Zimbabwe 12 to 30 April 2023

Zimbabwe road scene

Zimbabwe or officially The Republic of Zimbabwe is another landlocked country in Southern Africa with a population of over 15 million people. It lies between the Zambezi and the Limpopo rivers with South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the north and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, the most common being English, Shona and Ndebele being the most widely spoken. Like a lot of the African countries Zimbabwe also has a tremulous past. In 1890 the British South African Company belonging to Cecil Rhodes conquered Matabeleland and Mashonaland after a fierce war, forming the area called Rhodesia. This ended in 1923 by the British taking over rule and establishing Southern Rhodesia as a self-governing British colony. In 1965 the white minority government declared independence and became known as Rhodesia. This lasted up to 1980 when, after a constant guerilla war, the country finally got independence and proudly took the name Zimbabwe.

Border post Botswana Zimbabwe

Left Kasane early and headed up to the border post at Kazungula on the Zambian side. Got myself and the bike stamped out of Botswana and headed across no man’s land to the Zimbabwe post, a couple of Kms further on. At the immigration office the first hurdle came. I asked for a “Kaza Univisa” for Zimbabwe. This is a visa allowing multiple entries in and out of Zimbabwe and Zambia, it costs 50 USD and is valid for 30 days. The official told me that I was not entitled to it on the grounds that the Republic of Ireland falls under England. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and showed him the “EU” on my passport. He refused to budge saying that it was that way in his system and that I had to take a multiple entry visa that costs 70 USD. To cut a long story short I paid the 70 USD, got a receipt and the 70 US dollars is stamped into my passport, so he wasn’t on the take just misinformed. I asked him if he would write me a note saying that the Republic of Ireland was British and to sign it with his name and rank…. He refused…. He just kept pointing to the screen. Next stop was to get my TIP, temporary import permit. This was 21 USD but included third party insurance for Zimbabwe. All these transactions were cash only. I had a supply of dollars specially for this. Then it was on to the town of Victoria Falls, 70 Km further on. There was nothing on this road except potholes, no petrol stations or restaurants or anything.

Entering Zimbabwe

Victoria Falls or Vic Falls to the locals is a town centered around the tourist industry with of course the falls at its center. I stopped in the center to program Holly, my onboard nav unit, with the name of the lodge that I wanted to go to, this was “Shoestrings Backpackers”. Then I was surrounded by people who offer me all kinds of services or just down right asking me for money. Tourist town and the tourist is a walking ATM machine. Surrounded by good choice, in a way, as it was really central and within walking distance to the falls. It was also payable; its only drawback was that it didn’t have a communal kitchen. One really good thing about Africa is that the supermarkets have an amazing selection of freshly cooked foods, salade bar and amazing cream cake counters in them. The food is served hot, and you pay by weight, and they give you a plastic fork or spoon. This is really handy, grab a takeaway, go to the park or back to the hostel and have a feast. The hostels and lodges are all set within really nice gardens with loads of places to sit and chill out in. They all have a bar, swimming pool and restaurant as well. But most important off all they all offer good Wi-Fi and secure parking. They are a great way to meet other travelers and keep up to date on what’s happening. I went to sleep that night to the sound of the falls. They were really loud.  

Shoestring Backpackers Victoria Falls

South African biker changing his back tyre in Shoestring Backpackers

It is commonly believed that Dr. David Livingstone was the first European to view the falls. He was reported to have seen them for the first time on the 16 November 1855. The recorded viewing site is now called Livingstone island in honour of him.

Doctor David Livingston

He in turn named the Falls Victoria in honour of Queen Victoria from England. But funnily enough the original name for the falls in the Sotho language Mosi-oa-Tunya or translated into English “The smoke that thunders”, is commonly used among the locals. The park on the Zambian side is called Mosi-oa-Tunya park whilst on the Zimbabwe side it is called Victoria Falls park. So, in reality the park has two entrance gates in two different countries, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Both countries are connected at this point by a bridge.

Victoria Falls bridge

The view from the bridge

But they have different immigration requirements. The falls span a width of 1.7 Km and most of that, 75% is on the Zimbabwe side and 25% in the Zambian side. I opted to view the falls from both sides. The Zimbabwe park has a walk route with 16 viewpoints. The falls were in full flood which meant that there was a lot of spray and noise. The entrance to the park, for International visitors, costs a whopping big 50 US dollars. For SADC (South African Developing Countries) it costs 30 US Dollars and for local Zimbabwean residents it costs 7 US Dollars. In Zimbabwe the entrance to the falls is via the rain forest. You can buy or rent ponchos from different street vendors, but I had brought my own. I also had plastic bags for my cameras and believe me you needed all this. I spent all day walking around the route and just chilling in the park. Taking photos was extremely difficult, the spray was intense. Holding the camera for any length of time was really difficult. The wind would just suddenly clear the spray away, offering a really good shot and then it blows it straight into your face, soaking you and the cameras.

Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls

There was not one viewpoint that offered a complete view of the falls. The only way to do this was by taking a helicopter flight. These are expensive but well worth the money. I arranged one through the hostel and they picked me up within an hour. The driver asked me not to discuss prices with the other two passengers, a New Zeeland elderly couple. He told me that they were paying for a 25 min flight and that I was paying for a, discounted, 15 min flight and that I was going with them. I really don’t know what they thought when their minibus pulled up outside my temporary abode. Written in large psychedelic letters on the wall was Shoestring backpackers lodge and just for good measure some colorful artwork. Then I come out and the driver is desperately whispering in my ear off to one side. They were sitting in the back, and I got in the front. I had also just got out of the shower and my hair was hanging loose in a ponytail. Because the driver had told us that we shouldn’t wear a hat whilst boarding the helicopter because the rotary blades would suck it up. I had visions of me being whirled around this helicopter by my ponytail, so I was tying it up in a bun whilst we were driving.  I just wonder to this day if they realized that I was paying half the amount that they were paying. In the course of the conversation, it came out that everything that they did was organized and pre booked, whilst I was totally unorganized and last minute. But the flight was really spectacular. It offered a totally different view of the falls and was well worth the money.

View of Victoria Falls from helicopter

Aerial view Victoria Falls

Aerial view victoria falls

Giraffe from up above

Local street musicians

I then rode across the bridge to Livingstone. I had to go through all the customs formalities, but it was painless. More on this in the next blog dealing with Zambia. Whilst in Livingstone I got violently sick, with chronic pains in my tummy. I kinda knew that it was an acid problem so bought some Omeprazole.

My next destination was Bulawayo. The road there was really chronic, it was pot holed, but huge, big potholes. Once again, I was getting sick with chronic stomach pains. About 50 Kms before Bulawayo I hit a huge pothole. I was really lucky I didn’t lose control but there was a funny noise coming from the front. My front mudguard was broken and was rubbing on the wheel. I managed to tape it up a bit and got to town.

On the way to Bulaweyo

I wanted to stay at the Bulawayo Club Hotel. This was an old Gentlemen’s club dating from 1895. It was a living museum and a throwback to Colonial times.

Gentlemen’s Club Hotel Bulaweyo

Gentlemen’s Club Bulaweyo

Bulaweyo

Bulaweyo

That evening the pain got worse, so, on advice from Susie, I went to a clinic to get tested for H. Pylori bacteria. This turned out to be negative and the doctor advised me to take 20 mg Omeprazole in the morning and 20 mg at night. Unfortunately, with the stomach problems my stay was not exactly what I had planned. I didn’t get to visit any of the ruins or some of the colonial buildings.

My diet food

I did go to the train museum and that was fantastic. To see how they built the railways through the bush. Also, to see the huge, big articulated steam engines built in England for Rhodesian railways.

Railways Museum Bulaweyo

Railways Museum Bulaweyo

Train museum Bulawayo

Roadside food

Fixed the mudguard with duct tape and cable ties. The medicine was starting to work though, and I was getting a bit better. I also got a new zip put into my trousers. The zip had broken. They went and got me a zip in the same colour and had it ready in half an hour. The total cost was 2 US dollars.

Duct tape repair

Cable tie repair

On the way to Great Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe road scene

The next destination was Great Zimbabwe a world heritage site. These are the ruins of a medieval city built in the 9th century AD and abandoned in the 15th century.  It was thought to have been the capital of a great kingdom and housed the King and his household.  It also controlled the international trade in gold and ivory. Coins and pottery shards from China and Persia were found attesting to this theory.  Zimbabwe is the Shona name of the ruins. It is believed to be derived from “Dzimba-dza-mabwe” meaning large houses of stone or “Dzimbahwe” meaning venerated houses. The buildings were constructed using dry stone technique. No mortar or cement is used. The stones were cut in straight lines, and they all fitted perfectly together. Some of the walls were over 11 meters high. This was a major building achievement. The Rhodesian government pressurized the archeologists to deny that it was constructed by the ancestors of the local black population.

The enclosure Great Zimbabwe

The enclosure Great Zimbabwe

The enclosure Great Zimbabwe

The enclosure Great Zimbabwe

The enclosure Great Zimbabwe

The royal enclosure

Resting out on top of Great Zimbabwe

I camped among the ruins on the camping site. This and the whole complex are really run down. The campsite had no electricity and hot water. But it was a fantastic place to stay. There is a major move to renovate the place with the help of the French. After the fall of Rhodesia in 1980 the country was officially named or renamed Zimbabwe. I spent two nights camping in the ruins. There was also one other person camping there, a French backpacker, called Loic, who I had met in Livingstone. This place was really worth the visit and camping there was really unique. Loic made some juice and a type of porridge from the Baobao fruit. It tasted really weird but okay. It is a high energy fruit, and the seeds are full of oil, used for frying.

My palace again

Local family

Monkeys

Sunrise at Great Zimbabwe

Then it was time to move on to Harare. The road was bad in places and in other places there were road works for kilometers. But this time I didn’t hit any potholes.

Kyle Dam on the way to Harare

Kyle Dam

Zimbabwe, on the way to Harare

Zimbabwe road scene

On the way to Harare

On the road local fruit sellers

Harare is a huge, big sprawling city and the traffic was getting more chaotic by the km. The Zimbabweans in Harare drive like crazy. Then a car got angry because he couldn’t squeeze past, so she rammed the back of the bike to push me out of the way. Of course, the bike went down. I managed to let it down gently. When I got up the woman driver of the car started yelling at me and accusing me of braking in front of her. I politely informed her that she had caused an accident and that I had damage to my bike, and I was going to inform the police. She yelled at me that my bike was overloaded and that I would be arrested. I managed to get the bike back up with the help from some other drivers. The woman kept yelling at me, so I got angry. I pointed to the action camera on my helmet and told her that I had filmed everything. At this stage she realized that she was in the wrong. But she denied causing damage to my bike. I showed her the dent and scratches in my pannier. We then agreed on a cash settlement in US dollars, which I took. She was really obnoxious, and she looked at me in shock when I politely told her that if she had smiled at me and apologized in the beginning, I would never have taken any money from her. The money I kept separate and gave it away bit by bit to beggars and down and outs. A scratch and a dent more on the bike is not a problem.

The aftermath of the accident. For privacy I haven’t posted pictures of the car of it’s driver

I was staying at a lodge called Small Worlds Backpackers. This place is well known on the travel scene. Once I arrived, I was met by Max one of the French Vloggers. Morgan and Margaux arrived the following day. They invited me to go to a bike rally organized by a local bike club. I eagerly accepted. The Rally was to be held in Kariba on the like named lake over the weekend.

It’s a Small World Backpackers, Harare

Repair work on Tiggy

Filling up with the French Vloggers

A bike rally is an international thing. It is a meeting of bikers and likeminded people who get together and party hard. There are only bikers present so everyone lets their hair down and just goes for it. I know that there are some bikers reading this who know what I mean. I have posted some photos, but a lot will remain private. It was an amazing weekend, bikers all together, Zimbabwean, French, South African, Irish, Black, coloured and white all drinking, dancing, laughing arm in arm with each other and just plain good naturedly acting silly, because we were all one, united under the banner of a love of motorcycles. The club had taken over a whole self-catering establishment called the “Cutty Sark” There were some people camping but the majority had chalets.

Bikers off to a good time

Bikers having a good time

We all met up on the Friday morning in Harare. After a short speech and a prayer by the club president and the Pater we set off. OMG these guys ride hard. The route was split up with a couple of predetermined stops, where we all met up. These were for drinks, or food or just a break. The Friday night was party night and I mean party. Not only do these guys ride hard but they also party hard. They had a whole DJ system with huge, big speakers and it kept blaring it out till 4 AM.

Bikers off to a good time

Margaux
Max

Saturday there was a boat tour organized. This started at 11 in the morning and finished at 6 in the evening. The boat tour was on Lake Kariba. Lake Kariba is the world’s largest artificial lake and reservoir by volume. It lies on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It was formed on completion of the dam in 1963. The town of Kariba was built to house the dam workers. As were also the towns of Binga, Mlibizi in Zimbabwe and Siavonga and Sinazongwe in Zambia were built to house the people displaced by the water. Lake Kariba is over 223 km long and 40 km wide. It reaches a depth of 97 meters. The local Zimbabweans refer to this lake as their Mediterranean holiday resort. This is where they all come to chill out and spend their holiday. There ae two hydro power plants built into the dam. One for Zimbabwe and one for Zambia. The lake has several little islands, and we were heading to one of these. Our boat was moving slowly but the disco was also on board, as was the bar. By the time that we got to the island everyone was really drunk. The water in the lake was low, waiting for the flood water to reach it, so the boat couldn’t beach properly. But that didn’t stop 60 bikers. They just jumped into the water, clothes and all. This despite the fact that there were crocodiles in the water. But we all needed to cool off.  I think that we had rented the slowest boat on the lake. It was late when we finally docked. The party and the disco then carried on back at the lodge.

The biker party boat

The biker party boat

Mooring up the biker party boat

The Lake Kariba

Bikers cooling off

Sunday, I decided to go for a ride out with some of the club members. A whole group of us went but at different times. I went with Colin, Coleen and Wayne. This turned out to be really fantastic as they were all taking a trip down memory lane and showing me places from their youth and telling me all about life in those days. Those days being the time of Rhodesia and also the time of the guerrilla wars. We visited the different lookout points. We also went to a place called Warthogs for a drink. Warthogs is a well-known camping place on the overlander circuit and I had it written down in my notebook as a place to stay. We also caught up with some of the other riders at a recreation park and marina. Sunday night back at the lodge it was once again party time but a bit more subdued, everyone was tired out. But the club did a prize giving ceremony. Needless to say, all the foreign riders got something. We all got a tee shirt and a tin of chain lube… all really useful. I also got a baseball cap from the 2022 rally.

Out for a ride with with Colin, Coleen and Wayne

Kariba Heights Observation Point

Riding around Kariba

Sunday evening at the rally

Sunset at Kariba

I headed off Sunday morning and crossed over the dam into Zambia. That will be the next blog.If you would like to share in the Zimbabwe experience, then click on the like named photo album at my facebook page. Facebook photo album Zimbabwe 12 to 30 April 2023

But first make a nice wee cup of tea, grab a packet of biscuits, fluff up the cushions in your favourite chair grab the mouse and click and enjoy Zimbabwe.

Thank you all for following, liking and commenting, thank you for sharing the journey with me. I appreciate it. My real time location is Uganda, check my tracks out from the menu to find my location.