Setting off on am adventure of any kind is always exciting whether its Boksburg or Bali it’s up to you to make it. So six weeks ago when 3 of us decided to make a mission to probably the most dodgy of our neighboring countries there was much excitement for the planning of everything from meals and accommodation to routes and stops this really did make the time fly and before we knew it our time had come and we were on our way, now it was a trip over 11 days or so and quite action packed so I’m going to give you a very brief play by play.
Getting there.
Ahhh the border, it’s always an daunting feeling as you hit the border control of any country, I mean even if you KNOW that you have everything in order that there is always this voice in the back of your head that screams YOU ARE SCREWED!!
Well imagine this – Getting to the border with an uncertified letter from the owner of the car allowing us to cross out of the country, now you must understand we are driving the brightest RED Landrover 90 you have ever seen in your life, we were sitting ducks from the word go but after much pleading with the customs people to allow us through because we promised that we would never do it again , they eventually did and were gone with the wind!!!!!!!! Or so we thought, with the final check point in sight we steamed forward only to be signaled aside by some gents in casual clothing claiming to be C.I.D, C.I.D.???? Criminal Investigation Department, ah that’s awesome! They asked for our paper work and of course it wasn’t up to scratch, they knew, we knew and so it began. The next 40 minutes was spent in an exchange of friendly banter of holiday plans and soccer chat all with the underlying theme of “how much is it going to cost to rectify this problem” well we did with our negotiating skills needing a lot of work as we eventually settled on $100 US!!! Welcome to Africa people!
On we went, venturing into deepest darkest Africa, on the road towards Harare - once the jewel in the African colonial crown. Skeletons of cars from years gone by litter the road sides leaving nothing but rust and chrome reminders of the dangers of this road with all the truck and livestock freely roaming alongside it.
After 2 hours of taking in all sorts of scenery and Zimbabwean rural life, the curse of the red Landrover struck again, being seen from what might as well have been 30 km down the road out jumps a little man with his little round radar gun, whilst ushering us to the side of the road I’m already reaching into my pocket into what is now a very minuscule bribe kitty for $20 when I was instructed to bring my passport, that’s all and after being told of my offense was charged with a $10 fine and an admission of guilt we were on the road again. WIN.
Off to the Lion and Elephant, for a well deserved lunch and reflecting on the ordeals we had just gone through and after stopping in a local town in search of a mattress for Brett and Marianda on we pushed to Malilangwe.
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| Sunrise |
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| Rooies |
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| Loius Trichard |
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| Runde River, a taste of whats to come |
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| At the Lion And Elephant |
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| Admission of quilt = $10 |
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| CAR-cass |
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The first Baobab
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| Trying to find a mattress |
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| General supplies |
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| Sandstone castles |
