t seen any so far. The wind later got up and helped to cool things down.
Day 265 - Saturday 31st October Mana Pools National Park Woke up, looked out through the front of the wide open tent and came eye to eye with a monkey sitting on our jerry cans. Our friends the buffalo wandered through camp as did a warthog. Slowly packed up, leaving table and chairs in situ as we were returning and went for a drive. It was extremely arid away from the river and pools (Zambezi oxbows) and although there wasn’t masses of game it was interesting enough with some good birds. Stopped off for lunch in a spot overlooking the river and later headed back to camp to get a lamb stew on the go over coals, eco briquettes actually, like compressed sawdust blocks but worked okay. I did some washing while Judi prepared the hotpot and made up the bed.
As yesterday we retired for a siesta and I updated the travel blog. I was interrupted by a vervet monkey who, despite us clapping hands and hissing, managed to get the lid off the stew and only ran off when I threw a back rest at him from the tent - breaking it! Time to bring out the catapult! I collected some small bits of wood and some big stones: my ball bearing shot could easily kill the poor thing and it would probably be against park rules as well! I put large pieces of wood to hold down the cooker lid. Back up in the tent and about to complete the blog when the pesky monkey was back, bolder than before. But a large stone in his direction had him running; he’ll be back, I’m sure!
Nice hot shower and dinner before retiring. Again, a lovely moonlit night but still very hot. Before bed I wandered over to the ablution block to get a bowl of washing up water and came face to face with a buffalo; we looked at each other but he was too busy eating to take any notice of me but even so I gave him a wide berth. A hippo was thinking about leaving the river next to us but the spot light scared him away. Woke up about 3 a.m. and looked out the window to see the few things we had left on the table knocked over and our wash bag which had been hanging on the 5 back of the vehicle, on the floor. I went down the ladder and retrieved the bag. The section with the tooth brushes in had the zip broken and my tooth brush had been bitten in two. We reckoned it must have been a hyena. Back to bed with no more interruptions.
Day 266 - Sunday 1st November Mana Pools National Park Eight months since we left Cape Town; time is really flying by. Up fairly early, packed up as we did yesterday and went for a drive. Saw a good selection of animals and birds before returning to camp mid-afternoon. In the site next to us two Namibian vehicles had set up camp, a fair distance away but with a huge campsite, why next to us? I put up the tent and we both showered and hadn’t been back long when a local, with a fishing rod wandered past. You are allowed to walk alone in this park. He told us there were hunting dog a kilometre down the track. We were set up so not easy to pack up again so we wandered over to our neighbours to tell them. One vehicle had gone off for a game drive but the remaining French couple who lived in Namibia were going to try and find the dogs and said they had room for us.
We drove in the general direction and saw a large herd of eland but were beginning to think we wouldn’t find the dogs when we came across them: 21 of them resting up. There was one other vehicle there with a chap, who had been studying them along with a couple of paying customers. He directed us closer to the pack and then got out of his vehicle with his two clients and got even closer by shuffling on their bottoms. The dogs didn’t take any notice of them but I’m sure the drama of the approach earned him a large tip! He reckoned they would lie up until it was nearly dark, get up and play, before setting off hunting. That’s exactly what they did but not before we had watched them closely, fascinated by the group interactions and games.
There were three hooded vultures hanging around and we soon found out why. As soon as the dogs did their business the vultures would dive in and consume the droppings. Lovely! As the dogs started moving off, a careless warthog ran past them some 100 metres away and they were off. The leading pack chased it for several hundred metres but gave up; don’t know why as they normally chase the creature until it is exhausted before eating it alive; perhaps they didn’t fancy warthog! We had watched them for the best part of an hour as the French couple, Pierre and Francesca were happy to stay.
Returned to camp just as it got dark where they proudly told their Italian friends all about the dogs! Spoke to the occupants of some canoes paddling past on their guided trip; canoeing here is a very popular tourist activity, getting up close with the animals and camping en route. Besides buffalo in camp again all was fairly peaceful apart from the monkeys, trying and succeeding on one occasion, to steal things out of the back of the Land Rover right under our noses.
Day 267 - Monday 2nd November Mana Pools National Park to Matusadona National Park Up with the sun as we wanted to make an early start. The monkeys were getting bolder by the minute and as we were standing right next to the vehicle, two of them were inside the front cab before we could chase them off; little devils. Had a quick drive to see if the dogs were around, before making our way out of the park on the extremely bumpy 80 km track. At the half way point had to stop at a check point at a junction to sign out of that section of park, as we had done coming in. We pulled up behind an old Land Rover, our fellow campers who had been 400 metres away from us and waited for them to be processed.
Were there a few minutes before we set off. Within one kilometre we spotted a fairly big animal with a long tail walking across the track in front of us. We stopped as quickly as we could. A male 6 leopard right in front of us and it did no more than sit down on the side of the track for a few moments before walking into the undergrowth. We drove slowly forwards keeping an eye on it. Being a ‘shy and elusive’ animal it did no more than lie down and stare at us whilst only about ten metres away. Watched it until it slinked off into the bush and out of view. Our very own leopard; just shows how much luck is involved!
Eventually reached the tar without drama and stopped at the Tsetse Control Point where he squirted something into the cab before allowing us to proceed. We wanted to take his photo with his net and can but he said he wasn’t prepared! Back up the long, long slog of the escarpment with the Land Rover playing up a little but made it to the top and on to Makuti town. The only filling station had petrol but no diesel so we would have to go to Karoi, some 90 km away as we needed full tanks for our cross country trip over to the Hwange National Park on the western side of the country, nearly 500 km away but with some likely lengthy detours en route.
At Makuti, we were stopped at another gun check. The soldier said he was going to search the vehicle and that we would have to off-load and open everything, including the roof contents! ‘Okay, but it’s going to take you all day as we have loads in the vehicle’ ‘What can you do about it?’ he said. We took that to be an invitation to give him a bribe. ‘We have no guns, so you better search us’ and were directed into the side of the road where a police officer took over. He was a little surprised we were to be searched and didn’t look too enthusiastic at the prospect. He opened the back passenger door, saw that it was loaded to the gunwales, and that was it; ‘You can go’. The soldier wandered over and asked if we were leaving. ‘Yes’. ‘Do you have something for me?’ ‘No’ ‘Maybe some water?’ ‘No, we have to go to the shops’ ‘Okay. Bye’.
Reached Karoi and filled up at the first filling station when I noticed oil dripping on the floor so we pulled over in the shade of a tree to investigate. It was fresh gearbox oil but no obvious leak. It has in the past blown oil out the overdrive breather pipe at the snorkel end. The old Land Rover from Mana Pools also pulled into the garage and we discussed my problem. His advice was to go into town and stop off at the garage to get it looked at as he knew the mechanic. Chatted to them and told them we had seen a leopard on the way out and they must have missed it by minutes but no, they too had seen it! Made our way to the town and found a mechanic at the Shell Garage who checked it out. It was indeed the overdrive breather, the usual culprit but this time the breather pipe had detached itself in the engine bay and hence the leak there. I really don’t know why it does this; it has done it since I got the vehicle, usually some kilometres after a service until the level drops.
He replaced a split section of pipe and topped up the gearbox oil and charged me US$20 labour and US$20 for 2 litres of oil; not bad, all things considered. We were back on the road within the hour heading for the Matusadona National Park on the southern shores of Lake Kariba. This road started off as good tar but soon went to gravel of varying quality. Everyone we passed waved and smiled and the very friendly people reminded us of the Zambians. They are very genuine and welcoming including one chap at another tsetse check where I had to sign a register. When he found out we were British, said, ‘You are very welcome to Zimbabwe’ and he meant it. 7
In one village we noticed a gaggle around a bus. They were trying to get a heavy ox cart onto the roof of the bus. With a rope over a substantial tree bough they had managed to hoist the cart up, drive underneath it and were now in the process of lowering it down onto the roof. The things they put on top of buses is truly amazing! All along the track it was somewhat sad to see what were once large farms were now just arid wasteland no longer being seriously farmed.
We also commented on the lack of children at each settlement. Normally at villages in other countries we would there to be hordes of them. Here there were none or very few. We suspect the cholera outbreak of 2007 that had claimed the lives of a million Zimbabweans had decimated the young in a population already suffering.
Reached the Matusadona Park boundary at about 5.15 p.m. but still had 80 km to reach the campsite but by chance saw a sign for a camp just inside the park. Although it was a ranger’s camp Ronald and Admire, he was very proud of his name, bent over backwards to accommodate us and said we could camp there. They cleared an area for us to set up, got firewood, lit the fire for us and then said there was no charge for camping. We gave them US$5 each which we thought was good value and no doubt they were very happy with this. They told us not to worry if we heard people in the night as it would only be rangers from another post arriving to go out on anti- poaching patrol with some rangers from here; at 4 a.m.!
Day 268 - Tuesday 3rd November Matusadona National Park Up and away by 7.30 a.m. having said cheerio to Ronald after having a long chat with him about the state of Zimbabwe and its future; we gave him another US$5 because he was so friendly and helpful. We had 80 km to drive to the Tashinga campsite at the north of the Matusadona National Park on the shores of Lake Kariba. It turned out the track was a serious, very serious 4x4 off-road track and the journey took us 3½ hours. Came to a junction in the track with a barrier across the one we wanted. We had to sign a register in the nearby hut before the barrier was removed; not sure what function this served but at least it gave employment to this ranger and supported his wife and several children in the lone hut, totally isolated from anyone else. We were possibly the first tourists to have passed this way in many years.
The campsite was in a lovely location but a bit run down. Came across two workers who upon seeing us started to busy themselves sweeping! After a cold drink we drove to the office to pay: US$19 each for camping and with park fees it came to US$73 for just the one night. I remonstrated with the official about the extortionate costs but got nowhere. I did vent my frustration by filling out a customer satisfaction form pointing out that their prices are extortionate and on a par with Tanzania and ticking ‘no’ where it asked if we would recommend it! I felt better for this but no doubt it went straight in the bin!
Went for a drive but not that many tracks to take and the mopane woodland didn’t vary much. Did spot two elephant but having seen evidence of hundreds along the track in we were beginning to think US$73 was a lot of money for two elephant when right alongside the narrow track was a lioness. She looked at us, walked off, then laid in the shade, it was 42oC and stared intently at us. Judi put her window up a little as it didn’t look like a friendly lion. She remained for three or four minutes before getting up and walking across the track in front of us. As she went into the dense bush we noticed a male lion so we suspect they wanted a little privacy. They melted away from sight so we left them to it. We passed by the same spot some one hour later and again saw the two, with a good view of the male. He gave us a really piercing look and both stood up and
8 disappeared. Not bad all round; two big cats, lion and leopard on the track in front of us in two days and both our own findings.
In one or two places there was evidence of money being invested in the park in the form of holiday chalets being built in remote spots so hopefully the future of the park is a little brighter. Back to camp I checked the vehicle and Judi indulged herself with doing some washing. We were camped under a fruiting fig tree which wasn’t too sensible as, one, they were dropping all around us, and, two, the baboons and impala were getting closer and closer to feast on the fruit! Our intention was to get away early tomorrow knowing that we had to back-track the 3½ hours just to get back onto the main track before heading west in the direction of the Hwange National Park. With a lot of luck we may even see a buffalo or black rhino on the way out. As the sun set over Lake Kariba we sipped our sundowners: the last time we had done this looking over the lake was on the other side when we were in Zambia in May.
Day 269 - Wednesday 4th November Matusadona to Binga Up before the 5.30 a.m. sunrise and ready to go by 7.30 a.m. Didn’t see much wildlife on the way out which was little wonder given the dense mopane trees and a track you couldn’t afford to take your eyes off for fear of hitting boulders, potholes or other obstructions. We had to sign out at the barrier we passed on the way in and gave the children some sweets. We did spot some kudu and at one point got very excited by a creature on the track in front of us. It turned out to be not a lion or a leopard, but a dog, not a wild one but a domesticated one from a nearby village!
The track would not be possible in the rainy season as there were some serious river crossings, bad enough dry let alone flooded and I guess most paying visitors would fly or boat in from the lake rather than endure this track. The road map we had showed a track that would cut off much of the remaining back-tracking but couldn’t find it and wasn’t on Tracks4africa or the Garmin. A little later on we came across a track that had had a vehicle down it recently judging by the tyre marks. ‘I’ll give it ten minutes’ says I. It was a lot less bumpy than the track we had been on and the GPS showed us going in the right direction to join up with a village called Siyakobvu and onto a road that joined the main road. Followed the track for about 45 minutes until coming to a village on the banks of what looked like a very substantial river with the remains, just one span, of a bridge. Fortunately the river was almost dry and a local ran over to us to tell us where to cross, providing we had a 4x4. The sandy river bed was about 100 metres or more wide with just a trickle of water in the middle and we were soon over it and on to the decent track the other side. This track carried on to Siyakobvu and at the junction there was tar - but only for the junction section!
This road was reasonable until we crossed a river bridge out of Mashonaland and into the Binga Province where it deteriorated somewhat! We had decided that we would overnight at a town called Binga on Lake Kariba; here we could top up the diesel. Eventually found the pump in the yard of the Ministry of Works but there was already a lorry full of locals at the pump. Yes, they did sell diesel but they were waiting for someone to turn up to dispense the fuel; ‘thanks, we’ll come back tomorrow’. The Africans are excellent at sitting around waiting, unlike me.
Ended up at a very nice, but expensive campsite but at least it had electricity and a very pleasant swimming pool, especially welcome as it was hot again; 40oC+. Moored in front of us were several large house boats that can be hired and sailed along the lake but thanks to the recent past troubles hadn’t moved far due to the lack of tourists for several years. Spent quite some time in the pool with a glass or three of cold white wine before cooking on the poolside braai, although I had to do some modifications to get the coals near the griddle. Tomorrow we intend heading to anywhere with fuel and then on to Hwange National Park. 9
Day 270 - Thursday 5th November Binga to Hwange Packed up but had a last dip before we left. Filled up with diesel at yesterday’s pump. Here they had loads of diesel but no petrol as, apparently the petrol tanker was diverted to Vic Falls where the President was having a conference and the fuel was needed there instead! Called in at the Binga Supermarket. This was a bit of a misnomer as all it had was maize, bread and very few other things. Had to buy two loaves because they were 50 cents each but they only dealt in dollars so had to round up. I can’t imagine the British accepting a currency where the lowest denomination is 60 pence and here 60 pence is probably a day’s wages for some!
It was reasonable tar from Binga down to the main road. A fairly scenic route with quite a few villages but again there seemed to be hardly anyone around. We arrived at the Main Camp at Hwange National Park where we paid our one-off entry fee for the vehicle and first night camp fees at the Main Camp. We handed over US$70 but, needless to say she didn’t have the US$5 change! The girl was going to try and get us in at one of the picnic site camps and Ngwasha was meant to the best, for the next three nights but she would have to phone Harare to check.
Went for an afternoon drive with the highlight being a honey badger out in daylight. Made our way back to camp just before the gates closed at 6.30 p.m., sunset and set up camp. We were the only ones here. We cooked a whole vacuum packed fillet we had bought at Nelspruit but it had a strange smell and although it looked okay we didn’t enjoy it as we should have. It had a very ‘gamey’ taste and now wondered if it was beef?
Day 271 - Friday 6th November Hwange National Park Before leaving called in at the office to check our later bookings. They could only do the one night at Ngwasha as the following two were booked and only one camper per site is allowed. Paid for that and will try at the other side of the park for later. Got our US$5 change from last night. Spotted off at Ngwasha for lunch and spoke to a German couple in a German VW Combi camper who were also lunching. They drove it here in 2005 and now leave the VW at Lusaka and fly out for three months at a time; now there’s a thought!
Went for an afternoon drive but it was very hot and most creatures were hiding so we went back to camp early and found the Germans still there. They asked us if we minded them also camping; we could hardly say no. Later went out the gates in the vehicle and sat up at the nearby waterhole watching a steady stream of creatures coming down to us including a large herd of elephants that got really and I mean really, close to us. A small herd of five male buffalo contained one with dozens of oxpecker birds concentrated between its back legs. We could then see why. The poor thing had had its testicles ripped off and the birds were feeding on the dripping blood and effectively preventing it from having any chance of healing. It did make my eyes water and suspect one of the others had caught him with their huge horns.
Set up camp with the front of the tent overlooking the waterhole and just as it got dark another herd of elephants came down and stayed for several hours making a racket; heard hyena as well. Thought our camp caretaker was going for a stroll but realised he had to walk over to the waterhole to switch on the water pump, presumably to top up the waterhole and camp tank, dodging the elephants en route. A bit of a nerve-racking occupation if you ask me!
Day 272 - Saturday 7th November Hwange National Park 10
Up and away but not before elephant, buffalo, zebra, warthog, waterbuck and others had visited the waterhole. Slowly made our way across the top of the park, it is a huge park, and ended up at the Masuma picnic camp. The German’s had recommended it and although we hadn’t booked the caretaker said we could stay. We were the only campers here and set up next to a shelter looking out over a large waterhole. As we sat there we had good numbers of elephants down, hippo in the pool, giraffe and then Judi spotted two lionesses not far from the water; the interaction between the animals on spotting them was fascinating.
The storm clouds gathered and we could hear distant thunder but again hoped it would miss us as it did last night. Botswana has had a lot of rain apparently and this was where this storm was coming from. Spent the rest of the afternoon watching the events at the water hole unfold. It started to rain as we cooked dinner, ostrich steaks - delicious after the fillet so we ate in the shelter and watched loads of elephant drinking followed by the two lionesses coming down to drink. The recent rain had brought out the insects including lots of large, stupid moths that had a penchant to drown themselves in wine, dinner, candle fat and anything else they could find. Went to bed fairly early and without the lights on, opened up the window nets to get some air moving. We watched the waterhole as it was lit up by lightening that was by now all around us but fortunately, with very little rain. Hadn’t been asleep long when we heard close thunder and the rains came down but we were fine having closed the windows facing the rain.
Day 273 - Sunday 8th November Hwange National Park Had our early morning cup of tea overlooking the waterhole; not much action. I imagine the overnight rain, providing readily available pools, has dispersed the animals. Intended returning to this site tonight so left the table and chairs out before making our way up to Sinamatella Gate to pay for last night and two more. Donald our site caretaker asked us to collect some toilet paper from the gate office as his stocks were now low; having us two there must have meant a run on his supplies!
Stopped off at the Mandavu picnic site and camp but it was deserted and run down although there was quite a lot of birdlife on the water plus lots of hippo and crocs; big ones. We thought the truck load of locals, park workers we guessed, being a Sunday, were very brave fishing on the low banks of the dam! The track to the office was in some places a bit sticky and we were both amazed by the lack of animals, just a few warthog was our lot. The restaurant and shop at the gate had long since closed down as was the Main Camp one so no chance of replenishing any of our stocks. We eventually obtained Donald’s toilet paper; the two rolls they gave us should keep the site going for a while: it’s a good job the park is almost devoid of tourist! In fact, apart from the Germans in their VW we haven’t seen another tourist so difficult to comprehend why we couldn’t book some sites as they were full!
Slowly made our way back but having only seen giraffe decided we would be better off in our own campsite with our own waterhole. Did stop off at the Mandavu Dam again for lunch and both thought it would have made a nice stopover; do hope the park soon gets an injection of money in order to restore it to its obvious former glory. The animals are here, it’s just the facilities that are in desperate need of restoration but I guess the conundrum is that without the tourist there is no money and without the facilities there will be no tourists in any volume.
Set up camp and awarded ourselves a cold beer overlooking the water but again it was very quiet so retired for a siesta until the animals came to drink as it cooled. Eventually elephant arrived but not much else apart from waterbuck and impala; the hippo left the water to feed as the sun set. The stars were out so we were hopeful of a dry night. We were now out of fresh meat, or fresh 11 anything so our stand-by tins came into use. Dined in the shelter but had to use our head-torches on red light as the insects were still a problem, even more so when I switched on the spot-light to pick out the wildlife. It was better just to watch the shapes in the dim moonlight. As last night we retired in the dark to the sound of hyena.
Day 274 - Monday 9th November Hwange National Park Up just after sun-rise and spotted a side-striped jackal leaving the waterhole. With our cup of tea watched waterbuck, zebra, impala and kudu come down to drink. It was interesting to see the differences: the waterbuck were straight in and then away; the kudu were slightly less confident; the impala edged their way towards the water but jumped at the slightest thing, including their own reflection in the water; the zebra just stood around not knowing what to do but eventually the bravest edged to the water, followed by the rest.
As we still didn’t have a Zim SIM we called home on the sat phone to say happy birthday to granddaughter Molly but with the two hours time difference they were still in bed. Spoke to her later just before she went to school. The plan now was to go for a drive and see what we could find. We took everything with us in case we found another good campsite for tonight but more than happy to come back here if need be. We’ve already given Donald the caretaker some soup and he requested some sugar so we’ve sorted him a few things plus we’ll give him a few dollars for looking after us now in case we don’t come back as he was particularly helpful with fire lighting, hot showers, toilet paper and general duties.
On our first day here he asked us if we had an old newspaper; ‘to read or light a fire?’ I asked but it was neither, it was for smoking! I did have a very old UK newspaper jamming something in place in the Land Rover that I gave him. He had, however, obviously read it before he smoked it as later on he was asking us about the UK money sign, the ‘£’, as he didn’t know what it was. He was a very nice young chap who told us he had been working for three months without a day off but come Wednesday he would have 15 days off before being allocated another campsite. Bearing in mind he was on his own, miles from anyone else with the only provisions the park supply being cooking oil and maize for sadza (pap) and that’s it: if he wants anything else he has to pay for it. But the nearest shop is going to be Hwange town, 100 km away and he has no transport and little money!
Like everyone else we’ve spoken to in Zimbabwe he was very friendly and genuinely pleased to see us and interested in where we came from. Having packed up and said cheerio to Donald headed west in the park. Again there wasn’t too much about and it was getting very hot so, after stopping for lunch alongside a small dam we ended up at Robin’s Camp on the northern top of the park and decided to camp here even though it wasn’t a patch on last night’s one. Judi caught up on a load of washing that we strung out between various trees.
The heat had again brewed up a storm that was coming our way so we set up the awning for some shelter but left the washing until the rains arrived. The storm passed through without problem and we retired early. The plan tomorrow is to leave the park early and go to Hwange town which will have, hopefully, fuel, shops and internet. From here we’ll head south to Bulawayo and into the Matopos National Park for one or two days before entering Botswana.
Day 275 - Tuesday 10th November Hwange National Park to Bulawayo Set off on the 50 km track up to the Vic Falls/Bulawayo main road. The track, most of it still within the park was very wet and slippery in places with some deep puddles thanks to the recent 12 rains; the air lockers worked! Noticed the fresh spoor of a large lion in the red mud on the track and a short while later we came across a very large fallen tree blocking the way with a Nissan lorry nearby. As we got closer we could see that the truck was stuck in black cotton mud having tried to drive around the tree. We stopped to help. It turned out the occupants, two men and a woman, workers from the park we assumed, had got stuck at 6 p.m. last night and had spent the night in the truck before resuming their extrication at first light. It was by now 8.30 a.m. I did cheer them up by telling them about the nearby lion foot prints!
Out with the winch and eventually the truck was back on the track. Another pick-up had turned up with workers who had come to clear the tree that had blown down two days previously. The workers set about chopping up the rather large tree; it was going to be a long hot day for them. Someone took our details as he wanted to advise the park director about our kindness in stopping and helping; little did he know I wouldn’t pass an opportunity to use the winch! We reached the tar and drove down to Hwange town for fuel paying US$1.20 instead of the usual US$1 so that drained much of our cash; we couldn’t find a working ATM. A quick shop in a bustling but not well stocked shop to keep us going and we were off having ascertained there was no internet in town.
The road to Bulawayo was quite picturesque and both commented upon the lack of villages, bikes or walkers. Arrived at the outskirts of Bulawayo at about 3 p.m. The skies turned black and we drove into an extremely fierce thunder storm that flooded the streets. We rarely open the sunroof as the roof rack is above it but must have done so at some stage because now the water was pouring in all around the seal where the twigs, charcoal fragments and general rubbish on the roof had prevented it from closing properly; Judi did her best with the available towels. The heavy rain and floods, coupled with a strange traffic light procedure where everyone just ignores the red lights made for an interesting drive through town.
Found a Barclays but the ATM was out of dollars so we headed for the municipal campsite to check it out. Tracks4africa navigated us down a road heading to the campsite only to be confronted by a now rising river with just a footbridge over it so we back tracked and approached from a different direction. The site was okay but as it was still pouring we headed back into town, through the flooded streets to try and find an ATM with cash. Success at last although Judi’s withdrawal was rejected as the requested US$500 exceeded her daily card limit; I got US$400 without problem. Also tracked down an internet café and had a quick session in there. Back to camp as it got dark and set up; at least the rains had stopped by now and it was a clear night. We plan to return tomorrow to the internet café to finish off what we didn’t do today and then head for Matopos Park.
Day 276 - Wednesday 11th November Bulawayo to Matopos National Park Up to a lovely sunny morning and after a leisurely start headed into town to the internet café. Managed to park right outside and paid for an hour’s worth of internet time. Sent a short update following on from yesterday’s but almost immediately got a lengthy reply from Pete Viner who advised he was missing the last update. I then realised it only went to a few people, still getting to grips with gmail so sent it again. Picked up an email from Etosha Park bookings advising that we were booked in from 23rd December to 2nd January at the three Etosha camps in Namibia. Brilliant. Etosha was probably the most influential deciding factor for us making this safari. Tried to sort out some flights for Gavin but will probably finalise them when we get into Botswana; he will probably fly out in ten days time.
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Ended up spending 1½ hrs in the café but then headed out of town, topping up with diesel and trying, without success to buy some bottled water although what we filter from the on-board water tank is fine. The road out of Bulawayo was very colourful with flowering coral trees and bougainvillea lining the road. It was only an hour down to the Matopos (Matobo) National Park and on the way we once again passed patches of mopane woodland with cicadas (like grasshoppers or crickets) which for several hundred metres at a time made a din that was so intense, penetrating and loud that it gave us a headache – never heard the likes before. Arrived at the park gate, paid our entrance fees and then headed into the park; the game reserve section is separate and further on into the park.
Came across a plaque declaring a shrine to the ‘MOTHS’. We went up to the shrine and it was clearly in memory of fallen soldiers with a placard with various names thereon stating that their ashes were buried here. But we couldn’t work out what MOTHS stood for. Eventually found a notice about MOTHS and worked out it stood for, Memorable Order of Tin Hats. Charles Evedon created the Order as a result of the plight of ex-servicemen and their families following the First World War. It was all very fitting to be here as it was just after 11 a.m. on the 11th November.
We carried on into the park and stopped off near where Cecil Rhodes is buried on the top of a hill (Malindidzimu) in a grave hewn out the rock which he requested to be his final resting place. We looked towards the spot rather than climb the hill!
The park is famous for its rock formations with boulders stacked up on top of each other as if the Gods had been playing balancing games. They are created by the layering effects of the rocks, like an onion, that weathers down. They are very impressive formations producing weird and wonderful shapes that fire one’s imagination – they must surely have individual names in the local tongue? Found a plaque commemorating the 1896 battle at Laing’s Field where a force of Ndebele, the then dominant tribe, attacked a mixed European and African army as they ate their breakfast. The Chief was thereafter known as ‘Maciti Blekifasti’ meaning, ‘He spoiled their Breakfast’. Nice to see they had a sense of humour after all that bloodshed!
Stopped off at the park Headquarters at Maleme to pay for camping but were told to just pay tomorrow. Ended up in a campsite next to a lovely little lake miles from anywhere or anybody, in fact we haven’t seen another soul yet. The site had no facilities at all: the ablution block was long since defunct with no water in the showers or toilets and generally very run down. Quite sad really. I dug our own long drop toilet; well not very long at all as the earth was particularly hard. It felt as if we were the first ones to have camped here in a very long time. We were completely isolated with just two pygmy geese for company! The clouds had been gathering and as we arrived at the camp the heavens had opened with thunder and lightening all around but it soon stopped and the sun came out. It was a really lovely spot.
Day 277 - Thursday 12th November Matopos National Park Headed off the short distance to the Whovi Game Park, stopping off to register at the gate. I was a bit concerned as the armed ranger opened the gate for us and stood next to the sign declaring ‘Warning. Any one seen or suspected of poaching activities may be shot on sight. Remember. Do not be mistaken for poachers. You are to get out of your vehicle only at designated points.’ Think we’ll stay in the vehicle! By 9.30 a.m. the rain storms arrived and the tracks got progressively wetter and slipperier. The animal list for the place should have been quite impressive but by lunch time we had only seen two klipspringer and one waterbuck. It really bucketed down about midday so we parked up at a designated picnic spot overlooking a large dam and waited for the rain to pass through. 14
An hour later it eased sufficiently to prepare lunch. I let Judi get out first as she looked less like a poacher than me! Some of the tracks were serious 4x4 ones and with the rain made for an interesting time. We still hadn’t seen a soul all day until we were making our way out of the park at about 4 p.m. when, coming towards us was a large bus full of kids. We later saw their tracks and it was obvious that the bus was skidding on the wet tracks as we were at times. I do hope they got out in one piece. Decided to head out of the park accepting we weren’t going to see any more animals, despite the fact we had passed loads of rhino middens. We took a final loop detour and spotted four giraffe followed by four white rhino; about time too!
Out of the game reserve and back into the national park and to another campsite alongside another lake. Finally the rains stopped. Called into the park office before setting up but still couldn’t pay as they were closed. Dinner had been in the slow cooker all day so the fire was just to cheer us up. Despite the fact the wood was soaking wet soon had a good fire on the go. We had a shelter, of sorts, with basins with cold water but no electricity coming out the dubious looking sockets. Not so warm tonight so to bed early with the intention of entering Botswana tomorrow.
Day 278 - Friday 13th November Zimbabwe to Botswana A much better day with the sun shining. Packed up and went to the nearby park office and paid our two night’s camping fees. This took quite some time while the paperwork and, of course, change was produced. We had a chat with, we think the boss, an elderly gent. He wanted to know if it is legal for an English man to marry a Scottish lady. Hope so or where does that leave me? He assured us that he had been told Americans are not allowed to marry non-Americans! Headed on a different route out of the park and found a short cut across to the tar that saved us some miles. The tracks had dried up nicely so we didn’t add any more layers of mud to the vehicle. We passed a shop proclaiming itself as catering for your every need; ‘Video Shop. Phone Shop. Coffins.’
Arrived at the Plumtree Border at about 11 a.m. and drove into the Zimbabwe post with nobody whatsoever there to swarm around us; what a relief. Passports stamped with the official telling us a different story about returning to Zimbabwe on a day trip to the Falls. We would have to pay another US$55 each as our visas were ‘single entry’ despite the fact Beitbridge told us differently! We were handed a scrap of paper with an immigration stamp on it which was our gate pass and told to drive down to Customs. Parked up and got the carnet processed and the scrap of paper stamped again and we were on our way to the exit gate.
Here we handed over the gate pass: we both said that was too easy! ‘You haven’t got a CID stamp’, we think that’s what he said, so had to reverse all the way back to the shed where we got the carnet stamped. Not sure what would have happened if there had been a queue behind us as the road was very narrow and twisty with very high kerbs but I managed to reverse the 300 metres without problem. Wandered back to the shed and saw a chap sitting outside on a bench eating a toasted sandwich. By chance I noticed he had a stamp and pad with him. He didn’t look up from his sandwich so I thrust the scrap of paper under his nose and he just stamped it without inspecting it or me. We left whilst the going was good. This time drove through the gate unimpeded and over the one kilometre to the Botswana post.
And that was us out of Zimbabwe, our eight country of the trip so far.
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