Botswana and Zimbabwe Tour May 2011 8-14th Day

Day 8: Thursday 28^th April – Cathy again

Today we decided to go to the Matopos (or Matobo) National Park. A place where we spent a lot of time when we lived in Zim. Amazingly enough the landscape was unchanged, except it was extraordinarily green given the extraordinary rainy season this year. The place seems to be very efficiently run but with two ministries in charge which rather complicates things. The cave paintings and Rhode’s Grave are now under Monuments And Culture while the rest of the park is under Nature Conservation etc.

Matopos National Park

The entrance fees are very high and of course being under two ministries we have to pay two lots of entrance fees. The curio sellers are still there by the turning to Rhode’s Grave selling very similar curios to the ones that they sold 20 years ago. Chris buys a mealie cob picture of people cultivating the land for his office and a wood carving of a fish for next to the swimming pool.

The view from Rhode’s Grave is enhanced by the clouds in the sky that cast shadows on the landscape, dappling the rocky outcrops with light and shade. ‘World’s View’ is as beautiful as it ever was. Marlis lies on the grave; not sure why. We all take copious photos of the view and of each other looking at the view and of each other taking photos of each other looking at the view. Technology can take you too far sometimes.

A picture of all UNESCO world heritage sites in Zimbabwe.

We are proud to proclaim that we visited 4 out of the five sites.

Another group is taking the same tour as us. The two daughters make baboon noises, calling to the baboons over the valley. A dialogue develops.

We are invited to write comments in the visitor’s book. We write that the view is lovely but far too expensive!

We have a picnic lunch at Maleme dam accompanied by baboons and warthogs that thankfully keep a respectful distance. Beatrice and I go for a walk towards the end of the dam but are overwhelmed by the long grass and turn back after a kilometre or so. The dam is really lovely and nice and full. Overlooking the dam is the Eagle’s Nest Lodge, now renamed but I can’t remember what! We used to call it the Honeymoon Cottage, beautiful view and secluded from the rest of the rest camp. It was unoccupied – next time!

After a suitable pause for digestion we inspect the Honeymoon Cottage and then drive to the game park: the other family as well in their silver bakkie. We try to work out where they are from. The game park entrance is mercifully free. The grass is so high that it is quite difficult to see any game that might be mooching around. There are also fierce anti-poaching notices that show that poaching must be a real problem; ‘do not leave your vehicle, you may be mistaken for a poacher’, ‘poachers will be shot on sight’ etc. This is not really surprising given the very lean years that people have lived through recently, but despite the grass and the poachers we do see some animals, although they are understandably very shy apart from the baboons. We see a pair of klipspringers, a small herd of zebra, I see an impala slipping away through the trees and from a viewpoint as the sun is starting to set we see a giraffe, not so bad. At the viewpoint we start chatting to the other family, the man is from Romania, the woman is from Bulawayo but they all live in London. The two girls are on their first visit to Zimbabwe and obviously having a good time. They have taken advantage of a school holiday given in honour of the Royal Wedding.

Rhode's Grave

We have to hurry back to the gate before sunset and make it with 6 minutes to spare. Shucks, we could have spent another 6 minutes in the park. We drive home in the sunset and arrive as it is getting dark.

Klaus and Ulrike are having a film evening, this is the continuation of the film club that Chris helped to start. The film is ‘Commitment’ but is almost incidental to the social part of the event. Bill is there, but not Tish who is in the UK dealing with her mother’s death. Bill and Tish’s youngest child Will is also there; Bill and Will, it sounds like a double act. Will is twelve and very quiet. It sounds as if Bill and Tish are living rather a hand to mouth existence. Tish has given up the leather business because it was not paying much more than the worker’s salaries. She now spends a lot of time working for the church. I did not ask if she was paid. Bill, having lived for a while on a small inheritance following his parents’ demise, is now selling and renovating antiques, a fragile business in Zimbabwe. But he seems very much his old laid back self and seems hardly to have aged in the 20 odd years since we saw him. I get the feeling that he and Tish live in a kind of time warp. There are other people there. Mostly ex-pats although there is one Zimbabwean man with a German wife who seems to be more permanent. It is hard to pick up much information in a jokey film club evening.

The film is rather good, about a woman working to free an unjustly imprisoned brother. Ulrike is not terribly impressed. Marlis, Ulrike and Beatrice enter into a pact to watch the royal wedding on the TV tomorrow so any further excursion to the Motopos is unlikely. Chris and I will probably make other plans.

Day 9: Friday 29^th April (Chris)

We had a laid-back morning, with the intention of going back to the Matobos. After breakfast I had a chance finally to read the e-mails of the past week – still have to learn how to send now. Beatrice and Marlis are quite keen to watch the royal wedding on TV, so I decide to go to my old workplace to see who might still be there. Cathy decides to join me. At the old office (Nguboyenja) there is a different organisation, but a bit around the corner it seems to be Bulawayo City Council territory still. A young girl behind the counter knows nothing about what happened there 20 years ago, but on asking her whether there is not somebody older, she opens another door and indeed there is an older man Kabo, who I recognise, but did not work with directly. We exchange news on various people of my era and finally I go to the Head Office to speak to Nyoni, who turns out a different Nyoni I thought I would meet (the other one had died of AIDS). But Nyoni put me in touch with Mkosana’s daughter Vusi (Mkosana was my old ‘boss’:

Mkosana & Chris

Head of Division of Co-operatives, retired for over 15 years, I had no idea whether he would still be alive) who organised her sister Rosemary’s daughter Lorraine in turn to show us to the residence on the far flung outskirts of town. While waiting for Lorraine, Martha, Mkosana’s ex-secretary came to greet us. She had heard that we were in town and especially come to find us, so nice of her. We were given a hearty welcome by Mkosana and his wife Agnes, both still sprightly at 80 years or so. He proudly served me Castle beer in a silver mug engraved: “To Baba Mkosana, in appreciation of the good years 1987 – 1991, yours Chris Brock”. I had long forgotten about this mug. Very moving. Mkosana, at 81, is still very involved with the Anglican Church and is still preaching actively – thus he is financially supported by the church and not suffering (like many others).

Driving back in the early dark with torrential cold rain, with no street lighting and many badly adjusted oncoming headlights, water camouflaged potholes and pedestrians behaving like chickens was a good adrenalin pump for me – ghastly!!

The Leuschners were invited out, so Cathy made a quick butternut and corned beef dinner. No ZESA, so by candle-light and head-torches.

Tomorrow we intend moving on to Masvingo.

Day 10  Saturday 30^th April (Beatrice)

We all woke up and started packing. When we had relocated everything and put it all on the terrace, we went up to Ulrike and Klaus’s house for breakfast, since we had been invited so kindly the day before.

It was a luxurious breakfast with poached eggs in these adorable little china egg pots with silver lids, toast, broetchen you name it, they’ve got it!! Delicious! But everything has to end sometime and so we took a few more pics, said our last goodbyes and set off after finishing packing.

Willem & Fieke's Place

On our way out of Bulawayo we had to tank up. The first garage we went to looked awfully run down and when we asked for Diesel, the man just said:” well we are supposed to have it”. So that didn’t go so well. Next stop was easy and fast, even though daddy had to show the attendant how to open the fuel cap. Making our way to Masvingo, we went through a town called Esigodini, which translates as ‘in the hole’.  It was only a 3 and a bit hour drive to Fieke and Willem’s house, but was made harder, because loads of signs were missing. Nevertheless we made it in the end!

When we went out of the car, we were greeted by wo lumbering dogs! Bijou was the calm female and Thaba was a huge puppy, who was just mad! Couldn’t sit still for 10 seconds! Anyway, we were offered coffee and home-made mango juice and while drinking found out that almost everything that we saw was made by Willem himself!!

After we had had a nice chat, we did a spot of shopping and met up with Willem and Fieke in their beaten up old bakkie to show us where the cottage was.

The cottage was beautiful and once again designed and made by Willem! We were very impressed! And the view was brilliant!! The road to get there was bumpy, but worth it! The cottage we stayed in had a view over the lake, with fish eagles and hippos and what not.

We settled in and had a nice evening, having supper on the balcony and finally getting into our beds.

Day 11: Sunday 1^st May (Chris)

Great Zimbabwe

Beautiful morning in the luxury cottage. What a view! Fish eagle catching live fish not far away – and its shrill sound! Very relaxed morning, but later we are leaving for Great Zimbabwe. Great Zim is as impressive as ever. Must be at least my 5^th time. Very green, but the grass neatly cut. Entrance fee a hefty R105 p.p., but for that half the light bulbs in the on-site museum needed replacement. We do the full circuit, starting at the great enclosure in the valley and later moving on to the fortress on the hill. Picnic lunch under huge shady trees on site – careful of the stealing vervet monkeys.

Back to the cottage later – we invited Willem and Fieke out there for dinner. We had a pleasant early dinner with them. Beatrice even made a tasty pud for afters. By 9:00 p.m. warm farewells from them as they want to go back to their urban dwelling. Early night.

Day 12 Monday 2^nd May – (Cathy)

Another moving on day, low grey cloud reflected in the water of the river, Beatrice and I sit on the deck and look out for the hippos. They are definitely there, we see pools of disturbed water and occasionally a double spout of water from hippo nostrils but they have probably been hunted in the past years and are very shy. We are not sure if the hippo noises are coming from Chris or not. The fish eagle is hunting elsewhere today.

Breakfast mostly involves toast, taking advantage of Fieke and Willem’s Zimbabwe toaster. Everywhere in this cottage are examples of Willem’s enterprise and creativity from the hand-made French style station clock to the door locks made from bent nails but with such style that they look good as well as being functional. We are delighted by his use of appropriate materials and technology. Concrete examples of his philosophy.

Packing gets more and more efficient. Beatrice rearranges the white boxes since we have used up a fair amount of their contents by now. Marlis and I clear the house and Chris stows everything in the car in its allotted place. We cast a last look at the blossoming Cassia trees with their fruit salad scented blooms, take a last photo at the hills covered with the texture of Msasa trees and collect Ishmael the handyman to see us through the two gates on the road. We bump along past the pond with the water lilies and the little dam where people wash their clothes, say farewell to Ishmael and hit the main road back to Masvingo to do some shopping. Finding ice is the first challenge, finding diesel is the second. Neither are straightforward. After somewhat of a wild goose chase we find a garage selling diesel, the fourth one we visited. After another wild goose chase we find ice at the third place we visited. In the meantime we bought some more bread and then hit the trail for Chimanimani and the Eastern Highlands (sounds like a pop group). We hit the wrong trail at first and found ourselves on the Harare road – nope - so we tried again and got it right second time.

The road to Chimanimani becomes more and more beautiful the further you drive. Firstly the road descends into the Save valley lowlands. Baobabs are scattered and grouped around the small huts and fields of this quite densely populated area. It is very dry here, the grass is very grazed and brown. Many of the baobabs have no leaves. We cross the bridge at Birchenough, the same design as the Save river bridge that we crossed in Mozambique. We pass some commercial crops looking very successful and in full production which in Zimbabwe begs a great many questions. There are nut trees and fruit trees and maize fields all looking very efficient and organised. As the road rises out of the lowlands the air cools and we start to see tree plantations, mostly pine and wattle and some eucalyptus also looking very managed and cared for.

We have an unintended diversion to Chipinge because the relevant road signs had been stolen, this includes an unnecessary stop at a police checkpoint which we have to go through twice due to our not needing to be in Chipinge. At least the second time the cops gave us directions to Chimanimani.

The turning to Chimanimani was marked by a small colourful market place where people were offering fruit and vegetables. The road wound higher and higher, in and out of plantations, offering more and more beautiful views until we saw the town nestled in a high valley. Our first mission was to find a good place to camp. In the end we settled for a campsite slightly out of town on a hill near to the inevitably named Bridal Veil Falls. The other option was the hotel, centrally placed with lovely gardens but next door to the local shebeen. As it was we could even hear the party noises from out chosen campsite at the Frog and Fern, whose name, the owner, Jane says was inspired by the Slug and Lettuce pub in London.

The Frog and Fern is friendly, had indigenous forest, has a helper called Constance, has hot water and has a little hut to sit in when it rains. We put up the tarpaulin and Gazebo with amazing efficiency considering the chore it can be, put up the tents, have an argument about supper and settle down to a chilly evening of noodles and sauce and castle beer (not Beatrice) before snuggling into bed. I do not want to have to go to the loo in the night – too cold!!!!

Day 13 Monday 3^nd May (Beatrice)

We all woke up fairly early and started making tea as soon as possible, to try and warm us up. It is still 11 degrees, but feels like it is below freezing!! After having breakfast, clearing up  and locking away precious things we headed to Tessa’s pool.

Tessa's Pool

It was a really bumpy ride! But definitely worth it!! Even when we were walking to Tessa’s pool, the surroundings were beautifully green with the odd bit of bright colour here and there. Mummy tried to get me to smell a specific kind of leaf…(braken) but that didn’t turn out great, since mummy failed ..dismally (sorry mummy). When we heard the sound of rapidly falling water, we sped up but not too much for the rocks were quite slippery and wet, until we finally emerged from the greenery and saw a beautiful waterfall. It was awfully pretty. We spent a fair amount of time sitting on the rocks, but could not go swimming because it was freezing!! We walked back a different way, which brought us to a few buildings and then to an amazing play ground (which would definitely be illegal in Europe!!). it was a type of adventure course but mostly in amongst the tree tops..but without safety nets- Alex would have loved it!!!

Then back to the car, down the bumpy road a bit, picked some guavas (Marlis had never seen one on a tree before!!), drove some more down the bumpy road and finally entered the village.

We went to a restaurant that specialises in sadza … not for me, thank you! But they said the would take a while so we walked a bit through town. When we came back they served us the meals, Marlis and Mummy sadza and chicken, daddy rice and chicken… and I (not a great choice) took chips. After we ate till our hearts desired, we went to the market.

Man mending Chris's shorts

First to the tailor, a man sitting on the side of the path with a little table and old self powered sewing machine, for daddy’s trousers and then to buy tomatoes and cabbage and and and. On the way to the main market a little child called out to us saying hello and when mummy answered he ran away laughing calling out mummy! Meanwhile my mother was almost crying from laughter. Then the child came to us, for we had not answered his second calling, and proceeded to shake our hands. More and more little children came too, probably thinking this was a great game! So we had an entire group of children all wanting handshakes and high fives. It was terribly funny! After finding some castle for the adults and finding all ingredients we had hoped for we headed back to camp. Marlis cooked a nice meal and daddy made a cabbage salad, but it was absolutely freezing!!! Daddy even said that the beer was actually getting colder outside than in the cooler box!!

So I was relieved when after washing the dishes with mummy, I finally made it to my warm and comfy bed!

Day 14, 4^th May, Cathy

Another moving on day. Jane charged us 15 dollars a night which was very reasonable bearing in mind the caring way that we were treated. We took our camp apart very efficiently after breakfast, getting into the harmonious way of working that one does when one has been camping for a while. Our point of destination today was Vumba or Bvumba depending on which sign you read, when of course there are signs to look at. The road is wonderfully devoid of signs and so one must be very aware of the direction one is travelling in.

We travel first down to a lower altitude to Mutare. The baobabs reappear and the countryside becomes rather drier. All of the land we pass through is being cultivated by subsistence farmers. It looks mostly like old communal area because there are large mango trees shading the houses. People are cultivating mealies, cabbages, beans, tomatoes in small fields, most of the fields are terraced really nicely using the rocks removed from the cultivable area.

We pass a small town called Hot Springs. The houses that used to belong to the white middle class have been abandoned it seems and taken over by the local Shona people. There are lots of people about, many trying to sell locally produced vegetables and fruits.

We continue to Mutare, the land rising somewhat and the hills looking more and more like the Matobo granite outcrops. Mutare town has sprouted many markets, mostly full of people selling the same things, lots of tomatoes, lots of cabbages, lots of onions, lots of kale but not much else apart from peanuts and mealies. There is a new Spar supermarket under construction, very swanky, and a new Nando’s begging to be explored. The streets are very crowded and its is not even lunchtime. What are all of the people doing? Are they all trying to sell tomatoes to each other? Are they all unemployed? Surely not? If so who is actually working for a salary in Mutare apart from the people in the government offices and the shops? We buy fuel and Chris, Marlis and Beatrice go shopping while I find out about camping near Harare on the internet. I find a good sounding place called Boulder something and give Chris the contact details. We cross the road to Nando’s for lunch. There are beggars here, outside what is probably the smartest lunch place in Mutare.

We leave the town heading southwards to Vumba, skirting the Mozambique border. From every viewpoint on the road we can see into Mozambique. It’s quite exciting to look into another country like this and Beatrice begs to be allowed to go snorkelling in the Indian ocean – sorry – not this holiday.

The road rises offering increasingly lovely views over the mountains. We are not sure how to find the place that Jane recommended, Hi Vu. As we enter Vumba we start to pass through what looks like proper jungle. The trees meet over the road and are bound with creepers and vines and small rivers tumble over rocky beds. We stop first at the White Horse Inn, a hymn to the colonial past with faded chinz covered armchairs, polished wood side tables, lots of shining silver and brass and an aging but smiling factotum who comes to greet us. The owner of the place is rather faded and crumpled, a bit like the furniture. The place has seen better days as has the owner but they are both putting a brave face on things. The garden is really lovely, again beautifully kept. Manicured lawns and overflowing flowerbeds, a crystal clear pool, old garden furniture but well maintained. Like an old actress all done up and waiting for a part the hotel sits waiting for paying guests, stuck in its heyday in the 1970’s. I am somehow strongly reminded of Gordon and Pamela’s house in Harare, Chris feels it too.

We are given directions to Hi Vu and are met there by the owner, Sally, another horsey woman like Jane. Its name, despite the ghastly spelling, is self explanatory when we see the view from where we are to camp. It is stunning! From here you can see far into Mozambique. Horses graze in a field at the bottom of the garden. Sunbirds bounce around among the flowering shrubs and on the lawn. Beatrice goes to greet the horses. Marlis explores the garden and plant nursery, Chris finally gets to grips with his GPS and we experience a rapid drop in temperature as the sun sets, making the mountains glow and the stars come out. We watch the thermometer drop to below 8 degrees and our beds start to look increasingly attractive!