Trip Report #2 (13-->16 July 2009): The way to the eastern Zimbabwe Highlands

The route:

14 July 2009:

Leaving the Lion an Elephant park behind us was not a sad affair. We headed north for the Zimbabwe Ruins campsite and we were not disappointed.

The campsite was deserted, which although somewhat representative of the situation in Zimbabwe, suited us just fine.  Here is Adri beating me to the punch in voicing his disappointment at the deserted camp site.

Arriving here was truly the start of our trip. 

15 July 2009:

The next morning we spent visiting the Ruins itself.  We took a guided tour which is advisable.  Here is us getting briefed by our tour guide.

It is from this place which Zimbabwe took its name.  Zimbabwe apparently means “Great house of stone”.  I suspect I was supposed to know this already, but now I do!

The ruins are beautiful and offer fantastic opportunities for more “arty” photos.

After having lunch we headed dead east for the Chimanimani mountain range.  We of course underestimated the distance and arrived there well after dark.  According to out information the gates to the campsite would close at 1800, so Adri raced ahead in an attempt to catch the gate open.  We encountered a very poor gravel road which finally took us to the camp.  The last 50m or so required 4 wheel drive leading on to the banked camp site.

16 July 2009:

The next morning brought light and revealed a truly beautiful scene around us. We decided to spend the day here to allow us to regroup. 

It was nice to be able to make breakfast leisurely.  I got a chance to test out our whistling kettle.  From the picture you should be able to deduce that Adri is not that mad about noisy kettles.  Everyone left for a walk up the mountain and left me at camp in charge of the oxtail pot.  

As is evident from the picture  the view from the top was quite something.

For many reasons, leaving me in charge of the pot, turned out to be a bad idea. I did not quite manage to get Adri’s “Africa Stove” going in time.  I took Adri’s advice literally about only needing 5 or so charcoal brcikets.   Luckily Adri and Anita saved the day and the oxtail was fantastic.

What did I learn from all this…

… never take advice on cooking from convicts with an affinity for red wide.  ;-)

Exhibit A:

Gallery: