16 – 22 AUGUST 2011

ZIMBABWE – Country number 12 /2^nd time

BULAWAYO, 16/17 August

This bus ride with my fav Christian bus company, Intercape was easy again and this evening I’m seated next to a lovely young fellow who claims he is a fashion model travelling regularly to South Africa for clothes and accessories no longer available in Zimbabwe. Along with everything else that is not available in Zimbabwe, I guess is being supplied by neighbouring countries via Zimbabweans. The border process entering Zimbabwe is complicated by a new set of rules introduced 1 August; everyone entering Zimbabwe must declare all personal items of value that they have to be checked of on exit. At 2am I’m a little confused about what items of mine to declare. My questions get strong advice from fellow passengers about what I should and should not write on the form including the advice “don’t lose it” after the form has been stamped and returned to me by customs.  After an hour or so of thorough bag searches we’re all back on the bus and zooming towards Bulawayo. The drop off is not too far from where I want to stay so I take a lovely morning  walk along the very wide, tree lined streets to Packers Paradise. Check in and enquire about getting out to Matobo NP – “a tour has just left here – we will ring and organise for you to get there and meet them at the gate”. AND then they cook me breakfast while I’m waiting. 

Look, balancing rocks

 I’m happy and soon enough, being driven out to the park on an overcast day and join a trio of Spaniards for a drive through the game park. The weather starts taking a turn for the worse and we only see a few Thornicroft Giraffe (the dark coloured ones) and some fleeing rhino. It’s even too cold for baboons today!  The Spaniards are a little disappointed but I don’t mind – I wanted to see the granite formations that are peculiar to this part of the world. The highlights were the balancing rocks within the game park and adjacent, Rhodes Grave atop Worlds View was FANTASTIC with the lovely Maleme dam. We were taken to visit a rock overhang with a little known san painting, then on to a pitiful museum and huge cave that was evidenced with past well-meaning attempts to save the San paintings there. They had tried coating them with linseed oil to preserve them and succeeded in destroying them completely! Hmmmm

After a full day of being driven about on tour I ask to get dropped in town to walk and familiarise myself with Bulawayo.  

The supermarkets are thriving hives of activity which seems to be norm here, perhaps a reaction to the severe food shortages of just a few years ago?  Or maybe its something to do if you’re unemployed, poor and trying to find a bargain for dinner? On returning to the hostel I discover 3 restaurants and a bar right next door (when the LP map shows it to be all alone out in the burbs)! Very civilised, with a coffee machine, laid back music, roaring fire and happy folk lounging about (obviously NOT poor, unemployed citizens) in the café tonight.

I make contact with the local Girl Guides, telephoning Morag Stone who tells me that she and Margaret spent the afternoon out at the airport today waiting for me to arrive!

The cave with destroyed paintings

I am so embarrassed– Elizabeth got my plans mixed. So I tell Morag that I had arrived this morning by bus and we arrange to meet the next day.  She kindly picks me up and together we visit Bulawayo’s museum. She is very well informed about the exhibits here and is genuinely pleased to see most of the museum in reasonable condition.  We spent a lovely morning together before lunching at Mary’s in town. Quite of few of the affordable city restaurants are setup in private homes adapted for trading. Morag relates a few of the plans Zimbabwe GG has for their Centenary next year and we chat a bit about the last few years in Zimbabwe which has seen much tumult and disruption to the country. RE the food shortages, Morag told me that they would often tell each other they had air pie for lunch, meaning nothing!

The view from Rhodes' final resting place

Visiting Bulawayo’s curio market outside City Hall we meet up with Morag’s daughter and granddaughter, the latter who lives with Morag during the school term… Unfortunately Morag’s family are due to sign over 51% of their family farm on the 1^st of next month, ‘to someone we don’t know”. Very sobering stuff here and my thoughts remain with those who are sticking it out there in Zimbabwe against the odds. We finally wish each other farewell and I spend the arvo with more walking and being very successful in buying a Zimbabwe sim card and find the office nearby to register it which will let me use it. I call in at the tourist office to find out about getting to the nearby Khami Ruins where I meet three other tourists who are trying to get out to Matobo NP today. One is an Aussie who introduces himself – Fin from Sydney, my new roommate he tells me. 

Downtown sunny Bulawayo

 I recount my previous day’s tour experience to the Matopos and after finding there is no transport out to Khami, leave them trying to find a way out there to go camping – which would be a lovely experience. More walking around to soak up this country town vibe and there are plenty of signs around town advertising the upcoming New Zealand cricket tour here. A couple of the matches are due to be played in Bulawayo to continue Zimbabwe’s efforts to re-join International Cricket. The locals are mad keen fans of their team so it would be fun to catch a match, but the dates in Harare are when I’m in Bulawayo and the matches in Bulawayo I will already be in Harare. B*gger.

I find a souvenir shop hidden away who have great issues of Zimbabwe’s 50 trillion dollar note, so I get one for Kyle, before heading back to Packers Paradise where Fin I discuss our various travels and intentions. He decides to join me tomorrow in visiting the Great Zimbabwe Ruins overnight. In the meantime I head next door to try the beer and end up chatting for a few hours with a couple of Zimbabweans (white) who have very firm views of Zim’s problems, Zim’s locals and Zim’s future. But they were buying the beers and were amusing to listen to, with a pinch of salt and plenty of beer!

FACT: The indigenisation and empowerment programme is currently being implemented by the government of Zimbabwe. The indigenisation part of the supply chain compels government department, agencies etc to procure at least 50 per cent of their goods from indigenous suppliers. The official line is” indigenisation and empowerment in its totality, encompasses the takeover of majority equity, community share ownership schemes, employee share ownership schemes and of course, the indigenisation of the procurement process”. The cornerstone of this programme is the prescription for indigenous Zimbabweans to take over at least 51 per cent of equity in companies worth more than US$500,000 or more.  This condition will be enforced on a sector by sector basis with the mining industry having already started submitting plans for consideration. Then the policy will be implemented in other sectors like banking and finance, manufacturing and energy. It is stated that once indigenous Zimbabweans take control of key sectors like mining, energy development and agro processing, and gather momentum, an indigenous fund will then be created to finance other areas of development.  I’D LIKE TO SEE THAT!!