Entering the country at Beitbridge was a piece of cake, like the wildcamping possibilities in this country. Everywhere there was enough space and the locals were super friendly. Once somebody walked up from the bush just to make sure we were ok and started the fire for us.
We visited the Great Zimbabwean monument to get an impression of the history of the country. The countries name derives from this place and is very interesting to see how well the ancient city is preserved over time. In the little museum it was explained how the city was built and to our surprise we can actually still see people using the same techniques and tools today. In these aspects the country hasn’t improved at all!
We visited the Great Zimbabwean monument to get an impression of the history of the country. The countries name derives from this place and is very interesting to see how well the ancient city is preserved over time. In the little museum it was explained how the city was built and to our surprise we can actually still see people using the same techniques and tools today. In these aspects the country hasn’t improved at all!
The countries main attraction are the Victoria falls. Naturally this has been on our bucket list since we started this trip and actually being there was even better than we had imagined. Seeing the falls from the opposite side after the wet season meant getting extremely wet. We stood 30 seconds at the edge and we got completely soaked to our underwear. We even had our rain jackets on! Since we had skipped many expensive attraction we were determined to do a helicopter ride or something crazy but the viewing point and getting wet, satisfied our needs completely. We had a blast, made a few pictures and left with a big smile on our faces.
From the vic falls we took a gravel road to follow the Zambezi river up to lake kariba. After three days of slow driving we noticed a ghost town marked on our map. We decided to visit it, as it was on our way anyway. The road got a lot worse and it ended up very overgrown. We just kept going but didn’t find the town. Instead we ended up at lake kariba. Our jaws dropped to the floor that’s how beautiful it was! Directly we saw baboons, hippos and antelopes. We followed the coast line and kept seeing more and more animals like elephants and buffaloes. It was too good to be true, we started thinking we will have to pay when we would exit. We camped on tsetse island and were surrounded by hippos in the night. We would hear them move and make their noises while laying in bed. The next morning some locals walked up to our camp and the moment they saw our car, they ran away! We were laughing about it, but later we heard illegal hunters were being hunted in this area. One could only assume why they ran away...
Arriving in the capital Harare to apply for our visas to Tanzania and Mozambique, we met Lillian and Emil. A Swiss couple whom have been on the road since 1983 with the same car! As a reward for their efforts they received a place in the Guinness book of world records as the longest distance traveled with the same car. Naturally they were very friendly and inspiring with their stories. We exchanged a bunch of the strangest stories. They had marked their 182 visited countries on the car and made this life their retirement. Unfortunately they left after two days but something tells me we will run into them again.
In Harrare we applied for our Mozambican and Tanzanian visas. (Not necessary, you can obtain a Tanzanian visa at the border coming from Mozambique. During the waiting time we heard many stories about the recent history of Zimbabwe. As some may remember, early 2000s the government decided that white people would no longer be able to own farmland. It may seem a long time ago, but it still affects many people to this day. The decisions made by the president were angered towards the local white people and were suffered most by the whole population. Ever since the country has been in a downward spiral. The minister of finance convinced the president, that to improve the economy they needed to print more money! Naturally the currency collapsed in hyperinflation and hit rock bottom in 2009. Unsupported by the US government they picked up with the US dollar and it seems to be getting better again. Unfortunately plans to destroy the country even more, have been made by implementing a new currency soon again. We were told that the president had help from the Chinese government to gain power and rule the country, so the Chinese could take later whatever mineral the would want. I’m not so sure about the theory, but you can definitely tell the Chinese are taking plenty of minerals out of this country too. We are starting to see a chain effect from the Chinese and we don’t like it.
In Harrare we applied for our Mozambican and Tanzanian visas. (Not necessary, you can obtain a Tanzanian visa at the border coming from Mozambique. During the waiting time we heard many stories about the recent history of Zimbabwe. As some may remember, early 2000s the government decided that white people would no longer be able to own farmland. It may seem a long time ago, but it still affects many people to this day. The decisions made by the president were angered towards the local white people and were suffered most by the whole population. Ever since the country has been in a downward spiral. The minister of finance convinced the president, that to improve the economy they needed to print more money! Naturally the currency collapsed in hyperinflation and hit rock bottom in 2009. Unsupported by the US government they picked up with the US dollar and it seems to be getting better again. Unfortunately plans to destroy the country even more, have been made by implementing a new currency soon again. We were told that the president had help from the Chinese government to gain power and rule the country, so the Chinese could take later whatever mineral the would want. I’m not so sure about the theory, but you can definitely tell the Chinese are taking plenty of minerals out of this country too. We are starting to see a chain effect from the Chinese and we don’t like it.
Next we visited the Eastern Highlands of the country, but were not too impressed by the national parks. We did camp on a cliff with an enormous view, which made the climb worth it. The next day we departed Zimbabwe and left for Mozambique.