Zimbabwe
We had to wait a few days in Johannesburg for our carnets (customs passports for the cars) to be ready. I had been on tender hooks the last couple of weeks as without these documents border posts can become a bit of a hassle and we didn’t have time for too much of that, so couldn’t leave without them!
Even though we had started the journey and were on the road having already driven through South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.
I couldn’t bring myself to believe that the trip was really going to happen. It was such a big project, and I was given the task to lead it, make all the decisions for my team and activities in each country. A scary but amazing opportunity and one I kept thinking was going to get taken away from me…. Not many people/companies would let a woman lead a team of men driving through Africa. I was waiting for someone to say “no, wait, we made a mistake”!! I knew I could do it, I could see it very clearly in my head. I had lots of experience travelling and working in Africa but travelled mostly by plane before. I knew it was going to be a tough trip but was excited and ready for the challenge.
So I held my breath until I had the 3 carnets in my hands, the day I got them I was over the moon and quickly mobilised the team who were all biting at the bit to get going.
We left Johannesburg straight away and made our way to Zimbabwe.
The Beitbridge border post took 2.5 hours all together which meant that the crossing into Zimbabwe was made after dark. This border is so inefficient and has 8 desks that need to be visited but not in any logical sequence. While I did all the paperwork for the 3 cars the guys got down to throwing a rugby ball around much to the amusement of everyone waiting at the border post.
We were warned that there were lots of “drunkies” on the road, took us a while to work out it wasn’t drunk people but donkeys…. So we drove about 80km from the border managing not to hit any donkeys or drunk people and stopped and at the Lion & Elephant Lodge for the night.
Early the next morning we made our way to the Zimbabwe Ruins campsite. The ruins are from an advanced ancient civilisation that lived there 10,000 years ago.
Along the road, we started to encounter lots and lots of police stops and pot holes. At the stops, the guys in the front car, would hand over licenses and show the stamped carnet, any request for “something” was handled by handing over pens and then the other two cars were waved through. At one stop near the ruins, the front cars moves off and I am driving the second car, the policeman holds up his hand, like all the other stops I thought we were done formalities and he was giving me a high five, so as I got to him, I high fived him and drove off. Hein who was in the car with me looked at me in horror, I could see the other policemen at the side of the road falling over themselves laughing. The guys driving in the car behind me said the policeman just stood there with his hand in the air looking shocked as I drove off! I made sure I stopped after that…
As most of the team weren’t around when I packed the cars at the Frontrunner offices in Johannesburg this also gave us a chance to take everything out of and on top of the cars. Open all the boxes and repack the cars so everyone knew where everything was.
Next stop was the beautiful Victoria Falls, after driving all day, the roads were good but the police stops every few kilometres slowed everything down. We stayed in a Shoestring Backpackers, I prefer to stay in a backpackers or hostel were possible, as they are always a lot more social…
At the falls we made contact with the Mayor and went to meet him the next day. The Mayor arranged for Mohau to test eyes at a local clinic. Mohau managed to see 170 people and give them reading glasses a long day for him.
Throughout our trip, we are handing out reading glasses. Access to opticians and glasses are out of a lot of peoples reach. The majority of people on the continent use their hands to make a living if they can’t see to sew, weave, carve they lose their ability to work and make a living.
That evening we enjoyed a beautiful sunset cruise on the Zambezi rive and a few beers.
After Vic Falls we drove another long day to Harare.
Our first day in Harare started off with a very loud DHL and police cavalcade through the streets to the venue we were hosting our Rugby clinics and functions for DHL customers and another eye clinic. It was a lot of fun. We had a great day meeting everyone and playing some rugby. While the guys were playing rugby I set up office under a tree a good day!
