Holiday Inn Bulawayo

... perfectly in my handbag but despite my best efforts Nash (the owner) was there acting as security, staying true to his word of "if Misty's not here, the truck doesn't leave". I did try. She was adorable. Left at 8 and headed to Shoestrings to pick up our new recruit, Stu, who was joining us from the other Oasis truck due to a recent split with his girlfriend (also on the truck). He was running late so ended up leaving there around 8.30. On the road I laid ...

... Bulawayo. Again, it was a nice enough city but with so many shops empty or closed down you can't help think it could be a lot better. The owner of Burke's was saying that lots of businesses are forced to stay open because the government takes them over if they shut down for any period of time. This give the appearance of wealth and high employment but in reality it means shops with nothing on the shelfs but 4 staff sitting around being paid. Man, it ...

... as they are notoriously aggressive and will charge at 55 mph. He said the one thing he would NEVER say to us is "Run". We all went to bed excited but anxious for the following day. Morning came soon enough and we found ourselves in Ians open air Landrover. On our way to the park he stopped suddenly on the side of the road. I thought for sure we had a flat or something wrong with the vehicle, but was proved very wrong as he stepped back ...

... We took out 3 lions who were all 17 months old. It was amazing walking beside them & touching them. They were pretty boystrous though & you had to watch you back! The lion handlers had given us a safety talk & we all had sticks which we were meant to give to the lions to play with if they were getting a bit too friendly. We saw some game which they looked interested in but didn't attempt to hunt them. Apparently later on ...

... of jutting rocks where baboons held up lion cubs destined to be king for all of the animal kingdom to see. The last was of the massive, thundering Victoria Falls, by many standards the largest, most dramatic waterfall in the world. But first I had to get there. Getting into Harare had been easy due to the direct bus from Blantyre in Malawi. Getting around Harare had been easy due to Danayi's family and their vehicle. Getting out of Harare was ...

... the top the view over the park was amazing. In the afternoon we went rhino spotting and we got really close, the closest being about 2m away, which was a bit nerve-wracking. It was Tom's birthday in the evening so we ate lots of cake and then watched Dirty Dancing on the TV at the campsite.

After Eastern Highlands, I travelled west to Bulawayo. Very historical city, central in the colonialisation back around 1890. Nicy city, the 2nd biggest after Harare. Wide avenues, wide enough for 12 oxes to turn. That was the criteria. Also went to the National Gallery, where I happened to stumble onto a film festival. My Mother the Mermaid, a South Korean beautiful film. I like when ...

I'm staying in Bulawayo with Ericah and Lambert and their son Tafadzwa. Today after putting petrol in the car we drove about 30 km to the Matopos, an area of strange whale-shaped boulders and knobby hills, not high, which is a place of reverence for the Ndebele people (Zimbabwe's minority group, about 20% of the population), and a place where Yvonne loved to go. It is also where Cecil John Rhodes ...

... animals you'd expect to see on a safari, but it also has a sizable population of rhinoceros. Twice when we spotted rhinos our guide, Benson, switched off the truck and we walked out towards them, getting within about thirty feet! This seemed crazy, and against every instinct we had, but hey, he'd been doing it for years and never had one of the docile giants charge, it turns out that rhinos are rarely aggressive towards humans. Amazing stuff! As we were just about to ...

... The roads are absolutely horrible and flat tires are more a matter of when than if. Most trips I experiences several. Most times they don't carry spares either! If they get a flat on a bus with duelly tires on the back... they just take one off and replace the flat with it! Incredible. I also muts say that I got ripped off more in Mozambique than any other country I have visited. It isn't especially rare to get given a different price or get charged too much etc. in any ...