I really dragged my feet today. After spending time with my mom and friends while enjoying a few fun days in Harare (where there is loads to do, the time wasn’t enough) the thought of leaving everyone made me very reluctant to start my solo journey back from Zimbabwe to Cape Town. Not to mention having all my meals made for me, being taken to some awesome places and having tea in bed every morning!
I felt quite tearful as I drove out of the capital city of Zimbabwe along the tree-lined streets (while dodging the potholes) and past the well-known ZanuPF building with its rooster. I smiled when I saw the tobacco processing buildings, remembering the times I had spent there watching my father’s tobacco bales being sold to the highest bidder and how we had the best breakfasts ever! Then it was through the sprawling suburb of Chitungwiza with its crazy taxi drivers and bus queues and onto the R1 towards Beitbridge. Even Trevor was quiet in the passenger seat. I think Zimbabwe may have left its mark on him too.
It was a typically beautiful day in Africa. There were blue skies dotted with puffy white clouds, Acacia and Flamboyant trees lined the road and people were busy tending to their maize fields. We passed cyclists on rickety bikes, women with giant containers of water on their heads and overloaded buses belching out plumes of black smoke. I laughed at the rudimental signs advertising cheap potatoes and interestingly-named stores and roadside taverns. I waved at the children walking home from school and the women selling mangoes and butternut. I opened the windows and breathed in the smell of wood smoke, African grasses and listened to the intense hum of the cicada beetles. It was my last day in Zimbabwe and I was not going to miss a single thing. It is those very things that make this country special and the very things that I miss about it.
Trevor and I stopped for a drink at a bite to eat at Studio 52 in Masvingo. My mom recommended this restaurant and art gallery as she’d heard about it from friends. We were immediately welcomed inside by the smiling staff (Zimbabweans must be some of the friendliest and happiest people in this world) and sat down to a coke-float (coca-cola and icecream in a glass – delicious childhood stuff) and a toasted chicken sandwich straight out of a snackwich maker. The artwork inside was worth a look too, with giant paintings of wild dogs, kudu, parrots and elephants. There were also detailed rhino sculptures and wrought iron candle stands among other things. How I wished I had more than US$60 to my name! I hope they ship to South Africa as I have my heart set on the wild dog painting.
We enjoyed our time there and recommend you pop in if you are in the area (you’ll find it at 52 Robertson Street, opposite a church). Talented artworks aside, they have a simple, but ample and inexpensive menu serving breakfasts and light meals. Menu items include French toast with cheese, onion and bacon (US$5), a Studio breakfast with egg, bacon, tomato and toast (US$7), burgers from US$5, toasted sandwiches from US$3, fillet steak (US$9), oxtail served with chips/rice and a salad (US$12), Chicken Kiev or pork chops (both US$12) and fish and chips for US$10. There’s also a salad and dessert selection with beverages from cappuccinos (US$3) to milkshakes (US$3) and coke-floats (US$2). The garden is pretty, the toilets are clean and you can sit out on the verandah (stoep) or inside.
Trevor also found himself a new girlfriend at the studio (he has so many now it’s scary) and it took some time to prise him out of her loving arms! He made many promises to return and we set off for Bubi River (also known to some as Bubye River), the final destination on our journey that day. I wanted to stop in at Great Zimbabwe, but decided with my track record of always being late and ending up driving at night to leave it for another time. I was amused to see that a petrol station just outside the town had done their wall like a mini replica of Great Zimbabwe! Made me feel a little better about missing out…
The drive along the A1 through the Rutenga district between Masvingo and Beitbridge is one of the prettiest I did in Zimbabwe. It just feels so “Zimbabwe”! Little villages with grass huts and kraals are dotted along the road and cows, goats and donkeys were grazing on patches of green grass that had sprouted from the recent rains. I kept on wanting to stop to take photographs (I now regret not stopping more often). If you are looking to buy African carvings, this is the place to shop. There are countless stalls on the side of the road offering sculptures of African animals and figures of people, along with wooden bowls and other trinkets. I was in awe of the perfectly formed giant elephants with their long white tusks. If I had the money and one would’ve fitted in the Getz I would’ve definitely gotten myself my very own giant tusker!
The travelling bear and I eventually arrived at The Lion & Elephant Motel just outside Bubi River in the early evening. This motel is something of an institution along this route and I remember staying there as a child. It has been a welcome stopover for many a weary road traveller, whether going to the Beitbridge border or coming from it. I haven’t been there for years and discovered that it has never changed. I am sure the thatching has been renewed and various upgrades and additions have taken place over time, but essentially it was exactly as I remembered it.
I was taken to my room which faced the wide and sandy Bubi River – I don’t think I have ever seen that river with water in it! But it certainly has and once even flooded (look out for the photos in the lounge of the main building). After a cup of tea under shady trees, I headed to the dining area for supper. I was the only one in there that evening and was watched over by the attentive waitor and some buzzing beetles round the lights while I relished my last meal of Kariba Bream (US$9). I really must find a way of importing that fish into South Africa! After a few Zambezi Lagers in the bar with the manager, Bob, (again being watched over – this time by the glass eyes of giant buffalo and lion heads) I took myself off to bed, stopping to admire the sky full of stars en-route.
What I had forgotten was how hot it can get in this area. The humidity was incredible and I was now beginning to feel a little ill. The rooms don’t have air conditioning and the ceiling fan wasn’t coping with the heat. Nevertheless, it had been a long day with so much to take in, that I fell asleep pretty smartly, despite being mildly concerned that perhaps the reason I felt so grim was because I had caught malaria in Victoria Falls.
I woke the next morning to much cooler and overcast weather and no malaria, thankfully! I listened to the sounds of baboons having a squabble in the riverbed and put the kettle on. After scoffing a massive breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, tomatoes, chips a giant sweetcorn fritter and toast (US$9), I chatted to the Lee family, who have owned and run this motel for four generations. My father once provided much-needed hay bales for the wildlife in the area during a bad drought and Chris Lee told me how they suffered bites on their arms from the zebra as they couldn’t get the bales out of the truck to the near-starving animals fast enough. Proving yet again that it’s a small world – who would’ve thought that my father’s daughter would end up travelling alone through Zimbabwe and meet the man who’s animals needed his hale bales all those years ago!
Then it was time to pack my bags and make my way to the Beitbridge border, which I wasn’t looking forward to as I had heard stories about people being there for two days! Those stories were not far off what I experienced… that tale to follow!
It’s time to visit Zimbabwe
The Lee family and I all agreed on one thing – it’s time for people to start including Zimbabwe in their travel plans. It’s a beautiful country with so much to offer visitors. The roads are generally good, the people are friendly and not once did I feel unsafe. In fact I only started locking my car doors again when I got over the border and back into South Africa!
Things are stabilising with the US Dollar currency, the supermarkets are full, there’s fuel at the petrol stations and there are many new establishments opening their doors. Yes, the infrastructure needs a lot of work – the roads in towns are not good and there are people who go without water or electricity for weeks. But we can also learn from this state of affairs, with the biggest lesson being a sense of community. There are towns (one being Victoria Falls) who have taken matters into their own hands. For example, if a water pipe bursts, they gather their resources and money together and fix it themselves without relying on the government. Thus making life more pleasant for the community and also the tourists that the country so desperately needs. It hasn’t been easy to live in Zimbabwe recently and times are still hard for many. However, Zimbabweans are known for their “make a plan” attitude and for this alone I salute them. I will admit that after this trip there is a yearning to go “home” and that may be fulfilled soon.
I say stop being afraid and don’t allow the media to deter you from going to Zimbabwe. You’ll be welcomed with open arms and big smiles. Locals will go out of their way to make your visit one to remember. From the call of the fish eagle on Lake Kariba, to white-water rafting on the Zambezi River and trout-fishing in the Eastern Highlands, there’s so much to do. I really hope one day you will visit this amazing country. Take me and Trevor with you, we miss it already.
Follow me on Twitter, @Rachel_CapeTown (#ZimPilgrim), email me at [email protected], or keep an eye on my blogs on the Getaway website.
