How BIG is the WORLD?

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

19 – 22 AUGUST 2011

HARARE, ZIMBABWE

Get a taxi into town then on out to Avondale and past onto a far flung suburb only because I thought I’d asked the driver to tell me where to get of and he just assumed I knew where I was going like everyone else. After a mini tour of Harare, we return to Avondale, I get dropped and start walking up Argyle Rd when a minivan calls out “Small World, Small World?

Shona carvings outside my tent

I agree and get a lift right to the door form employees who have been out doing the shopping. I check into Small World Backpackers where they have camping on prickle/thorn free couch grass with lovely sculpture right around the property. There are nearby supermarkets etc and the hostel has a kitchen, lovely tv room, lots of friendly travellers and all is GREAT here. Plenty of people are coming with recommendations for buses, places to stay and even places to eat!

Saturday, I spend walking around looking for a corkscrew to open my wine that I didn’t check before buying. I eventually find one locally but when I use it, it breaks apart. But I manage to use it to get the cork out and I’m happy – wine is open and I’ll get my money back for the piece of junk tomorrow! Today one tourist was brave enough to front the state funeral for Retired General Soloman Mujuru, just for the close up views of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s President.

What else would you advertise at public toilets

They were burying a war hero who apparently died in a burning house. Newspapers are casting aspersions but not naming names… who are then in turn described as a group of confusionists whose politics thrives on mischief. Ahhh it must be so frustrating to be Zimbabwean and read this stuff!

The hostel is very relaxing with movies every night as the tourists have lots of DVDS to watch! We even take it in turns to go to the kitchen to make cuppas for everyone – nearly home away from home. I buy a bus ticket to travel onwards tomorrow night to Lusaka, giving me another day here but not a lot to see here unless you like stripped monuments, done in a pique to demonstrate the discarded colonialists. I spend my last day in Zimbabwe walking into town to visit the Girl Guides and meeting with their President, Elizabeth Mamukwa, who is lovely. We sit down to tea and chat and I ask if they know anyone in Lusaka – no, but Alice Wawaru will – they give me Alice’s email and when I get online I send her a quick email to explain who I am and what I want. Fingers crossed!

Easy day with lots of walking in anticipation of tonight’s bus ride. I call in at the Harare Sports Club and check out their prized historic memorabilia from days gone by a nice oval being primed to host matches here, along with tennis courts and putting greens. Lunch at their public club the Maiden on the most peculiar version of steak strips I have ever had – swimming is sauce, yuck. Easy early evening relaxing at the hostel then a quick taxi ride to the bus station - tonight’s bus takes off on time and I sit with a lovely young women, at uni in South Africa.

She is travelling to Zambia to purchase african clothing, which she takes back with her to Capetown to sell at tourist markets. By doing this she is finding her uni tuition. She reckons 90% of folk are on travelling to Zambia for informal business. The bus ride is easy – chicken, chips and soft drink provided for dinner, the goriest movie I have EVER seen on the tv and when the bus arrives at the border by 1pm we park in line with the other buses and sleep till the border opens. Then there’s quite a bit of standing in line but my double entry visa gets me in without a problem and we’re off to Lusaka where I try to get my head around the Kwaitcha exchange rate again.

FACT: The World Bank is offering to fund a land audit but is meeting with some resistance from war veterans who benefited from Mugabe’s land largesse. Apparently the World Bank wants some order before assisting the country and donors want structures to be in place to finance. Apparently there is ‘multiple ownership’ by government hierarchy, including Robert Mugabe, who together with his family ‘owns’ 32 prime agricultural properties!!