Zimbabwe
8th October 2014
It was with some trepidation that we crossed into Zimbabwe but it seemed the wisest choice as our other route back to South Africa was blocked by the rebels in the south of Mozambique. It soon became evident that it was certainly a wise choice- empty and in general, roads that were in good condition, few Police checks and we were always just waved straight through unlike the grillings we got in Tanzania, and stunning scenery. Everywhere we went people waved at us and there was no hassle from wayside sellers. In over 200 miles we only passed through two towns. These both very obviously had formal colonial roots - an old cinema here, formal gardens there. Only the inevitable pot holed streets, an essential feature of towns in Africa, belied the intervening years since independence.
|
|
9th October 2014
After visiting the Great Zimbabwe ruins, the oldest stone structures in Sub Saharan Africa, we headed south to the border with South Africa. Even as we were leaving the country, another corrupt, so called Zimbabwe official, this time a border policeman attempted to secure a bribe. He told us we had parked in the wrong place for customs so were arresting us and would impound Nicolle. No signs said that this was true so John just drove off telling the customs officer that he was being ridiculous! We made it safely out of the country. The actual border is the Limpopo River and as we drove across the bridge- no man's land, it was just as though we had been transported back to leaving the former East Germany in the 1970s. Razor wire, high electric fences, pedestrian walkways encased in barbed wire, sentry watch towers and security gates.........
|
|