ZimZam review

3200 kilometres of driving, 54 hours travelling, 15 nights in Zimbabwe, 7 toll booths, 6 dead elephants, 5 National Parks, 3 rhinos, 2 lodges, 1 night of bonking lions and no Brexit.

So was Zimbabwe what we expected?  The answer is of course  - yes and no!  We only scratched the surface and didn't get to see huge parts of the country including Harare.  But what we did see was a very proud nation with really friendly people who went out of their way to help.

Things that surprised us - the number of cars and the number of schools.
Things that frustrated us - not having $Zim
Things that upset us - the impact of the drought with elephants dying

Would we visit again?  Definitely!  We would love to see both Hwange and Mana in their glory after the rains have rejuvenated them, and to visit the Eastern Highlands and Gonarezhou National Park which were both too far away for this trip. We also still really want to drive the route from Livingstone to Kariba via Binga and Chizarira National Park although it will probably be tarred (and therefore not such a challenge!) by the time we get to do this.

Friday 11 October - Drive to Nkwazi Tented Camp, Livingstone

Up at 6 am for breakfast of fried bratwurst and fried potatoes - very healthy.  We tidied the whole vehicle sorting out all the food and storage bags.  We gave all the excess food (half a bag of pasta, 6 breadrolls, packet of chicken soup, packet of tomato sauce, chicken and beef oxo cubes, oregano and a little bit of oil) to the receptionist who seemed very pleased and said it would definitely get used.  We were able to have a nice hot shower for once and were on the road by 8.30 am.  It was along and tedious drive along the highway to Livingstone.  The biggest excitement was whether we would make it without running out of diesel. It was definitely touch and go - the warning light came on as we reached Livingstone.  The first garage then had a powercut to add a bit of added excitement but luckily the next one was working and we were able to add 20 litres to the tank.

At the start of the holiday we had suggested going on a helicopter ride over the falls and as we had time we headed to Batoka Sky which was recommended in the Bradt Guide.  We were amazed to be able to get a slot - they were expecting a really large group but were able to get us in before them if we could go immediately.  The helicopter was small single engine with 4 seats.  Ian let me sit in the front as it was my first every helicopter ride and he had done loads.

 It was superb!  We flew over the Falls twice and the view of the canyon and the river was amazing.

Drove back to Nkwazi Camp arriving at 2.15 to find the camp essentially shut as we were the only guests.  Even the power was off as there was a powercut and they wouldn't switch the generator on til after 6pm.  We cleared the vehicle out, packed our bags and then had a quick dip in the pool (very quick as it was really cold!).  We sat and drank several beers before dinner (carrot and butternut soup, fried feta, chicken breast with roast spuds, and pavlova and fruit).  Spent most of the meal trying to stop everything blowing away in the wind whilst Ian cursed his phone for not sending text messages!

Thursday 10 October - Drive the The Moorings Campsite

Dried breadroll for breakfast with a cuppa - not the most appetising breakfast. We had a quick chat with Tom and managed to get rid of all our 5 litre plastic water bottles.  He also explained the route to avoid much of the main Lusaka - Livingstone road.  Left at 9 am with a quick detour back into Siavonga for more water and beer.  The road that Tom had described was mostly tarred and we passed through village after village.  We still had the feeling that Zambian villages have more overt poverty than Zimbabwean ones - children with no clothes, no water close by and certainly no cars!  Everyone was really friendly though and waved to us as we went by.  We did stop at one point to buy some baskets and the entire family descended on us begging us to buy things or give them food.   We also stopped for lunch and a cuppa by the side of the road - not the best view.  The last part of the road albeit tarred had massive potholes so we were glad to eventually get to the main road.

The Moorings campsite was actually 20 km in the opposite direction to Livingstone at the junction we emerged which was slightly aggravating.  It also looked as though it was shut when we first arrived but eventually a lady did appear and we were able to check in, get a beer and buy a braai pack.  The first job was to fill the car with the final jerry can of diesel (we should have filled both yesterday but the set up was actually better today so it was probably a better decision in the end).  We cooked dinner of chicken curry with tinned mixed veg - it was odd but edible.  The campsite cat seemed to like it anyway.  Another group arrived as we were cooking and yet again they had previously used Safari Drive and in fact had bought their Landrover from them - another weird coincidence.

Wednesday 9 October - Drive to Eagles Rest Campsite, Siavonga, Zambia

We were able to have a leisurely breakfast in the lodge - they even had marmite!  We did a last wander around the camp and then it was time to leave - it had been a short but memorable stay.

The boat transfer was at 8.45 am and we were back in Marineland by 9.30 am.  The day then started to go a bit haywire and we were glad we had had such a relaxing start to the day.

Firstly, Ian managed to pay the wrong guy for cleaning our car and left them to argue it out.  Then the guy at the gate was irritated that we had not parked in his covered parking spaces - clearly he too had wanted to earn a little extra for car washing. Luckily he was not too irritated as we couldn't find a crucial blue slip of paper that we were supposed to present to get out of Marineland but he eventually decided to let us out without it.  Zimbabwe still functions on burocracy and paperwork!

We headed up to Kariba heights to see the view across the lake.  We bought a hippo and had an early morning beer in a bar - far too early for me to be drinking beer! A group of school children were also seeing the sights and one of them must have dropped a $Zim note so we picked it up not really expecting to be able to return it.

We then headed to Kariba Dam.  Neither of us had actually read the guide book which wasn't ideal!  We worked out that we needed to go to immigration.  At the border post we saw the coach load of children and Ian was able to hand to $Zim note to a surprised teacher.  We completed the necessary paperwork and walked through the border and down to the dam.   We soon realised our error - it was scorching hot and we had no water and I had no hat.  We also realised that we could just have driven down and parked at the dam - it will probably be more memorably for the walk though!

Immigration and customs on the Zim side was reasonably straightforward.  The immigration guy was amused to see us again and we had a laugh about the fact we had walked down to the dam.  We paid our $10 dam tax, had a quick check from Interpol but they were too hot to really check anything and we were suddenly out of Zimbabwe and into No Mans Land. We stopped on the Zambian side of the dam and took a couple more pictures.

We then drove to the Zambian border - not expecting any issues. How wrong could we be!  The first issue was at Immigration.  The Immigration Officer refused to accept that our Kasa Visa was valid at the Kariba border post.  Despite arguing we were eventually forced to buy 2 new visas at $50 each.  In hindsight we should have asked to speak to his supervisor!  At Customs we couldn't find our Carbon Tax certificate even though we knew we had it.  Of course we did eventually find it but that was after we had aleady paid 550 Kwatcha for a new one. We were then directed to Interpol and this was when it went really wierd.  We were told that we had the wrong paperwork for the vehicle - we were OK to enter Zambia but we couldn't take the car in.  After considerable arguing we eventually decided the only solution was to call Gene at Safari Drive.  She didn't seem particularly keen to talk to the Interpol guy but I handed the phone over anyway but it just resulted in him putting the phone down on her.  We think he was trying to get us to pay him a bribe but we refused to do this and finally he relented and let us though.  We then got stopped at the actual border gate.  By this time we didn't trust anyone so the poor guy on the gate got a mouthful from Ian when he legitimately asked us to pay the local tax.

Finally back into Zambia, we drove straight to Siavonga to get some shopping.  We had been advised to do this in Zimbabwe but we had ignored the advice!  We did manage to find an ATM to get some much needed cash out but there was clearly no supermarket in Siavonga so for once we had to use the local shops and the market. This wasn't a problem it was just that the choice was a bit limited.  We were able to get bread rolls from the bakery, some beef from the butcher (it was the only thing we recognised), potatoes and onions from the market.  We tried to get some beer from what we thought was the bottle shop but turned out to be the wholesaler - we really didn't need 24 bottles of beer!  However he did direct us to a little general store where we found water and beer.

We booked into Eagles Rest for the night.  It was not quite what we expected but was a nice resort with lots of chalets, a restaurant and a beach bar.  We sat at the bar drinking beer and eating a late lunch of fish and chips.  I had a long chat with the manager Tom whilst Ian went and got changed, so by the time Ian returned it was time to return to the campsite and set up camp.  We had a lovely view of the lake and were able to sit reading til 9 pm after eating braaied beef, fried potatoes and squash for tea - the beef was somewhat chewy but was edible!  The tent was boiling hot so a very sticky night was in store and noisy from the next door neighbours peacock!

Tuesday 8 October - Day in Changa Safari Camp, Mutusadona National Park

Alarm set for 5.15 with tea/coffee arriving at 5.30 as we have booked a walking safari with Bruce.  We started with a drive to the National Park and then Bruce and Jose drove for another 30 minutes checking all the tracks along the road.  Eventually we got out of the truck to walk through some mapane forest tracking an elephant but it proved elusive so Jose was called to get him to meet us and we jumped back into the truck to find another area.  This time we followed some fresher tracks, Bruce kept talking to himself which was a bit disconcerting but suddenly we all heard a crack of wood - the sound of an elephant breaking a branch.  We headed off in the direction of the sound ignoring the tracks and finally came upon 4 male elephants eating mopane.  We had to creep along very slowly and very quietly, Bruce gently moving the leaves with his foot to stop them crunching when we stood on them.  Even tough we had been really close to loads of elephants it was still fascinating to see exactly where they go into the bush, the clear marks of where they have slept against termite mounds and where they actually eat.

We drove to the river front for breakfast of sandwiches and tea/coffee and watched a group of elephants. Returned to the lodge for a lazy day by the pool broken up by lunch and the odd beer.

At 3.30 we headed off for a trip to the Sanyati Gorge.  The lake was like a millpond and stunningly beautiful.  We reached the gorge after 20 minutes.  One side of the gorge is the National Park and the other is community land. Both are mountainous with no road access and as a result is a unique area.  We saw lots of wildlife, elephants, hippos, crocs, baboons, vervet monkeys and klipspringer.

Stopped in the flooded forest for a sundowner and chatted to our guide about the difference in training between Zim guides and other guides in Southern Africa - Zim guides have a reputation for being the most highly trained.

When we got back we were impressed to find a hot bubble bath and bottle of red wine waiting for us - Sarah had listened to a conversation over coffee when I had described this happening for my boirthday in South Africa.  It was a lovely surprise.

Dinner was due to be quiet as there are only 6 guests in the lodge We sat with Emma and Steve whilst the other 2 guests sat by themselves - you got to choose when you arrived if you preferred to eat alone or with other guests. We sat up drinking an chatting til late getting through copious amounts of wine and keeping the poor guide up as he couldn't go to bed until all the guests had gone.

Monday 7 October - Drive to Changa Safari Camp, Mutusadona National Park

We had a much better night's sleep - elephants and hyenas wandered through the camp but the lions stayed further away (we still heard them roaring but they didn't visit our camp) and the wind thankfully did not get up again.  We packed up and were ready to leave by 7.30 but decided to have a quick last look at the baobabs and the spring as we will almost certainly never return to this campsite.

We passed a large herd of buffalo at the end of the Chitake track, were through the gate with the ladies that we had the heated discussion with by 8.30 am and exited the main gate by 10 am.  We had 2 hours to get to Kariba town.  Before we could get going though we had to go through the tsetse fly control - as the car was absolutely full of the horrid biting flies we were relieved to stop and have the car sprayed.

The drive to Kariba was beautiful though the mountains.

We arrived at Marineland at 11.45am and were aboard the boat by 12.15 having done all the paperwork, paid the transfer and concession fees and parked the vehicle in a shady spot.  There was just one other couple on the boat, a Zimbabwean couple on their honeymoon, Steve and Emma from Hidden Rock campsite in the Eastern Highlands.  The transfer took about 45 minutes and we arrived in time for lunch of beef burgers and chips which was seriously good.

We had time to unpack, shower and a quick dip in the pool and then off for an evening game drive at 4 pm.  Finally we saw a pride of lions close by.  There were 10 lions in total.  The pride had been 12 and they thought the missing two lions were probably females expecting cubs.

We also saw a huge herd of buffalo, about 400 in total plus lots of elephants, hippos and impala.  Due to the drought the lake was much lower but this actually meant the herds of animals were taking advantage of the grass by the lakeside which would normally be under water. We saw as much wildlife this evening as we had seen since we arrived in Zimbabwe.

Dinner was served by candlelight on the lake shore.  It was a traditional Zimbabwean buffet but it was actually difficult to see what we were eating - it was delicious though.  We had a really interesting chat with our fellow diners, Sarah, the lodge manager, Steve and Emma and one of the guides.  We all disappeared off to bed at 9.30 as we had another early start planned.