I travelled around Zimbabwe with my wife (Debby) in February 1999. This was lucky as it was only a little while later that the problems started. This article is designed to be a general overview of what we did while in the country. I plan (within my time constraints) to have a look at specific spots in the country in furture articles.
Debby and I actually had a fairly unique trip around the country. The reason for this is that Debby was born in Zimbabwe. Although her family left when she was quite small, there are still relatives and family friends throughout the country. This meant that while we travelled, we never actually stayed in a hotel, or public accommodation, as we always found a friend of a friend who was happy to put us up.
Perhaps the best thing about the trip was that some friends of the family lent us a car for 2 of the weeks. This gave us the flexibility to travel when and where we wanted to, without the hassles of catching buses and trains all the time.
Although driving did get tiring, it is still the best way to immerse yourself in the country.
What we did. Firstly we spent about a week relaxing to the west of Harare on some relatives’ farms. During this time we did a day trip to Kariba Dam. Having just been working in the irrigation/Hydrology industry for 4 years, I found the dam very interesting. The shear size is staggering. It is definitely worth a day trip if you can organise it, and for those keen fishermen/women out there, the lake apparently is great for that as well.
After relaxing for a while we went into Harare to pick up our vehicle, a Toyota four-wheel drive. Heading off early in the morning, we drove south through Bulawayo to Victoria Falls (roughly 10 hours driving). One thing that I distinctly remember about Bulawayo was that the sign telling me to turn left to Victoria Falls had a tree growing over it. As a result we got lost, and this cost us about an hour. This sort of thing is normal in Zimbabwe, so you must always leave enough time in your travels for the unexpected.
Victoria Falls is the must visit spot in Zimbabwe. Horseriding safaris, canoeing safaris, evening trips on the upper Zambezi and of course the white water rafting and bungy jumping were all available. It is also definitely worth the time to visit the Falls themselves, and for those with a little more time, a trip across to the Zambian side of the Falls can also be included. We also took a couple of days to travel across to Chobe National Park in Botswana. This was a great spot for wildlife viewing, as the animals are a lot more concentrated along the river. For more details of Victoria Falls, see my Victoria Falls Article (coming soon if not already out).
From Victoria Falls we took a leisurely drive back to Bulawayo where we spent just the one night. However we did have a few hours spare to wander around the Natural History Museum. Although some of the displays are getting a little old, this was another must see spot. See my Bulawayo Article for more details.
We were up early the next morning, to head off into the Motopos. Here we visited Cecil Rhodes grave, and again saw a lot of wildlife. This included our first Rhino, as well as some baby Zebras (from a distance).
We had lunch back in Bulawayo before heading up to Gweru. A short stopover was taken there to visit the Military museum. While not large, it does give yet more information into Zimbabwe’s turbulent past. Debby (who has almost no interest in military things) even found enough to interest her for an hour or two.
This long day was finished off with a drive to Mvuma where we stayed the night. The people we were staying with owned and ran an ostrich farm (an education in itself).
Our Mvuma hosts took us down to Lake Kyle, and Great Zimbabwe. Lake Kyle (whose new name I’ve forgotten), was perhaps the prettiest lake I have ever visited. Perhaps the sun was just right, or the clouds were casting interesting shadows, but I found it definitely worth the visit.
Great Zimbabwe is a stone ruin situated on top of a hill nearby. Even though the history of the ruin is currently debated, it is interesting to see the effort that was extended to create the site. Whoever built it must have been reasonably advanced, although the lack of mortar, does tend to make it look a bit stone aged.
After Mvuma our next stop was on another farm near Mutare. Unfortunately our time in Mutare ended up being mostly a (sorely needed) rest stop. The weather had closed in by then, and although we did go for a drive through the eastern Highlands on one day, we spent the rest of the time resting.
Finally we headed back to Harare, gave the car back and spent another few days with the relatives to the west of Harare. Harare is a mixture of lots of different cities. You get some run down bits that reminded me a lot of Jakata (Indonesia). You also get some pretty bits. There are all the modern facilities there, even though things generally look a little bit “tired” and untidy.
And we finished off our trip with a night time flight to Gatwick, London.
Many people prefer to travel by flying to all the “interesting” bits. This sort of travelling has it’s advantages, but for my choice, driving around the country (especially if you can stay with people), is the definite way to go. This offers you the opportunity to really understand the people, and their country.
Zimbabwe offers a good opportunity to the traveller. There is almost too much to see and do, so be selective, and don’t rush yourself. The best time to travel is around September. This is the dry, which means that the animals are easy to find.
Finally, despite the recent unrests, things are apparently back to normal in the tourist areas. However it is probably best to check with the authorities on this issue.
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