Day 47 – Zooming through Zimbabwe

Blog — By Gobby on November 7, 2012 1:39 pm

Travelling through Southern Africa has presented us all with various challenges. For the novices amongst us, Zimbabwe possibly presented the biggest hurdle. Ahead of our adventure, we had all read the western press and imagined a lawless place, full of armed Mugabe supporters creating havoc throughout the country.
Our experience has been very much to the contrary. Once we succeeded in crossing the border from Mozambique (already documented), we were pleasantly surprised at the wonderful hospitality of the Zimbabwe people. Whenever we stopped on our journey from the Eastern Highlands to Mana Pools, we drew a crowd. The interest in the bikes was infectious and genuine.
There were the inevitable “collection points” along the road and we all paid our dues to the local police force; but a friendly approach always elicited smiles and laughter and in one case a reduced fine!
The roads were surprisingly good and the towns bustling and busy.
It would be naïve of me to paint a picture of a country that has no problems, they are well documented.
However, I will conclude by saying that Zimbabwe is a beautiful country deserving of foreign visitors. It was known as the “bread basket of Africa” and one can understand why.
Hopefully, in the future, it can regain some of that reputation, as there remains much opportunity.