Masavingo, The Great Zimbabwean Ruins and Harare

Nov 10 was an early start and about a 6 hour drive to Masavingo. Easy! We were only there for one night which was too bad b/c it was a nice place. Our campsites overlooked lake Mutirikwi and we had a nice cooking space, decent bathrooms and OK wifi. It was humid but other than that it was quite a good set up.

A friend's tent looking out at the lake,

Me faffing about with my gear and enjoying feeling clean for 5 minutes before the humidity caught up to me!

The place even had a pretty little garden which is where I was sitting using the wifi when a bunch of well-dressed teenagers from a school group who were also on site came by. I smiled and said hello and they all said, "Hello", looked amused to see me sitting by myself in the middle of the garden at dusk and carried on exploring. I smiled and said hello chalked it up to a chase of local folks thinking, "crazy white lady!" but a few minutes later as they were going back to their group one of the young guys came up and asked of he could have his picture taken with me. And then the other three chimed in too! So, maybe  crazy white lady" but also "unusual, crazy white lady!"I laughed and said of course! So their very patient female friend had two of their cameras and took a bunch of shots. I said, "Gentlemen, I have never felt so popular!" And then they all laughed and took off. As they were leaving I made sure to thank the Very Patient Friend in charge of pictures. I'm sure she rolled her eyes to the moon when they asked her if she would take some pics of them with a random white lady. 🙄

That afternoon our main excursion was to go see the Great Zimbabwean Ruins just down the road. It was built between the 11th and 15th centuries (according to greatzimbabweruins.com) or the 9th and 15th centuries (according to Wikipedia) and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site was the capital city for the area and the royal seat.  We explored the site with a guide and had fun clambering up and down the granite rocks the royal site was built around. The beautiful, dry stacked rock walls around the main building and the wives' (the king had 200!) building are still  visible and the craftsmanship is remarkable.

The Australian ladies and me,

I think this was taken by Nicholas. Thank you!

One of my astute, progressive fellow travellers wondered if The Great Ruins were added to provide a counter point to the narrative that civilization was something that came with the colonizers. This especially makes sense in light of comments from our guide in Matopos who was trying to suggest that his family ties to the area are just as legit as his Black African countrymen. 🤔

It is also a listed heritage site so its possible that it's just a stop b/c its impressive. Regardless, we had a nice tour and enjoyed the views from the top of the Hill Complex where the King's main residence was and surveyed the scene.

Taken by a co-traveller who had more enthusiasm than skill when asked to take the team photo!

And this team pic was taken by our tour guide who was in pretty much the same league as the first photographer. They were both very enthusiastic tho so, that counts for something right?

The narrow passage up to the top of the main enclosure reminded me of The Chief in Squamish!

And one more of the fantastic Australians and me. “Pinkies up!”

After all our clambering around we headed back to the truck and returned to camp. It was Hannah's 30th birthday and there was dinner, cake, singing and sparkling wine to be had! We ate and drank and played games and laughed under the cooking shelter while rain fell and thunder and lightening cracked. It was lovely.....

... until I went and fought with the Malawian visa website for two hours. I gave up at midnight when I was cold, wrapped in a table cloth nicked from a nearby table and DONE. And still, no visa for Malawi. 😭


Nov 11 was a long travel day from Masavingo to Harare the capital of Zimbabwe. The trip passed uneventfully and we reached Harare at about 1:00. We had two hours to "explore" Harare but I'll be honest, there isn't much to see and it does not feel safe to explore. Some people made it to the art gallery, some found a pub and some of us just flailed around looking for lunch and a Bureau de Change. We found success on the lunch front in an African fast food place (enourmous servings of meat, veg and corn mash or rice, perfect) tucked away in a mall breezeway but struck out with the Bureaus de Change. On our first attempt we followed a sign and climbed up to the third floor of a run down old building only to be told by a very nice lady from Air Botswana that the Bureau had moved but that we should really consider flying with Air Botswana next time we needed to travel. For the second one we went up the street to another office with a Bureau sign and passed two young, male security officers who kind of shrugged when we asked about an exchange. We thought that wasn't a great sign but figured we should after they waved us in. Once inside we were told simply that the Bureau "wasn't working". What?! What do you mean "not working"?! How is it “not working”? No one could answer that. It just *wasn't* working. They looked surprised that we were surprised. GAH. So, in the end we gave up, went back to the bus early and waited for people to come back so we could carry on.

Also, I should mention that almost every single person who got shitty comments for being late in Bulawayo stood at the door to the bus and watched the time tick down to the last second when the last, and usually grumpiest crew, returned from their lunch. I am fairly sure they knew why they had such a fulsome welcoming committee and were quietly triumphant as they nonchalantly waved hello and got on the truck right on time. Foiled! Although, leaving Harare on time was something we were all happy about it would have been nice to gloat. Even just a little.

On our way out of town and on the way to our campsite, we had a strange experience that was a bit unsettling. Firstly, I should say that everywhere we have driven in Zim people have waved to us, whistled at us, invited us out of the bus for a cigarette (Um, no thank you random young men on the stoop!). So that sort of mostly-friendly-but-sometimes-innapropriate interaction is what we were used to. However, as we were leaving Harare we saw several small pickup trucks full of young men (like, FULL, maybe 15 or more between the cab and the back) shouting and hooting and whistling as they drove through traffic. We waved and many of us got our cameras out b/c thought this was some sort of festive event. They were a bit more riled up than I have seen previously but it was a Friday so I chalked it up to that. Then they started yelling at us, flipping us the bird, and, most alarmingly, making direct eye contact while drawing their fingers across their throat. 😬 I was grateful to be up high in an overlanding truck and to be with a large group becauseit felt like if we had been in a car they would have tried to stop it and haul us out. 😬😬

Initially our guide thought it was some kind of political action b/c the election is coming next year but afterwards he thought it might have been a funeral procession. So, *maybe* they were angry because we were cheerfully waving and then videoing their religious moment and *maybe* they were trying to communicate that they were marking a death and could we please put our cameras away buuuuuut it was unclear. We were all happy when they got ahead of us in traffic and carried on hooting and hollering for *whatever* reason and left us alone.

So after all the chaos of Harare we were happy to make it to our quiet-but- dysfunctional camp site which was home for the night. Sure we were using bathrooms in the hotel that had no doors and no toilet seats and yes the shower was cold and drizzly and of course they gave us the wrong rooms so one man came back in the middle of the night and couldn't understand why random white ppl had a key to his room for the toilet so he locked the door from the inside and oissed us all off BUT it was safe and quiet. So, for the most part, we were happy(ish).

In the morning I even saved a bird who smacked into the truck window!

Poor little thing. I popped him/her up high on a sturdy succulent to rest and recover and after about 20 minutes s/he eventually flew off. ♥️

After that we had a long travel day to the Zambian border and put Zimbabwe behind us.

So, other than an incredible day in Matopos National Park (sliced finger not withstanding) I could have skipped right over Zimbabwe. I feel terrible saying that because most people were really friendly and my previous guide was from Zimbabwe and he was incredibly kind, generous (and so knowledgeable!) but the truth is, travelling here is a huge pain in the arse and I didn't feel like there was a huge reward. I know it's not the local people's fault (🖕 Robert Mugabe, his cronies and their legacy) and I know they are stuck here so I shouldn't complain but Zimbabwe manages to be both expensive AND decrepit. It is a very frustrating combination.

While I was there I heard people say, "we used to be the bread basket and now we're a basket case" or that it used to be the "bread basket and now it's a begging bowl". Its so sad. Unemployment is in the 90 something percent. They use USD but of course don't really have access to it so the 1$ notes are the thinnest and dirtiest I have ever seen. (In fact, one of my friends got a $2 note back in some change the other day. US friends and family, when was the 2$ note last used in the US?!) The infrastructure is crumbling, the power drops in and out and the young people are leaving because there is no work for them.

Fixing the corruption and the decayed infrastructure seems like an impossible task but I really hope Zim can get back to its former glory. The average person who wants safety, security and even a shred of prosperity for their family deserve a brighter future.