Warning: Contents May Offend

We’ve been in Zimbabwe for about 2 weeks now.  Our stay in Zim was extended as we found out that due to a change in the regulations in Ethiopia, it is no longer possible to get entry visas from Harare as per the norm.  Instead, they must be obtained from our home countries.  This meant that all of our passports needed to be couriered back home and re-couriered to Harare.  A leap of faith, but since so many of us were facing the same predicament were passports to be lost, we decided to take the chance.  We found out this morning that all passports have safely made their way back (complete with Ethiopian visas). Whew.

We’ve had a great time in Zimbabwe.  The people are incredibly friendly and overall very peaceful.  We have found ourselves feeling much safer than we did in South Africa.  

The last blog was a little short on details for our time in Antelope Park (mostly because internet was being charged out at US$8 / hr).  We really enjoyed ourselves.  We managed to upgrade our accommodation for a couple of nights to the Honeymoon Suite (or the Island Lodge) which came complete with bath, his and hers handbasins, fridge, tea and coffee making facilities.  It was pure luxury and very much welcomed after so many nights in a tent!  

To add a little more flavour to the activities we embarked on during our time there:

I don't think you should pull it's tail Jen...

• we spent a morning walking with two female lions aged 18 and 15 months.  These were fully grown lionesses learning to hunt.  They were very playful (it was cold in the mornings, and very cold overnight, which meant they weren’t too hot and had plenty of energy), fighting with one another and happy to walk with a group of about 12 people.  On our walk the lions caught the scent of a pack of zebras and made chase.  It was hold-your-breath excitement to watch the two lions seamlessly fan out and stalk the zebras through the long grass.  A chase was had and one of the lions suffered a bite from a zebra - the zebra proved a challenging foe for the young lions! (we managed to catch a glimpse almost running through the grass to keep up with the action).  After all of this excitement the large cats were spent and lay down on the ground for some excellent yawning photo opportunities.

Zebra spotted (in the top right hand corner)

Aren't you the girl who pulled my tail earlier?  I'll get you... 

Mum - no hands!

• After an exciting morning of lion-walking we went straight to our interaction with the elephants where we had the opportunity to mount a seated elephant and hold on whilst it stood up.  The elephants were greedy for their rewards and demolished a bag on grains within minutes.  

• At midday sharp we hopped on a ute to witness one of the scariest things imaginable.  A pile of rotting stinking cowhides (I’d hardly call it meat) was placed literally two metres in front of us.  Then, 5 male lions (all around 2-3 years old), who hadn’t eaten in about 5 days were released.  The 5 lions charged at full pelt towards us and the meat right in front of us - it was almost enough to lose your lunch or your bladder.  Jen has a great video which we will have to share at a later stage.  After 5 fully grown males landed on the meat a serious of vicious territorial battles took place.  Blood was drawn, roars and snarls were heard and bones were crunched.  The sounds and smell haunted me through most of the rest of the day. 

Coming at you 40kmph +

Yuk

Contents may offend

• The night was capped off with a night encounter.  At 6pm, just after sunset, we boarded two utes and led / followed 3 lions (2 female and 1 male) on a hunt.  The lions had been caged previously and probably hadn’t been fed in days (to simulate what happens for lions in the real world).  Following the lions with our headlights off and nothing but a filtered spotlight, dodging trees and thorny Acacia bushes, we huddled under our blankets and waited for the action.  We took turns leading and following the lions (the guide reckons that the lions thought of us as part of their pride) looking for game.  Unfortunately the lions outsmarted us and disappeared into the bush to track game they must have smelt.  It took us quite a while and a good 1-2 kms to catch up with the lions to discover them in the midst of a wildebeest feast.  It was incredibly savage and feral.  The lions had their heads buried inside the carcass.  The smell was putrid from guts, bladders and intestines that had been split open.  

Most of our time at Antelope Park was spent relaxing.  We enjoyed a total of 5 nights there.  It was an ideal opportunity to swim in the pool (which was very cold), relax, read, mess around on the computer, and chat with friends.  

View from the top

Leaving Antelope Park we headed to the Great Zimbabwe Ruins.  The country adopted its name from these ruins in 1980.  We were entertained by a most eloquent and comedic guide (Philip) who showed us about a cliff-top fortress that housed the kings of the area in the region of 1200-1500 AD.  The ruins included paths leading up to the fortress, the homes for the king, the high priest, the bank vault and on the plains homes for the kings wives (which numbered up to ~200 by the time of the last king - wives were inherited on death).

The following morning we stopped by an outdoor market to collect carved rock souvenirs (including a stone carved chess set for US$20!) before heading to the Chimanimani mountains.  The Chimanimani mountains, on the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique are incredibly stunning and have been almost devoid of tourists for the last 9 years.  Our accommodation was average, and the state of the toilets and showers meant that, for the most part, we didn’t use them.  On the one full day there, we elected to go on a hike up the mountains.  The climb was steep and challenging and we walked for most of the day, but saw some of the most picturesque and beautiful parts of Zimbabwe and literally had the whole of the national park to ourselves.  For lunch we stopped at a waterfall and swam in crystal clear (albeit very cold water) mountain water.  It was a welcome relief after sweating through our steep climb.  On our way back out of the mountains we came across some 5 or 6 Zimbabwean’s who were illegally sneaking across the border to mine for gold in Mozambique.  

Our guide Philip (Zim ruins)

Panoramic from the Chimanimani mountains

Waterfall swim (turn your head to the left)

Following Chimanimani we headed to Harare, just in time to see Zimbabwe play Mali in an international soccer match.  It was undoubtedly perhaps the most exciting sports event either of us have been privy to watch live.  Imagine a stadium, designed for 30,000 people, with over 40,000 people crammed in.  Every aisle, concourse and stairwell exit was crammed pack full of people to watch the game.  20 or so of us from the group went, and as far as we could tell, we were the only white people at the ground.  The locals treated us like celebrities and were thrilled to have us as part of the crowd.  The only thing that made the game better was that the underdogs, Zimbabwe, managed to beat Mali in a thrilling 2-1 lead (with the last point scored via penalty goal kick in the last two minutes).  Fights erupted on the pitch in response to sheer jubilation of the crowd.  To say the atmosphere was ‘party-like’ would be an understatement.  It was utter chaos - but in a good way.  Everyone in the ground - literally every single spectator - was out of their mind ecstatic to see the home team take the victory.  

The day after tomorrow we leave Zimbabwe for Mozambique... 

Rocks on the top of the Chimanimani mountain range