Zimbabwe - Part 1 (2nd - 20th Feb)

Gwanda (2nd - 5th Feb)

We entered the Zimbabwe side of the border and paid the +$200 in visas and other fees for driving into the country. The process is not very clear and you get sent from one window to another trying to find out what to do next. Finally after about an hour when everything was paid for and documents returned we were free to enter Zimbabwe - it was good to be home! 

Heading a few hours from the border to my aunt and uncle, Cheryl and Russell's house in Gwanda we passed through plenty of police stops - the majority seemed friendly and either let us straight through or had a quick check of my driving licence. 

We arrived in Gwanda and had a nice lasagne for dinner that night catching up with Cheryl and Russell. We were introduced to the 30 or so cats that Cheryl has, including the 2 new additions - kittens Nelly and Sylvester. Cherie enjoyed helping out at feeding time and playing with the little things. Sadly Sylvester passed away which was sad. 

Russell arranged for us to have a tour of the gold mine he runs, we were taken around the overground machines and tanks processing the rock containing the gold and we were also lucky enough to go down one of the mine shafts and see the action that happens underground. We had a great time going around the mine and both found it really interesting seeing what goes into getting the gold out of the rock. We were also taken into the highly secure room where the gold is separated and you can see it vibrate to the edges of the extraction machine. 

Cherie and I in the mine shaft with Underground Manager, John

Gold, gold, gold

We left Cheryl and Russels house on the Thursday, stopping at Bulawayo airport to fetch my mom who was flying in from England and drove to Gweru to spend some time with the family there. 

Gweru (5th - 17th Feb)

We had a nice family meal cooked by my Gran the night we arrived with my aunt and uncle, Tracey and Piet, my cousin Francois and his fiancé Tanya. It was great seeing everyone and catching up again after a long time. 

Dinner with the family in Gweru

Rochelle drove across from Botswana on Friday afternoon. In the evening we all went to a place called 'Livewell' which is a bar / social club for the fishing team that Francois is part of. We also had a nice big braai on the Saturday with everyone there again. 

Braaiing 

Sunday started at 4am for Francois and I who had signed up for a fishing tournament, we took the boat and our packed breakfast and lunch and hit the water hoping to catch some monsters. With little action on the water and feeling hungry we demolished our breakfast and lunch by 8am and sat waiting to catch something. We each caught 4 fish, three of mine made the minimum weight and 2 of Francois making the weight - no chance of us winning when only your best 5 fish count. I came 7th out of about 15 which wasn't too bad. 

Early start for a fishing comp

The girls met us at 1pm once the fishing tournament had finished and now it was time to bring out the wakeboard and water skis and spend the rest of the day trying to stand up on water! After a few attempts Cherie got up on the wakeboard. I failed miserably but was better at water skiing although I did resemble Bamby on ice most of the time! Rochelle and Francois showed us up and made it look easy dropping one of the skis and skimming on the water on the other one. By the end of the day we were all well and truly shattered and sun burnt but had a great time and no sign of any crocs or hippos too was a bonus! 

Wakeboarding 

Skiing like a pro! 

Boat-selfie

We spent just under 2 weeks in Gweru, I took the opportunity to do some work on the farm Piet owns and Francois runs. They have recently had confirmation that they will stay on the farm despite the many attempts of it almost being taken over - I still cannot believe after all the chaos that they have been through how positive they have remained and how enthusiastic Francois is to continue to farm. It was great to help out and see the changes in the few weeks I was there. The maize crop that he has planted grew from about 5 ft to over 12 ft in the time we were there and compared to other farms in the region theirs was up there with the best. 

Francois's mealies when we arrived in Gweru

Mealies just before we left Gweru! 

Whilst I was at work on the farm, Cherie spent the days with my mom and aunt Tracey - lots of tea being drunk and many trips to the shops and Pick n Pay supermarket. We went out for dinner with all family to a place Bata, a social club with a nice restaurant. We also went out for a nice meal with Francios, Tanya and her parent on Valentine's night at a Chinese restaurant.

Dinner with Francois, Tanya and her parents

My uncle Piet had arranged a fishing trip with some of his friends and we spent the day sorting out fishing rods and other gear. As there was 7 of us going, we took both of Piet's boats, I would tow one and Piet towing the other. As we hooked up the boat trailer to our Isuzu we did the final checks before we set off only to realise the electics from the car were not working with the boat trailer and the auto electrician needed to be called and he would only be able to get round in the late afternoon so our plan to set off that day was delayed and we would have to leave at 4am the next day. 

All ready to leave for the fishing trip...but not quite!! 

With the vehicles and boats finally all ready to go, 4am came around and we all looked a little blurried eyed as we got in the cars ready to go. Piet's brother Paul had a nightmare start as his alarm went off an hour earlier than it should have, so he had been up at 3am waiting. He then misplaced his glasses and was on the hunt for those for the rest of the time, once he'd found them in the house and headed outside to get into the car he bumped an ornament of Tracey's wall which smashed all over the floor! Once all the chaos had settled and we got in the cars to drive off, Piet set off first out the drive way with me and Cherie following...as his Land Crusier drove forward I suddenly saw the electrical cable from the house that was plugged into the camp fridge in the back of the Cruiser stretch and then with a snap, bang and flash it broke with one end in the car and the other still plugged into the wall. The commotion didn't end there as Paul getting into Piet's car decided to move the fishing rods over a bit and ended up getting a hook through the hand! 

Malengani (17th - 19th Feb)

We did eventually make it in one piece to Malengani dam where we would spend 2 nights in a nice hunting camp which was closed for the off season. The benefit of the camp being closed was that we had the whole place to ourselves and only the two of our boats on the water! 

Finally on the way to the dam

Piet launching his boat at the dam

We met up with Piet's friend Jan and his two sons Andries and Johan who would be joining us on the trip. We launched the two boats and then went and unpacked the cars before hitting the water for the rest of the day in search for some big fish. Having two boats meant that the rivalry started as soon as the teams were made - Piet, Paul, Jan and Andries on one boat and Cherie, Johan and I on the other boat. We were fortunate to have Johan on our boat as he pulled in fish after fish! I managed to catch a couple including an 8kg barbel and average sized bass. This being Cherie's first time fishing, she started with the basics - casting and reeling in...with a few tangles in the line and hooks caught in the trees. After the first day our boat was in the lead with Johan catching a 4kg bass. In the evening we went on a game drive and then had a nice dinner in camp with a few beverages. 

8kg barbel 

Johan with his 4kg bass

Cherie soaking up the sun

Our rivals on the water

Our second day of fishing started early as both teams wanted to get the upper hand and catch some big fish. Cherie had more luck and hooked into a fish soon after we got out on the boat. She caught a nice sized bass and then a few hours later caught an impressive 3.5kg one. My luck wasn't there and I hooked a couple of trees this time. We went back to camp around 10am for some brunch and gin and tonics which would hopefully help improve my luck with the fish in the afternoon. We changed bait and decided to go after the bream fish instead of bass and headed to a spot that had been prepped with some animal feed the day before to attract the fish. Straight away we were catching bream using worms on the end of the hooks. We must have caught about 15 fish each at that particular spot! We were also having fish and chips for dinner that night so the more we caught the more we could eat and by the end there was enough for a small village. 

First catch!

Smiles all round!! 

The big 3.5kg bass

Gin-o'clock

Dinner

Another hard day in Africa 

On our final day of fishing we set of early again to get a few hours in before we left at lunch time. I still hadn't caught a bass worth writing home about so I was determined to get a decent one before we left (I also had to catch one bigger than Cherie's or else I wouldn't have heard the end of it!). Johan was catching straight away but Cherie and I started slower. We caught a few medium sized and it wasn't looking too good for me. As we were drifting back to camp I hooked into a beast of a fish and as I reeled it in closer to the boat it jumped out of the water and spat the hook out! Cursing the fish I casted my line back in and hooked into another one almost straight away...come on!!! Being more careful not to lose this one, the damn fish did it again and got off the hook! Before jumping in to catch the thing with my hands I tried one more time and couldn't believe it when I hooked into another big bass! Finally this one stayed on and I managed to land it into the boat. It looked like a big fish and I had everything crossed that it was bigger than Cherie's 3.5kg one...it was by 200 grams but I was happy with that!!

Took a while but here it is - 3.7kg bass 

Cherie and I both had a great time on the fishing trip with all the guys and can't thank Piet enough for sorting it out and lending us boats, rods, fishing tackle etc. 

The Fishing Crew 

On the way home to Gweru

Gweru (19th - 20th Feb)

We arrived back in Gweru in the afternoon and had a nice dinner with all the family at my grans house. As we were driving to Zambia the next day we needed to pack the car ready for a 4am start!

All the family in Gweru 

The journey was long but the nice packed breakfast that my gran made helped break up the journey nicely whilst being well fed along the way. The condition of most of the roads in Zimbabwe weren't too bad but the problem is some of the drivers! We had our closest near miss where we both saw our lives flash before our eyes as a car approached ahead in the middle of the road, I thought maybe they had taken the corner a bit wide but he continued right into our lane, flashing and beeping, seconds before crashing into us I swerved off the road into the bush and snaked back onto the road with the car feeling like it was about to flip...luckily the guy woke up as he was about to crash into us and swerved the other way. Braced for impact we missed and the fool drove off, fortunately our car didn't spin and there weren't any trees in the bush otherwise we would have been history. I stopped and had to get out the car in shock. 

We carried on, even more alert of each car that approached! On the 500km stretch from Gweru to the Zambian border at Victoria Falls, we passed through 10 police road blocks. Most being friendly waved us through but with 15km to the border and at the last road block, the guy had a good look around to try and find a problem. Apparently for our sized vehicle the weight of it must be printed on the side, which is a law for Zimbabwean vehicles - we were driving a South African registered vehicle where it is not necessary to have. I tired arguing for about 15 minutes until the senior officer came over with his printed law book and I was issued with a $10 fine and continued to the border! 

The Zim side of the border was painless as we walked in had our passports stamped and then walked out...ready for the Zambian side. 

Botswana (17th Jan - 2nd Feb)

Maun (17th - 24th Jan)

After passing successfully through the Botswana border, we drove 6 hours to a town called Maun that sits beside the infamous Okavango Delta (river). This is where Stu's cousin Rochelle lives with her husband Rainer, and the couple had kindly offered for us to stay at their house whilst in Botswana. We met Rochelle in town, and even though I hadn't met her before, after all the childhood stories I'd heard from Stu I already felt like a knew her and she is just as lovely as I'd imagined. We followed Rochelle in the car to their house and were very impressed by what we saw - an amazing house right on the riverfront with our very own bedroom / bathroom condo. To top it off, we were met by their super cute Yorkshire terrier, Dexter, who I've now become quite attached too and might have to pop in my backpack when leaving! 

Family reunion 

One eye on the camera, one eye on the lookout for crocs 

Dexter (Warning: This is not a toy)

Our 2 weeks in Maun has been well spent. We had a delicious Braai on our first evening there and then headed to the river the following day to sunbathe and swim with a gin and tonic in hand. During the week days whilst Rochelle and Rainer were busy at work, we were busy relaxing! We swam in their pool, met them for delicious lunches out in Maun town, went to the nearby gym to burn some of those lunches off, and shopped in the small shopping centre. Stu and I took a long drive one day down to an area called Kwai, known as being an area for excellent wildlife spotting. We drove 2 hours out of town and stumbled across plenty of giraffe and zebra, right next to the car. We wanted to take a cute little tortoise home with us but decided against it. Our best spot was the wild elephant that we'd been hoping to see all week - our first African elephant spot, and it was huge! We stopped at a small waterhole for a picnic lunch and then headed back to Maun later that afternoon after a successful day with the local wildlife.

Picking up a hitchhiker on our day out 

Spots and stripes 

On our first weekend in Maun, Friday night was party night. We headed to Sports Bar which is where the local crowd congregate to celebrate the weekend. Rochelle was the first to order Springboks - a green and light brown shot that consists of a mixture of peppermint liqueur and Amurela cream ( a baileys type drink). It actually tasted pretty good and a few more followed later that evening. We ate pizzas, drank a little too much and partied into the night. It was a great evening meeting all of Rochelle and Rainers friend and getting a taste of a typical night out in Botswana.

Friday night out in Bots 

Moremi (24th - 25th Jan)

The following morning, we had a much needed fry up at Hilary's cafe in town, and then we drove to a game reserve called Moremi, where we were camping for the rest of the weekend. We arrived at our camp site at the South Gate of the reserve and set up camp. We were the only campers there for the weekend. That afternoon, we went on a game drive in a four wheel drive car that Rochelle had borrowed from work to ensure we got through the mud and sand in the park.  The truck had a safari seat bolted onto the open back, so Stu and I were enjoying being driven around the park in our very own private safari vehicle. Although where we were sitting offered very little in the form of protection if charged at by elephants or attacked by lions, so I kept my wits about me and made sure I was ready at any moment in time to leap through the miniature window that was open to the drivers cab! 

We had a great time driving around the reserve and stopped at a waterhole with hippo to our right and zebra to our left, to drink wine and eat canapés. We drove late into the afternoon and saw plenty of elephant, giraffe, zebra and hippo, but our hunt for lion was unsuccessfull on this occasion. That evening, we had a delicious Braai back at camp and popped open the Moët to celebrate a great week. Rochelle, Rainer and Stu were set on scaring me with talk about hyena surrounding the camp, and being able to see their eyes glowing in the forest surrounding us. I had my torch on me at all times, plus Babs the baboon stick for protection! We hit the sack around 11.30pm and thoughts of hynena and lions coming into camp weren't far from my mind. After snoozing for a couple of hours, I was woken up by what I can only describe as a trumpet style howl - loud and only one metre away from our tent! I froze on our blow up bed. I was convinced there was a monster elephant stood right next to me with only a piece of tent nylon protecting me from the beast. A second howl came and at the exact same time something touched my foot (could have possibly been a moth in the tent but either way, I thought I was going to die!) I jumped two feet out of the bouncy blow up bed, rolled to the right and fell straight out of the bed. Meanwhile, Stu was still snoring away next to me oblivious to the commotion. On the third howl I made it back into bed, shoved my earplugs in and lay with heart pounding, trying to ignore the wildlife around me. No more howls followed and eventually I made it back to sleep. Only to be woken up again (stu joined me this time!) by roaring in the forest. Lions were close! Thankfully not as close as the previous animal encounter.  We both listened to the lions passing by and soon after fell back to sleep hoping we wouldn't be woken again. 

Relaxing in camp

Wine and canapés on the game drive 

The next morning, whilst making coffee and packing up camp, Rochelle and Rainer told us they had both heard the close encounter too, but it was in fact hyena and not elephant. Doesn't sound quite as impressive but still a scary experience! Once packed up, we headed out into the bush for another safari day out. We saw our fair share of African wildlife, and at one point I had to duck down in the back of the truck whilst we passed a nervous looking herd of elephants who didn't look too impressed with us being there. We stopped in the shade later that morning to cook egg and bacon sandwiches on our portable gas braai, and then continued driving into the late afternoon. Although our trip to Moremi didn't show us the lions we'd been on the lookout for, we still had a great weekend camping and seeing the sights. We were back in Maun later that evening, exhausted and happy to sit infront of a Trevor Noah comedian DVD with takeaway pizza for dinner! 

Champers in camp 

On the hunt for lions 

Maun (26th - 30th Jan)

The following week in Maun continued to consist of delicious lunches out (cafe Hilary's being my personal favourite!) and on the odd occasion Rochelle and Rainer came back to the house for lunch and we all sat in the garden soaking up the sunshine over sandwiches, salads and nibbles. Mid week, Stu and I went on a traditional Mokoro boat trip - a long, thin boat that the locals use to get around the river. We had a lovely trip down the river (keeping an eye out for crocs and hippos!) and then went on a game walk with our guide in the bush, walking through a huge group of zebra and keeping an eye out for devil thorns in the grass - long sharp thorns off the trees that have a habit of piercing through your flip flops and sticking deep into your foot. We then sat down for a picnic lunch that the travel organisers had provided for us, but feeling slightly guilty on our guide for the day who hadn't brought any water or food along for the 8 hour day trip in the baking sunshine, we gave him some of our food and water too so that he wouldn't pass out on us! 

On the Mokoro boat trip

Tight squeeze through the reeds 

The rest of our week days were spent around the pool at Rochelles, hitting the gym, and playing with little Dexter the dog. One evening Stu and I also went to a local outdoor community centre for movie night, and on another night we met friends for a delicious Indian meal. After Rochelle and Rainer had finished work one evening, we all went to a nearby quarry armed with 3 rifles and a shot gun and practised our aim on a target sheet 100 metres away. Luckily my shoulder and ear drums didn't pop out with the force and noise from the guns! Another Friday night came along and we hit Sports bar again for more spring bok shots, caramel vodkas and luckily a fairly early night to ensure a hangover didn't ensue. 

Dinner at Rochelles and Rainers 

Spot the target...

Rochelle wins at target practise 

Ghanzi (31st Jan - 1st Feb) 

For our last weekend in Maun, Rochelle had planned a trip to a place called Ghanzi where her friend Hayley and her family lived. They own a lodge there which was empty of paying guests for the weekend , and so we travelled down there and stayed in a lovely chalet on the plot. There was a good group of us, Hayley's family and friends plus the four of us from Maun, and we had the bar to ourselves. So after a delicious meal outside, we hit the bar! Shots were poured, beers and gin was drank, police helmets from behind the bar came out and I remember at one point there was some serious twerking taking place! At midnight, a few of us even decided to take a late night swim in the pool, fully clothed! It was such a fun night, and the next morning we paid for it. Over a delicious breakfast of warthog bacon and eggs....we all moaned about our sore heads and laughed over the pictures taken from the night before. We chilled at the pool for the day, had pizza for lunch, and said our goodbyes that afternoon before driving back to Maun. KFC was calling for dinner and so with a little de-ja-vous from the weekend before, we sat and watched a Trevour Noah DVD with takeaway in hand. 

The Ghanzi Gang

Police intervention when the party got out of hand 

The following morning we said our goodbyes to Rochelle and Rainer, and to Botswana. We'd had an amazing time there, and we are so thankful to the two of them for having us stay and showing us around. We were sad to be leaving, but thankfully we'd be seeing Rochelle again the following weekend in Zimbabwe, so it wasn't goodbye for long. We set off early on the Monday morning for a long drive to the border. Stu had received a unnecessary fine from the police earlier that week for not putting his seat belt on within 30 seconds of starting the car engine, but friends had told us not to pay - apparently no one ever does! As we reached the Botswana border post and they typed our car registration plate number into their computers, Stu looked nervous as he was convinced his unpaid fine was going to come up on the system! Luckily, we were waved on through, the fine money still in our pockets and we were ready to hit Zimbabwe.